Search Results

The Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, which constituted the political elite of Soviet Russia, was in Lenin's time, relatively homogeneous and was entirely composed of people who had been members of the underground Bolshevik party. It is, however, possible to make some differentiation between members of this Central Committee elite, and two examples of ‘types’, one from the intelligentsia and one from the working class, are N. N. Krestinskii and A. A. Andreev. Even in this period, the Central Committee was not a policy‐making body, but all its members were important policymakers in other party and state organs.

The conclusion makes a case for women's involvement in political life, arguing that it needs to be understood in context. By no means all women, even at the level of the political elite, were politically active, yet women were an integral part of the political world of the 18th century. For many, involvement in political life was motivated by familial considerations, but the effectiveness of such involvement should not be underestimated. Furthermore, while questions about whether women made a difference might be hard to evaluate in national terms, in local or personal politics — in terms of places gained, preferments and promotions secured, votes won, and supporters wooed — there can be little doubt that they did.

The conclusion starts by noting that there are clearly highly diverse trends in the development of bureaucracy in Western Europe, and that, although in some countries patterns of change are quite distinct, change does not appear to have followed any one expected pattern or scale. It then looks at two central questions for the role of bureaucracy: its political controllability and efficiency. These enable us to point to differences in broad underlying principles that reflect how different countries have traditionally understood and dealt with these two central problems, allow us to make important distinctions between different forms of bureaucracies, and explore the causes and character of changes in the senior ranks of post‐war bureaucracies. The two central questions are then examined in sections on political control, performance, managerial changes, and changes in political control. The concluding section finds that there is a common theme underlying the development of relationships between bureaucratic and political elites that applies to most of the country studies: a deinstitutionalization or personalization of political trust. Understood as a question of trust, change in bureaucracy is linked to much wider political changes that have been identified outside the literature on bureaucracy.

Describes how the Slovenian transition from communism to democratic consolidation influenced the institutional engineering in Slovenia. Since there was no real tradition of statehood or experience with state‐building in Slovenia, the establishment of a new constitutional structure after its break from Yugoslavia was immensely important both as a foundation for the new political and economic system and as the country's calling card for entry into the international community. The chapter indicates the positive and negative aspects of institutional engineering in Slovenia. Although Slovenian political elites arrived at a consensus on almost all of the pressing issues involved in democracy‐ and state‐building quickly, the result of the quick adoption of the Constitution left important issues unresolved, and ultimately hampered the legislative process. Despite the political turbulence that continues to dominate Slovene politics, democratic consolidation in Slovenia can be regarded as largely achieved.

Addresses the integrationist complaint that academics focus too much on political elites and not enough on civil society. Cochrane gives a comprehensive analysis of the role that peace and conflict resolution organizations have played in Northern Ireland. He shows, in a conclusion that is at odds with integrationist thinking, that many of these organizations are as divided as political elites along national lines, and are committed to a solution that accommodates both communities rather than to one that transcends one. The chapter is a useful reminder that one can want peace without wanting a merger of identities.

Delegation is not a new phenomenon. This chapter illustrates the persistence, growth, and evolution of delegated governance from the earliest stages of state development in Britain through to the first decade of the 21st century. It reveals the long-term bureaucratic layering which has occurred, and considers why political elites failed to take advantage of specific windows of opportunity when broad reform initiative could have been introduced.

Describes how constitutionalism contributed to the democratic consolidation in post‐communist Romania. The author emphasizes the fact that Romania could hardly be described as having a constitutional tradition, since none of the previous regimes developed a tradition of observing their constitutions. Therefore, it may seem questionable whether the post‐communist constitution could have a significant impact on democratic consolidation in Romania. Nevertheless, in 1990, the constitutionalization process was the main focus of the new political elite. This chapter describes what kind of political reforms have been adopted in order to improve the constitution and avoid problems resulting from its ambiguity. It shows how the weaknesses of the current Constitution have paradoxically played an important role in bolstering Romanian civil society. The author prescribes several constitutional amendments that could transform the Romanian Constitution into a viable basis for democracy in the country.

This chapter looks at how, in U.S. churches, political influence operated through a broad set of opinion leaders, not just through ordained pastors or media elites. Previous research has identified local pastors as key opinion leaders who help bridge the gap between political elites and the general public, by preaching on political topics, sending partisan cues, or proclaiming official church stances on issues like abortion and gay marriage. Other scholars argue that Christian Right elites increasingly reach individuals directly, through targeted mailings, Fox News, and Christian radio, without the need to work through their personal networks and congregations. But previous work has largely ignored the political influence of volunteer, non-ordained religious leaders.

Compares Northern Ireland's peace process with the transition to democracy in South Africa. The chapter details the ways in which Northern Ireland's political elites learnt from South Africa's negotiations, and argues that they have more to learn. It squarely rejects the claim of Irish republican militants that their position is analogous to that of South Africa's African National Congress.

This chapter discusses the institutional learning model. The chapter examines how restraint, self-reliance, and corresponding ideals are developed together, and why a country's institutional framework is important in providing the people with opportunities to develop these cititizenship-qualities. The chapter suggests two criteria for examining when the effect of institutional learning may be offset by the diffusion of values, across systemic boundaries, at the level of mass public and political elite. It also establishes the relationship between ideological values, citizens's performance evaluations of existing institutions, and their support for these institutions. The chapter concludes that the institutional learning perspective bridges the gaps in the democratic transition literature.

International migration analysis often focuses on mass migration rather than on the international mobility of elites, which is the focus of this chapter. The chapter offers a three-fold classification of elites: (a) knowledge elites, (b) entrepreneurial elites and (c) political elites. The chapter explores the concept of elites and their main motivation to move across nations and review indirect empirical evidence relevant to this type of mobility, highlighting some channels through which elites can affect international development.

This chapter discusses the factors that led to the demise of the monarchy in July 1958. Some of these were structural, embedded in the constitutional arrangements and political relationships inside the country. Others were precipitated by political and ideological developments that gathered momentum in the regional and international arenas, and thus, to a certain extent, were outside the control of Iraq's governing elite. However, the major responsibility for the collapse of the political system can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the palace and the old politicians: their penchant for authoritarianism, their distaste for acceding authority to a younger generation, their petty squabbles among themselves, and their inability to reach out to new constituencies in a rapidly changing political milieu.

Governing the Highlands was very different from governing the rest of Scotland. The political elites of the Highlands barely recognised state authority, and had few connections to regular institutions of government. The internal government of the Highlands was in the hands of clan chiefs who did not routinely answer to any higher authority. This chapter takes the power of the clans as a starting point for an investigation into central government's treatment of the Highlands. It discusses some broader patterns in policy towards the Highlands, as well as the motives behind each phase. One of the most prominent phases, accompanied by sharply etched attitudes towards Highland elites, came around 1600. The experience of the political elite of the Highlands, who were not welcome or respected members of the Scottish body politic, and who came to experience a quasi-colonial relationship with the authorities, is examined. A typology of colonies shows the various ways in which this operated.