ELITES - Pathways to Success

ELITES

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Category: ELITES

In the international ELITES Project we study the most successful group in society: those already holding an elite position. We compare members of this group in Sweden, Germany, France and The Netherlands. We are particularly interested in those who by family origin were not yet part of the elite, either because of their working class background or because their parents were immigrants. We will document their pathways to success and learn about how they influence and reshape today’s society.Through the international comparison we will shed light on whether countries offer different opportunities for new elite, and whether the established elite is equally receptive to the new elite members in different countries. We will compare people of the business elite, the elite in the education sector and in the law sector across countries.

Europe’s large cities have become increasingly diverse. In most big cities almost half of the young population has a migration background. While many studies have focused on those ‘at the bottom’ in this group, the spotlight on the successful among the children of immigrants has been limited so far. The ELITES project broadens our perspective by focussing on the growing socio-economic, cultural and political elites among the second generation. The first lawyers are entering prestigious law firms, young doctors make their way into hospitals to become surgeons, and policy makers are entering the city administration at the highest levels. How do they make their way into leadership positions? Are they accepted by the traditional elite groups? In other words, how does the fascinating process of ‘remaking the mainstream’ (Alba and Nee 2003) come about? And is the process different across European cities?