Elite Fragmentation in the United States
Global or Domestic Phenomenon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3756476 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark S Mizruchi (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00027642251314637 |
| OpenAlex | W4407174977 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 32 |
The actions of societal elites exert a disproportionate impact on events and outcomes in their home societies. These actions are driven by a combination of factors internal and external to their nation. Using the leaders of large American corporations-the group I call the American corporate elite-as an example, I examine the extent to which these two forces affected the character and orientation of the group, from the period immediately following World War II to the present. I argue that this elite was both constrained and enabled by a series of domestic and global forces, and I attempt to disentangle the role of both. Globally, American corporations benefited from the unique strength of the United States following the war, but their actions were constrained by both the Cold War with the Soviet Union and domestic forces, including an active and highly legitimate federal government and a relatively strong labor movement. An increase in foreign economic competition, along with domestic turmoil, in the 1970s helped trigger a decline in American strength and a conservative shift among the corporate elite. Although observers have attributed the group's increasing conservatism and fragmentation in recent years to the end of the Cold War and the rise of globalization, I argue that neither of these factors can account for these outcomes. I conclude by discussing the implications of this argument for the corporate elite, and American society as a whole
Development economics · Economics · Elite · Fragmentation (computing) · Phenomenon · Physics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Computer Science · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social and Cultural Dynamics
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Eyes on the Horizon? Fragmented Elites and the Short-Term Focus of the American Corporation
Who Killed the Inner Circle? The Decline of the American Corporate Interlock Network
Determinants of Economic Attitudes in the American Business Elite
The policy-planning capacity of the American corporate community
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |