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 ...
Party Members and Activists
1st Edition
Edited
By Emilie van Haute, Anika Gauja
February 07, 2017
Membership of political parties is diverse. Not everyone participates and those who do, do not participate in the same way. This book engages with the debate over the significance and future of political parties as membership organisations and presents the first broad comparative analysis of party ...
The Selection of Ministers around the World
1st Edition
Edited
By Keith Dowding, Patrick Dumont
November 10, 2016
Governing cabinets are composed of ministers who come and go even as governments march on. They work for the chief executive, the prime minister or the president, for their parties and for the constituent groups from which they come. They are chosen for their role and dismissed from it for all ...
Parliamentary Elites in Central and Eastern Europe: Recruitment and Representation
1st Edition
Edited
By Elena Semenova, Michael Edinger, Heinrich Best
October 16, 2015
Legislators are entrusted with key parliamentary functions and are important figures in the decision-making process. Their behaviour as political elites is as much responsible for the failures and successes of the new democracies as their institutional designs and constitutional reforms. This ...
The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies: A Comparative Study
1st Edition
Edited
By Jean-Benoit Pilet, William Cross
October 12, 2015
This book explores the ways in which political parties, in contemporary parliamentary democracies, choose their leaders and then subsequently hold them accountable. The authors provide a comprehensive examination of party leadership selection and accountability both through examination of parties ...
Coalition Government and Party Mandate: How Coalition Agreements Constrain Ministerial Action
1st Edition
By Catherine Moury
September 11, 2014
Which kind of decisions are passed by Cabinet in coalition governments? What motivates ministerial action? How much leeway do coalition parties give their governmental representatives? This book focuses on a comparative study of ministerial behaviour in Germany, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands....