The Icelandic power structure revisited
Political scientists have developed three main interpretations of the Icelandic power structure – namely, traditional elitism, competitive elitism and professional pluralism. These can be seen to some extent as successive regimes, with traditional elitism prevalent in the nineteenth century, competi...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Stjórnsýslustofnun
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1 |
id |
fticelandunivojs:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/2741 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fticelandunivojs:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/2741 2023-08-20T04:07:29+02:00 The Icelandic power structure revisited Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi 2018-05-30 application/pdf https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1 eng eng Stjórnsýslustofnun https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1/pdf https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1 Copyright (c) 2018 Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration; Vol. 14 No. 1 (2018): Special issue on power and democracy in Iceland; 1-34 Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla; Bnd. 14 Nr. 1 (2018): Sérhefti um vald og lýðræði á Íslandi; 1-34 1670-679X 1670-6803 Power structure elites Iceland info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2018 fticelandunivojs 2023-08-01T12:28:59Z Political scientists have developed three main interpretations of the Icelandic power structure – namely, traditional elitism, competitive elitism and professional pluralism. These can be seen to some extent as successive regimes, with traditional elitism prevalent in the nineteenth century, competitive elitism for much of the twentieth century and professional pluralism in more recent decades. However, their relative strength at different times, and the extent to which they still predominate, remains uncertain. This article evaluates how the different models reflect on the position of the political elite over time and how helpful they are in understanding contemporary power structures. Data on the composition of the political elite on one hand, and eight contemporary elite groups on the other are analysed in order to evaluate elite openness, elite selection and network patterns. The results provide support for conventional interpretations, in that competitive elitism replaced traditional elitism in important respects during the twentieth century, but has itself been replaced in many respects by professional pluralism. Accordingly, professional pluralism is characteristic of the contemporary power structure, with relatively open access to elite groups, strong influence of meritocratic and professional criteria and network patterns which are concentrated within, rather than across, spheres of influence. Remnants of traditional elite privilege and competitive elitism, where political parties play a central role, can be found in a number of areas, and professional pluralism has important elitist features. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland University of Iceland: Peer Reviewed Journals |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Iceland: Peer Reviewed Journals |
op_collection_id |
fticelandunivojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Power structure elites Iceland |
spellingShingle |
Power structure elites Iceland Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi The Icelandic power structure revisited |
topic_facet |
Power structure elites Iceland |
description |
Political scientists have developed three main interpretations of the Icelandic power structure – namely, traditional elitism, competitive elitism and professional pluralism. These can be seen to some extent as successive regimes, with traditional elitism prevalent in the nineteenth century, competitive elitism for much of the twentieth century and professional pluralism in more recent decades. However, their relative strength at different times, and the extent to which they still predominate, remains uncertain. This article evaluates how the different models reflect on the position of the political elite over time and how helpful they are in understanding contemporary power structures. Data on the composition of the political elite on one hand, and eight contemporary elite groups on the other are analysed in order to evaluate elite openness, elite selection and network patterns. The results provide support for conventional interpretations, in that competitive elitism replaced traditional elitism in important respects during the twentieth century, but has itself been replaced in many respects by professional pluralism. Accordingly, professional pluralism is characteristic of the contemporary power structure, with relatively open access to elite groups, strong influence of meritocratic and professional criteria and network patterns which are concentrated within, rather than across, spheres of influence. Remnants of traditional elite privilege and competitive elitism, where political parties play a central role, can be found in a number of areas, and professional pluralism has important elitist features. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi |
author_facet |
Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi |
author_sort |
Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi |
title |
The Icelandic power structure revisited |
title_short |
The Icelandic power structure revisited |
title_full |
The Icelandic power structure revisited |
title_fullStr |
The Icelandic power structure revisited |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Icelandic power structure revisited |
title_sort |
icelandic power structure revisited |
publisher |
Stjórnsýslustofnun |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration; Vol. 14 No. 1 (2018): Special issue on power and democracy in Iceland; 1-34 Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla; Bnd. 14 Nr. 1 (2018): Sérhefti um vald og lýðræði á Íslandi; 1-34 1670-679X 1670-6803 |
op_relation |
https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1/pdf https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/irpa/article/view/a.2018.14.1.1 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2018 Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla |
_version_ |
1774719147594219520 |