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Davide: In pursuing studies of elites, you might find of some interest the
book: Elites: Choice, Leadership, and Succession, edited by Joao de
Pina-Cabral and Antonia Pedroso de Lima (2000, New York: Berg Publishers).
The authors do not use any formal network analysis, but the authors
supposedly approach the problem of elite succession from the "angle of
seeing social relations as a permanent flux within which, through the
exercise of forms of power, entities arise that are never fixed and
permanent, remaining always dependent on the constant interplay of hegemonic
and counter-hegemonic forces"(p.2). Interested in situations where
leadership and succession interplay such that any groups formed are
generated by that interplay rather than pre-existing, these authors should
be using a lot of network analysis.
To give you the flavor, here is a quote from my 2002 review of the book in
the Journal of Anthropological Research (58:608-610):
"Part IV, Monopolies and Enclaves, includes two intriguing substantive
studies, Jean Lave's analysis of a British enclave in Portugal, those
families associated with Port wine production and distribution, and Joćo de
Pina-Cabral's analysis of a significant though small population of
"Macanese", descendants of Portuguese-Chinese families of Macao.
"The port gentry families actively maintain an image of themselves as
"forever English" operating between the much more numerous Portuguese, not
only other vineyard owners in the wine industry, and the many other British
who also live and work in Portugal, with whom they would seem to have much
in common. Succession to their special elite status is, according to Lave,
"in part a matter of demonstrating effortless entitlement to it"(p.170), but
they go to a lot of effort to make it look easy.
"Joćo de Pina-Cabral's chapter on the Macanese shows "how an ethnically
defined collectivity (Portuguese-Chinese), without a clear corporate
existence, achieves collective action through time, thus managing to hold on
to their ethnic monopoly (over bureaucratic administrative positions in the
city of Macao) that has been its primary condition for a number of centuries
(16th to 20th)" (p.202). The author presents this as an "ethnic project,"
the success of which can be measured by the density of networks, the
multiplexity of links, and the systematicity of their integration. Whereas
Jean Lave organized her analysis of the networks of the British enclave in
terms of "circuits," Pina-Cabral focuses on two kinds of "nodules of
community" - family and friendship.
--Alvin Wolfe
-----Original Message-----
From: Davide Esposito [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2003 6:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Network analysis and the study of the elites
***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.sfu.ca/~insna/ *****
I am a student of sociology hocked in the writing of my thesis of degree in
which I try to describe the employment of the network analysis in the study
of the elites. Particularly, it is my intention to exalt the methodological
affinities between the technique and the concept of elite. I would be very
thankful if someone could recommend me some readings able to help me to
specify better the question. Thanks in advance.
Davide
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