Elite Foundations of Liberal Democracy

By John Higley and Michael Burton

Book Overview

This compelling and convincing study represents the culmination of the authors' several decades of research on the pivotal role played by elites in the success or failure of political regimes. Revising the classical theory of elites and politics, John Higley and Michael Burton distinguish basic types of elites and associated political regimes. They canvas political change during the modern historical and contemporary periods to identify circumstances and ways in which the sine qua non of liberal democracy, a consensually united elite, has formed and persisted.

The book considers an impressive body of cases, examining how consensually united elites have fostered forty-five liberal democracies and how disunited or ideologically united elites have thus far prevented liberal democracy in more than one hundred other countries. The authors argue that obstacles to the emergence of elites propitious for liberal democracy are more formidable than democratization enthusiasts recognize. They assess prospects for the transformation of disunited and ideologically united elites where they now exist, ask whether current challenges to Western liberal democracies will undermine their consensually united elites, and explore what the rise of the distinctive elite clustered around George W. Bush may portend for America's liberal democracy. The authors' powerful and important argument reframes our thinking about liberal democracy and questions optimistic assumptions about the prospects for its spread in the twenty-first century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742553612
• ISBN13: 9780742553613
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Pragmatic View on Modern "Democratic" Governments

This book is the peak of Higley and Burton's long-time "elite theory", which basically argues that the political elites of 'liberal democracies' come together and 'principally agree to not act on principle'. This act allows for the status quo to mainly stay intact, which allows both left and right to stay in positions of power and governments to remain relatively stable. This book abounds with examples, mainly being separated by colonial and non-colonial nations and the variances of the 'elite theory' that occurs in each. Do not fear, this book is not written by ideologues. The book contains a non-partisan theory of rule and governance without passing judgement on either left or right wing rulings. It will leave you with a much more appreciative viewpoint on the subtleness and cleverness of Democracy.