Local Power Structures and Transnational Connections. New Perspectives on Elites in Switzerland, 1890-2020 1
1 Local power structures and transnational connections. New perspectives on elites in Switzerland, 1890-2020 1. Summary Recent literature on elites has provided, at first sight, contradictory findings. On the one hand, studies in sociology, management, political science and economic history have underscored the central importance of local elite and governance structures for a successful economic and political development. Such an observation is particularly relevant for the Swiss case; because of the political and economic decentralization of the country, local elites have played a crucial role in local development. On the other hand, recent research has shown that elites, and especially business ones, have become increasingly internationalized. In Switzerland, foreigners now constitute a significant part of business and academic elites while both groups are characterized by the internationalization of their educational and career trajectories. Elites are thus often considered as increasingly disconnected from their local social background. These contrasting results, stressing both the growing internationalization of elites and the importance of their local rootedness, raise multiple questions concerning the scales of activities and roles of local elites. While recent research has investigated Swiss national elites, this project starts from a local perspective that will allow us to go beyond methodological nationalism and to analyze how elites have been active beyond their involvement in local power structures. Already at the end of the 19th century, Swiss elites were characterized by their multi-level implication at the local, national and transnational levels. However, following long-term shifts in the scale of political and economic life (such as the centralization of the national state or economic globalization), their spheres of activities have undergone profound changes.
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