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The Elite Theory in the Context of Public Policy Making

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 IJEMD-SS, 2 (2) (2023), 1 – 6 https://doi.org/10.54938/ijemdss.2023.02.2.209

International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries:

Social Science

Research Paper
Journal Homepage: www.ojs.ijemd.com
ISSN (print): 2957-5311 ISSN (online): 2958-0277

The Elite Theory in the Context of Public Policy Making

Ibrahim A. Salawu
Department of Political Science,
University of Ibadan. Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Behind the management of a state, there exists the minority ''elite" that dictates who gets what, when and how. Thus, the idea
that the minority makes the decisions (policies) that affect the general public remains inviolable and sacrosanct and as such
basis for understanding public policy analysis. It is on this premise that this paper though a directed and summative content
analysis beams the searchlight on the relationship the elite and public policy with emphasis on elite theory. It conceptualizes
elite as people who are distinguished by their status, income and knowledge, and have a significant impact on how public policy
is decided across a range of political system. To this end, the influence of the elite on decision making is examined. It also
examines the concept of elite theory, its criticisms and establishes its relevance in understanding public policy dynamics.

Keywords: Elite; Policy; Policy Analysis; Public Policy

1. Introduction

The conduct of living organisms in a political environment requires rules and regulations (detailed
guidelines) otherwise known as public policy. The formulation of these policies is not everybody’s
responsibility. Thus, the elite of the society remain the makers and shakers of public policy and as such
they are the custodians of the public policy; the pendulum of public policy swings according to their wishes.
Arising from this is the existence of the minority called "the elite" – those who possess such characteristics
of power, wealth, different skills and a monopoly of vital information (Micheal P. Smith 1974, pg. 1003-
1034). Thus, every happening in a society relating to policies and directives is a product and resultant effect
of their actions and inactions.
Elites are ubiquitous, they are the most influential and prestigious stratum in society. These 'elite' are those
people who are recognized as outstanding leaders in a given field. Of course, there are political, economic,
scientific, business and artistic elite with which societies in all its strata are moved and shaken. Even in a
democratic regime where power is meant to reside in the demos 'the people' (E. S. Brezis and P. Temin,
2008), power is concentrated in the hands of a few. All political organizations, even democracies tend
Email address: [email protected] (I.A. Salawu)
2 International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries

towards domination by an oligarchy, which Mills (1956) called the power elite; this is the iron law of
oligarchy as stated by Michels (1915).

It is in this vein that the focus of this research paper examines the concept of the elite and how they structure
and pattern the political environment through public policies with a view to establishing the cost and effects
relations between the elite that paddle the canon of the leadership of the society and public policy as the
instrument through which their wishes are expressed and articulated.

Conceptual Clarifications
Policy
Policy is generally perceived as a principle of behaviour, conduct etc. thought to be desirable or necessary,
especially as formally expressed by a government or other authoritative body. Anyebe (2016, p.8) opines
that policy is all about designating behavior of some actor or set of actors such as an official, government
agency, or legislator, in an area of activity.
Policy is equally defined as a protocol that is meant to guide decisions for the purpose of achieving rational
outcomes. It is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure. This can be distributive,
redistributive, regulatory and constituent policies.

Public Policy
The term public policy is a new imaging field of study and as a result of its newness, there is no commonly
acceptable definition for the term. Public policy is a dynamic new area of study and a new area of
specialization in public administration.
Generally speaking, one can refer to public policy as a government programme of action. It stands for
various degrees of goal, articulation nominative and regulation of various governmental activities. By this,
it means what the government intends to do and how it intends to do it.

Prof. Sharkansky refers to public policy as an important activity of government. In the same vein, Y. Dror
(1971), defined public policy as a major guideline action. Similarly, W. I. Jenkins opines that public policy
is a set of interrelated decisions by political actors or actors or group of actors concerning the selections of
goals and the means of achieving them where those decisions should be in principle within the power of
those actors to achieve.

As contributed by Dean G. Kilpatrick, National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Centre,
public policy is perceived as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities
concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives.
Robert and Clark (1982) measured public policy from goal attainment and power configuration point of
view. According to them, public policy making process refers to methodical steps taken by the government
to proffer remedies to problems, make decisions, allocate resources or values, implement policies and in
general do the things expected of them by their constituencies.
From the above description of public policy, one can arrive at a cumulative point that public policy is all
about detailed instructions of what is to be done and how to go about it.
The Theory of Public Policy Making 3

Public Policy Analysis

Public policy analysis is simply the work of public analysts which is not limited to intellectuals and
academics. Public policy analysis can be regarded as the study of public policy. It is the study of the causes,
processes, formation, implementation and consequences of public policy. It is concerned with the
description and explanation of particular policy choices and content, the determination of strategies or
techniques for optimal policy making and the implementation, performance and impact of public policies.

