COURSE OUTLINE 2012/2013

Course title : Political Elites

Course type : MA2, compulsory
Name of the person in charge of the class: lect. Dr. IONASCU ALEXANDRA

Spiru Haret, ROOM B, FRIDAY, 17.30-20.30

Brief description: The course offers a comprehensive overview of recent theories on political elites
with special emphasis on the following three dimensions: (1) the similarities and contradictions
between the elitist and decisional approaches, (2) the recruitment of political elites (MPs, ministers,
mayors, local representatives etc.), (3) the importance of the political actors in shaping democratising
processes (elite change, networks and socialisation practices). One of the main interests of the course
will be to combine the presentation of different theoretical perspectives with empirical driven studies
focusing on different elite types (from distinct countries and diverse political configurations). The
students will be encouraged to apply the various theoretical approaches on specific cases and to debate
in a critical perspective the mandatory readings.

Requirements and evaluation: Students are required to participate in class discussions; FINAL
GRADE = 15% active participation in class +25% an oral presentation based on a written position
paper (see the texts underlined in the course outline) + 60% written examination at the end of the
course.

NOTA BENE: Students should be aware of the Departments policy of academic integrity: cheating,
falsification, forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse will result in the
invalidation of both grade and credits

Courses outline:
PART I.

POLITICAL ELITES: THEORETICAL APPROACHES

Week: 1 Introduction: Definitions and main research strategies 22.02

Week: 2 Recruitment/Candidate selection theories. How to explain different pathways to power
Readings: Heinrich BEST, John HIGLEY, Democratic Elitism Reappraised in IDEM (eds.)
Democratic Elitism: New Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives , Brill, Leiden, Boston, 2010, pp.
1-25; Robert D. PUTNAM, The Comparative Study of Political Elites, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J, 1976, pp.1-19, 46-70; 1.03
Week: 3 Party Politics and Political Elites. Direct & Indirect effects of the recruitment process
Readings: Reuven Y. HAZAN & Gideon RAHAT, Candidate Selection Methods: A Framework for
Analysis, in IDEM, Democracy within Parties Candidate Selection Methods and Their Political
Consequences, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp.19-89 8.03
Week: 4 Institutions, Decision-making & Political Elites 15.03
Readings: Margit TAVITS, The Activism of Indirectly and Directly Elected Presidents in IDEM,
Presidents with Prime Ministers. Do Direct Elections Matter?, Oxford University Press, Great
Clarendon Street, Oxford, 2008, pp.58-119 (2 students)

Week: 5 Recruitment theories & political representation. The role perception & the socialisation
dimensiosn 22.03
Readings: Roger SCULLY, Becoming Europeans? Attitudes, Behaviour, and Socialization in the
European Parliament (Understanding Institutional Socialization), Oxford University Press, 2005,
pp.67-89; Joni LOVENDUSKI, Introduction: state feminism and the political representation of
women in IDEM (ed.), State Feminism and Political Representation, Cambridge University Press
2005, pp.1-20
PART II. ANALYZING POLITICAL ELITES IN CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRACIES

Week: 6 Parliamentary Elites 29.03

Readings: Michael EDINGER, Elite Formation and Democratic Elitism in Central and Eastern
Europe: A Comparative Analysis, in Heinrich BEST and John HIGLEY (eds.) Democratic
Elitism: New Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives , Brill, Leiden, Boston, 2010, pp. 129-153;
Mattei DOGAN, Parliamentarians as Errand Boys in France, Britain and the United States,
Comparative Sociology, 6(4), 2007, pp. 430 463; Ulrich Sieberer (2006): Party unity in parliamentary
democracies: A comparative analysis, The Journal of Legislative Studies, 12:2,150-178; Francesco Marangoni &
Filippo Tronconi (2011): When Territory Matters: Parliamentary Profiles and Legislative Behaviour in Italy
(19872008), The Journal of Legislative Studies, 17:4, 415-434

Week: 7 Governmental Elites 5.04

Readings: Nancy BERMEO, Ministerial Elites in Southern Europe: Continuities, Changes and
Comparisons, in P. TAVARES DE ALMEIDA, A. C. PINTO, N. BERMEO, Who Governs Southern
Europe? Regime Change and Ministerial Recruitment 1850-2000 , Frank Cass, London, Portland,
2003, pp 191-213, Katja Fettelschoss and Csaba Nikolenyi Ministerial careers in post-communist
democracies in: Dowding, Keith/Dumont, Patrick (ed.), The Selection of Ministers In Europe,
Routledge, New York, London 2009. Florian Grotz and Till Weber (2012). Party Systems and
Government Stability in Central and Eastern Europe. World Politics, 64, pp 699740 (2 students for the
last text)
Week: 8 Local Leadership 12.04
Readings: ROSTISLAV TUROVSKII, The representation of business elites in regional politics:
tatism, elitism and clientelism, in
Cameron ROSS and Adrian CAMPBELL (ed.),
Federalism and Local Politics in Russia , Routledge, 2009, NY, pp. 184-207; Rikke Berg and

Nirmala Rao, Transforming Local Political Leadership, Palgrave, 2005 (3 cases from this book)
Week: 9 Political elites & Multi-level political systems 19.04
Readings: Simon HIX, Abdul G. NOURY, Gerard ROLAND, Democratic Politics in the European
Parliament (Who Controls The MEPs), Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 132-147; Alfred P.
MONTERO, The limits of decentralisation: Legislative careers and territorial
representation in Spain, West European Politics, Vol. 30, No.3, 2007, Pp. 573 594;

Week 10: FINAL SESSION written EXAM 26.04