Social Structure and the Typical Career of the Swiss Diplomatic Elite

Bibliographic Data

ID6223307
AuthorsSimon Geissbühler (Diplomatique, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume8
Issue1
Pages79-92
Publication date2002-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSwiss Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1424-7755 • E-ISSN: 1662-6370
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/j.1662-6370.2002.tb00335.x
OpenAlexW1973831324
LanguageEN
References cited6

This Research Note analyzes the origins, the social structure, the typical career and the patterns of promotion of the Swiss diplomatic elite. The results highlight the fact that the diplomatic elite has well‐differentiated career patterns which point to a high degree of professionalization. The average Swiss diplomat has spent two decades within the diplomatic service and more than 60 percent of his career on assignments abroad before having been appointed ambassador. But the typical career pattern of Switzerland's diplomatic elite seems to change partially. On the one hand, the percentage of lawyers within the elite has been constantly decreasing, and on the other the young ambassadors have been spending much more time in Bern than their older colleagues. These are some indications of a pluralization and differentiation of the diplomatic elite. In respect to the typical career of an ambassador, one has to emphasize the fact that most ambassadors start their careers on the foreign policy periphery before they are promoted to more prestigious posts and that they are until the very end of their careers subject to mandatory transfers which lead to a continuously high regional mobility

Elite · Foreign policy · Political science · Politics · Professionalization · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance

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