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Anders Uhlin

Anders Uhlin

Professor

Anders Uhlin

Civil Society Boundary Crossing and Elite Integration

Author

  • Malin Arvidson
  • Anders Uhlin

Editor

  • Håkan Johansson
  • Anna Meuwisse

Summary, in English

This chapter explores elite boundary crossing between civil society and other societal sectors—including the state, party politics, and business—and how this may lead to inter-elite integration. We illustrate how qualitative life-work history interviews provide an important complement to established quantitative approaches to the study of elite integration. Through these interviews, we explore the drivers and motivations related to a boundary crossing career. The personal accounts of the boundary crossing experiences unveil essential aspects of the prerequisites of elite integration, if by integration we assume not only networking but also a degree of elite value congruence. This study identifies different motivations driving boundary crossing, making individuals more or less likely to contribute to value congruence. Those who move to another sector to impose values from their sector of origin typically contribute to value congruence. Those who leave a sector where they no longer feel at home and seek out new and more attractive values in another sector are less likely to contribute to value congruence. Those who move back and forth across sector boundaries to gain influence may or may not contribute to value congruence. This study opens up new ways of defining and exploring value congruence in elite integration studies.

Department/s

  • Department of Political Science
  • LU Profile Area: Human rights
  • Civil Society and Social Movements
  • Professions and Organisation
  • School of Social Work

Publishing year

2024-01-02

Language

English

Pages

161-181

Publication/Series

Civil Society Elites : Exploring the Composition, Reproduction, Integration, and Contestation of Civil Society Actors at the Top

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Topic

  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Status

Published

Project

  • Civil society elites? The composition, reproduction and integration of elite groups in Swedish civil society

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-3-031-40149-7
  • ISBN: 978-3-031-40150-3