More importantly, public policy analysis is a systematic study. It attempts to systematically gather data, to
describe, explain and prescribe public policies with the aid of certain methods and analytical techniques
that help in systematically generating and analyzing policy relevant information. Similarly, Quade in his
book Analysis for Public Decisions, published in 1976 also defines it as “any type of analysis that generates
and presents information in such a way as to improve the basis for policymakers to exercise their
judgment”.

Poister (1978) refers policy analysis as the “analysis of the determinants, characteristics, and implication
of public policies and programs and the substantive consequences and outcomes they produce”. As an
academic enterprise, public policy analysis is aimed at improving the basis for public policy making, the
content, knowledge about the outcomes and impact of public policy and ways and means of improving
public policy performance. In this respect, public policy analysis is an approach to public policy that aims
to integrate and contextualize models and research from those disciplines that have a problem and policy
orientation.

The Elite Theory

Elite theory is a theory of state that seeks to describe and explain power relations in contemporary society.
The theory posits that a small minority, constituting members of the political - economic elite and policy-
planning networks holds the most power and that this power is independent of democratic election. The
core doctrine of the elite theory is that it is a minority that makes decisions that affect the general public
and that the minority ruling gap is composed of those who occupy – commanding political positions. It
over time changes in different ways. At times, it is through the recruitment of people from the lower strata
of society into the ruling elite group. At other times, a new group is incorporated into the governing elite
or a complete replacement by a "counter-elite" through a revolution, which Pareto called the Concept of
circulation of elite.

It is therefore imperative to state clearly that the cure doctrine of the elite theory stresses that it is the
minority that makes decisions that bind and affect the general public. Hence, the bulk of the population
(masses) is destined to be ruled by their decisions. These decisions in reference are political decisions.
Mosca (1939) refers to this minority as the political class which includes a “wider circle of those who
influence governmental decision as well as those who formally decide policies”.
4 International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries

Origin of the Elite Theory

Many philosophers identify Niccolo Machiavelli as the first modern philosopher because his motivations
and explanations had nothing to do with religion. He was a realist who argued that 'to achieve anything
good such as the unification of Italy and expulsion of the foreigners who ruined it- the prince had to be
rational and tough in the exercise of power. This Machiavellian power approach took root in Europe and
contributed to the elite analyses of Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto and Robert Michels.

Classic texts on elite theory include Vilfredo Pareto's The Mind of Society: Treatise of General Sociology,
Gaetano Mosca's The Ruling Class and Robert Michel's' Political Parties. Others are James Burham's The
Managerial Revolution and C Wright Mills' The Power Elite. As mentioned earlier the term "elite" had
been in use since the 16th by the traditional classical theorist like Machiavelli.

The origin of the theory of political elite, which came under active discussion by social scientists like
Schumpeter, Lasswell, C. Wright Mills, can be traced back to the writing of a number of European thinkers
in the year preceding the growth of Fascism-particularly Mosca, Pareto and Michels.

Even though this theory was first started in Central and Western European countries; as a critique of
democracy and socialism, it was suitably adapted in the United States by a number of writers to explain
political processes as they existed in their countries. The origin of the theory of political elite, which came
under active discussion of social scientists (in the United States in the ''50s) C. Wright Mills (Sociologists)
can be traced back to the writing of a number of European thinkers in the preceding growth, particularly
Mosca, Pareto and Michels.

Elite and Public Policy: the nexus

As postulated by Prof. Adam. A. Anyebe, in his paper titled An Overview of Approaches to the Study of
Public Policy, “contrary to the belief that pluralism has an in-built mechanism for ensuring equity in the
share of power and influence in society, in reality, public policy is, by and large, the mirror image of the
ruling elite’s interest”

The elite and public policy remain inseparable. They constitute the predominant forces in the management
of any political environment. In fact, one can postulate that ‘what makes the elite relevant is tied to their
pivotal role in the making and the unmaking of public policy the symbiotic relations between the former
and latter could best capture using the elite-mass model approach to public policy.

