Routledge Research on Social and Political Elites
About the Book Series
All political systems are governed by ruling elites – presidents, prime ministers, ministers, civil servants, judges, mayors and councillors all play important roles in running our lives, while beyond the state people are picked to run international organizations. Social elites, such as global business or media tycoons, religious or ethnic leaders, play a major role influencing public policy. The books in this series examine all such political and social elites within local, national and international arenas. We are interested in theoretical and empirical analyses of elites. Whilst elites have been studied in the past, modern computing and electronic data-collection facilities mean that for the first time comprehensive information on the personal characteristics of elites, including factors such as birthplace, age, and social and educational background, can relatively easily be gathered. We can explore the ways in which people enter the elite, the networks they form and the policies they effect. Modern techniques open up exciting opportunities to examine our governors, their actions and interactions in more detail than ever before.
Tension, Dilemma and Conflict in Party-Candidate Campaign Strategies: Diverging Positions and Districts in National Elections
1st Edition
By Lukas Hohendorf
June 30, 2025
This book examines the campaign communication of political candidates in parliamentary democracies, set within the broader trends of globalization and political personalization. It explores how district candidates balance local voter preferences, national party demands, and personal beliefs in ...
Advancing Future-Orientation in Policymaking: Institutions, Individuals and Risks
1st Edition
By Vesa Koskimaa, Lauri Rapeli
December 19, 2024
This book argues that, under certain societal and institutional conditions, party-, interest group- and bureaucracy-based elites can interact positively to extend political timeframes beyond short electoral terms and foster reasoned long-term planning for democratic decision-making. Focusing on ...
Parliamentary Candidates Between Voters and Parties: A Comparative Perspective
1st Edition
Edited
By Lieven De Winter, Rune Karlsen, Hermann Schmitt
January 09, 2023
This book offers the first comprehensive, comparative and coherent perspective on parliamentary candidates in contemporary representative democracy. Based on the unique database of the ‘Comparative Candidate Survey' project which interrogated parliamentary candidates in more than 30 countries, it ...
Political Representation in Southern Europe and Latin America: Before and After the Great Recession and the Commodity Crisis
1st Edition
Edited
By André Freire, Mélany Barragán, Xavier Coller, Marco Lisi, Emmanouil Tsatsanis
February 01, 2022
This collective volume - with contributions from experts on these regions - examines broader questions about the current crises (The Great Recession and The Commodity Crisis) and the associated changes in political representation in both regions. It provides a general overview of political ...
The Technocratic Challenge to Democracy
1st Edition
Edited
By Eri Bertsou, Daniele Caramani
December 13, 2021
This book represents the first comprehensive study of how technocracy currently challenges representative democracy and asks how technocratic politics undermines democratic legitimacy. How strong is its challenge to democratic institutions?The book offers a solid theory and conceptualization of ...
The Contested Status of Political Elites: At the Crossroads
1st Edition
Edited
By Lars Vogel, Ronald Gebauer, Axel Salheiser
September 30, 2020
Contemporary Western societies are witnessing ground-breaking social, economic and political changes at an accelerating pace. These changes are challenging the way democracy works and the role that political elites play in this system of government. Using a theoretical and empirical approach, this ...
National Political Elites, European Integration and the Eurozone Crisis
1st Edition
Edited
By Nicolò Conti, Borbála Göncz, José Real-Dato
August 14, 2020
The global financial, economic and sovereign debt crisis since 2008 has led to increases in political disaffection among citizens, a loss of legitimacy of political institutions, the discredit of mainstream parties and the rise of extremist or anti-system political alternatives. This comparative ...
Semi-presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Presidents: Presidential Politics in Central Europe
1st Edition
By Miloš Brunclík, Michal Kubát
June 30, 2020
The book analyzes the presidencies of three neighboring Central European countries – Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – in the context of their interactions with cabinets (and prime ministers), parliaments and the constitutional courts, all which have proved crucial actors in the region’s ...
The Selection of Politicians in Times of Crisis
1st Edition
Edited
By Xavier Coller, Guillermo Cordero, Antonio M. Jaime-Castillo
June 30, 2020
Selecting candidates for elections is a major goal of political parties and a major function of political regimes in democratic systems. With the negative effects of the economic crisis being seen to translate into changes in voting patterns, and citizens using elections to punish parties in ...
Government Formation and Minister Turnover in Presidential Cabinets: Comparative Analysis in the Americas
1st Edition
Edited
By Marcelo Camerlo, Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo
December 12, 2019
Portfolio allocation in presidential systems is a central tool that presidents use to deal with changes in the political and economic environment. Yet, we still have much to learn about the process through which ministers are selected and the reasons why they are replaced in presidential ...
Ministerial Survival During Political and Cabinet Change: Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy and War
1st Edition
By Alejandro Quiroz Flores
January 17, 2019
Political leaders need ministers to help them rule and so conventional wisdom suggests that leaders appoint competent ministers to their cabinet. This book shows this is not necessarily the case. It examines the conditions that facilitate survival in ministerial office and how they are linked to ...
Political Representation: Roles, representatives and the represented
1st Edition
Edited
By Marc Bühlmann, Jan Fivaz
February 05, 2018
In an ideal democracy, representatives would entirely reflect citizens’ views, preferences and wishes in their legislative work. However, real-life democracies do not meet this ideal and citizens’ policy preferences and priorities are mirrored only inadequately. This book provides new insights on ...