Researching Elites and Power: Theory, Methods, Analyses

✍ Scribed by Francois Denord, Mikael Palme, Bertrand Réau

• Publisher: Springer International Publishing;Springer
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 272
• Series: Methodos Series 16
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This open access book describes how elite studies theoretically and methodologically construct their object, i.e. how particular conceptualizations of elites are turned into research practice using different methods for collecting, dealing with and analyzing empirical data. The first of four sections focuses on what Mills named the power elite and includes Bourdieu’s field of power. The second section addresses studies of the domain of economic power, whereas the third section centers on research on elite education. The fourth and last section highlights research on symbolic power, either within social fields or as a dimension of social structure at large, areas where recognition is essential. All sections comprise empirical case studies of elites and power, whereby each of which makes explicit the various methodological choices made in the research process. Through focusing on methodological approaches for the study of elites and power and on how such approaches relate to each other as well as to the theoretical perspectives that underpin them, this book will be a valuable source for social scientists.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter ....Pages i-xii
Introduction (François Denord, Mikael Palme, Bertrand Réau)....Pages 1-14
Front Matter ....Pages 15-15
The Power Structure and Affiliation Network Analysis (François Denord, Paul Lagneau-Ymonet, Sylvain Laurens)....Pages 17-31
The Field of Power and the Division of the Labour of Domination (Pierre Bourdieu)....Pages 33-44
Constructing a Field of Power. Reflections Based on a Norwegian Case Study (Johs. Hjellbrekke, Olav Korsnes)....Pages 45-55
The Craft of Elite Prosopography (Jacob Aagaard Lunding, Christoph Houman Ellersgaard, Anton Grau Larsen)....Pages 57-70
Legitimacies in Peril: Towards a Comparative History of Elites and State in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century France and Western Europe (Christophe Charle)....Pages 71-82
Front Matter ....Pages 83-83
Researching National and International Top Managers: An Interview with Michael Hartmann (Mikael Palme)....Pages 85-94
Central Bankers as a Sociological Object: Stakes, Problems and Possible Solutions (Frédéric Lebaron, Aykiz Dogan)....Pages 95-111
Firms’ Political Connections and Winning Public Procurements in Canada (Saidatou Dicko)....Pages 113-128
Consultants and Economic Power (Sylvain Thine)....Pages 129-142
Fête in the Factory. Solemnity and Power Among Porto’s Industrialists (1945–1974) (Bruno Monteiro, Virgílio Borges Pereira)....Pages 143-155
Front Matter ....Pages 157-157
How Should Historians Approach Elites? (Ciaran O’Neill)....Pages 159-168
How Can We Identify Elite Schools (Where They Do Not Exist)? The Case of Ireland (Aline Courtois)....Pages 169-178
“In Our School We Have Students of All Sorts”. Mapping the Space of Elite Education in a Seemingly Egalitarian System (Mikael Börjesson, Donald Broady, Mikael Palme)....Pages 179-191
The Internationalization of Elite Education. Merging Angles of Analysis and Building a Research Object (Anne-Catherine Wagner)....Pages 193-200
Front Matter ....Pages 201-201
A Sociology of the Dominant Class. An Interview with Monique Pinçon-Charlot and Michel Pinçon (Mikael Palme, Bertrand Réau)....Pages 203-211
When Moral Obligation Meets Physical Opportunity. Studying Elite Lifestyles and Power in the Saint-Tropez Area (Isabelle Bruno, Grégory Salle)....Pages 213-221
The Social Closure of the Cultural Elite. The Case of Artists in Sweden, 1945–2004 (Martin Gustavsson, Andreas Melldahl)....Pages 223-239
How to Study Elites’ “International Capital”? Some Methodological Reflections (Felix Bühlmann)....Pages 241-251
Is a Participant Objectivation of Elites and Symbolic Power Possible? (Sylvain Laurens)....Pages 253-263
Conclusion (François Denord)....Pages 265-271
Back Matter ....Pages 273-276

✦ Subjects

Social Sciences; Social Sciences, general