Elites, power sources and democracy

Abstract

This thesis is about elites in general, and the acquisition and maintenance of power in particular. The last concern of the thesis is democracy. For this reason, the classical elite theorists’ and the democratic elite theorists’ perceptions of the elite were critically analyzed. Moreover, power for becoming a part of the elites and power of the elites were discussed. In addition to these discussions, ideas of classical and democratic elite theorists about the possibility of democracy under elite rule and the compatibility of it with the elite theory were questioned. This inquiry concluded that, according to elite theories there are elite groups in societies. They are powerful and prestigious. However, the power sources for becoming political elites and power sources of the elites are different from one elite theorist to another. Nevertheless, it was claimed that according to democratic elite theorists the power of elites can be restricted thanks to democracy. Furthermore, they argue that democracy is compatible with the theory of elite and it is possible to have democracy under the rule of the elites. Thus, chapter one was designed so as to provide a general view of classical elite theorists’ perception of elites. Chapter two provided the basic discussion between classical and democratic elite theorists about power sources and democracy.