Welcome to the website of the IPSA Research Committee on Political Elites !

The IPSA Research Committee on Political Elites (RC02) organizes conferences and studies of political elites worldwide. Since its founding by Mattei Dogan in 1971, the Committee has published several dozen books and special journal issues comparing configurations and functioning of political elites in many countries. These books and journal issues have flowed from panels organized by the Committee at IPSA world congresses and interim conferences, ECPR conferences, and many special conferences focused on specific aspects of political elites. Over the Committee's now four decades of existence, some 300 scholars of elites from all parts of the globe have participated in its activities.

In 2001 Mattei Dogan ended his long and distinguished Committee leadership, and a new team of scholars, led by John Higley and Jean-Pascal Daloz, continued the Committee's high level of activity. In 2012 John Higley's and Jean-Pascal Daloz' term ended and a new slate of officers was elected (see Contact section). Heinrich Best as Chair, Maurizio Cotta as Vice-Chair and Ursula Hoffmann-Lange as Executive Secretary led RC02 through another rich period. In addition to curating sections made of an ever-increasing number of panels in the latest world congresses, the most recent leading teams completed a series of collective publications (books and special issues of journals) punctuated by the release of the Palgrave Handbook of Political Elites (2017). 

Committee membership is open without charge to all scholars interested in political elites.

At present, the Committee has upwards of 150 members. Given today's ubiquitous references to elites and their obvious centrality in coping with the many ominous problems facing nations and the world, the Committee hopes that its membership will soon double. You may contact the Committee through its current Chairperson,Secretary or Board members, all of whom are listed in the Board Composition category of this website.

For information about recent and upcoming activities, publications etc., please refer to the appropriate categories of this website.