Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

Part I: Elites and Classes: Bringing Elites Back In.

1. Why Class Theory has Overshadowed Elite Theory: A Matter of Coincidence.

2. Why Class Theory Should not have Overshadowed Elite Theory: A Matter of Democracy.

Part II: The Autonomy of Elites and Western thought.

3. Democratic Elite Theory.

4. Other Theories: A Comparison.

Part III: The Demo-Elite Perspective.

5. The Autonomy of Elites and Democracy.

6. Elite Autonomy Versus Co-operation and the Historical Development of Democracy.

Part IV: The Autonomy of Elites and the Success (or Failure) of Democracy.

7. Stabilization Versus Breakdown of Democracy: The Cases of Britain and Germany.

8. Problems of Transition to Democracy in eastern Europe: The Cases of the Soviet Union and Poland.

Part V: Meanwhile in the West: Problems and Potential of Democracy.

9. Elite Autonomy Under Siege and Problems of Western Democracy.

10. Social Protest Movements and the Potential of Western Democracy.

Conclusion.

References.

About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is the author of several previous books including Bureaucracy and Democracy (Routledge and Kegan Paul, revised edition, 1985); The Knowledge Elite and the Failure of Prophecy (George Allen & Unwin, 1985); and Fragile Democracy (Transaction Publishers, 1989).