Abstract Hellová 1_2010

Political Elite Research in Central Europe: Contemporary Situation, Perspectives and Risks

Dana Hellová

Abstract: The research of elites in Central Europe is becoming increasingly popular, with the most visible progress achieved in the sphere of research issues. A shift is occurring from researching the theory of elite consolidation, their integration and circulation to analyzing elites as the actors of modernization and post-industrialization. The goal of the current text is to present research conducted by an academic department of the Philosophical Faculty of Palacky University, putting special emphasis on the description of the research process. Placing it into a broader framework of research conducted in the Czech Republic opens the space for us to search for possible causes of the payback problem.

Keywords: Elites research, Czech legislative elites, return questionnaire