As advanced by the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration of the California State University
Long Beach (2002), a policy-making elite acts in an environment characterized by apathy and information
distortion, and governs a largely passive mass. Policy flows downward from the elite to the masses. Society
is divided into those who have power and those who do not. Elites share values that differentiate them from
the masses. The prevailing public policies reflect elite values, which generally preserve the status quo.
Elites have higher incomes, more education, and higher status than the masses. Public policy may be
viewed as the values and preferences of a governing elite. The elites shape mass opinion more than vice
The Theory of Public Policy Making 5

versa. Public officials and administrators merely carry out policies decided on by the elite, which flows
'down' to the masses.

Quoting Professors Thomas Dye and Harmon Zeigler in Anyebe 2018, it assumes that:
▪ Society is divided into the powerful few and the powerless many; only a few allocate values
(the masses do not decide public policy).
▪ The few are not typical of the masses; elites are drawn disproportionately from the upper
strata.
▪ There must be slow and continuous movement of non-elites into elite positions, but only
after they accept elite values, to maintain stability and avoid revolution.
▪ All elites agree on basic social system and preservation values, i.e., private property,
limited government, and individual liberty.
▪ Changes in public policy will be incremental rather than revolutionary, reflecting changes
in elite values (not mass demands).
▪ Active elites are subject to little influence from apathetic masses.

Although elite theory had been criticized because:

▪ It is culturally relative and symptomatic i.e. it is borne out of bureaucratic and non-
democratic culture. The theory is accused of not being empirical. However, some empirical
statements on inequality for example were made. Those that are not testable include value
commitment to the status quo, stability, political order and domination by the minority
▪ The theory was rejected for its polemical attack on Marxism. It has to be noted that this
attack stems from works of classical theorists that were conscious rejoinders to the central
element of Marxist political theory
▪ Elite theory was criticized for assuming self-consciousness, coherence and unity of the elite
group. Elite theories-Pareto and Mosca assume the elite group is homogenous
Nonetheless, the theory remains relevant and very apt in understanding public policy. Thus, both
background and ideology have nothing to do with the validity of the theory.

2. Conclusion

The argument in this research paper is to rely on the standpoint that public policy is determined by the
ruling elite, who are distinguished by their status, income and knowledge and have a significant impact on
how public policy is decided across a range of political system. Dye (1981) summarizes the implication of
this theory as indicating that public policy reflects elite values, serves elite ends, and is a product of the
elite. The corollary of this assumption is that the general citizenry or the masses are apathetic and ill-
informed and do not determine or influence policy through their demands or actions.
6 International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries

3. References
[1] Adam A. A. An Overview of Approaches to the Study of Public Policy. International Journal of Political
Science (IJPS) 4(1), 8-17 (2018).

[2] Adesina S. O. Exploring Religion as a Tool of Nigeria’s Public Diplomacy. International Journal of
Emerging Multidisciplinaries: Social Science, IJEMD-SS, 2(1), 1 – 20 (2023).

[3] Anderson, J. Public Policy-Making. Praeger Publishers Inc., 1975.

[4] Dror, Y. Design for policy science, New York: Elsevier, 1971.

[5] E. J. Ekundayo. Political Elite Theory and Political Elite Recruitment in Nigeria, 2017.

[6] Fajobi, M. A. An Appraisal of Plato’s Idea on Philosopher King and the Nigerian State. International
Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries: Social Science. IJEMD-SS, 1(1), 1–17. ISSN (print): 2957-5311
(2022).

[7] James E. A. Public Policy making Holt: Rinehart and Winston, 1979.

[8] Jerkins, W. K. Policy Analysis: A Political and Organisational Perspective. Martin Robertson, 1978.

[9] Lafenwa S. A. Contemporary Political Analysis, University of Ibadan Press, 2005.

[10] Smith, M. P. Elite Theory and Policy Analysis: The Politics of Education in Suburbia. The Journal of
Politics, 36(4), 1003-1034 (1974).

[11] Michel R. Political Parties, New York; the Free Press, 1949.

[12] Mills C. W. The Power Elite, New York; Oxford University Press, 1956.

[13] Mosca G. The Ruling Class, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1939.

[14] Pareto, V. The Mind and Society, New York Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1935.

[15] Parry G. Political Elites, ecpr Press, University of Essex, Colchester, UK, 1969.

[16] Putnam R. The Comparative Study of Political Elites, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall Inc., 1976.

[17] Salawu, I. A. The Emergence of Dr (Mrs.) NgoziOkonjo-Iweala as the World Economic Elite of the
21st Century. International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries: Social Science, IJEMD-SS, 2(1), 1-6
(2023).

[18] Sharkansky, I. Public Administration: Policy-Making in Government Agencies. Chicago: Rand

McNally College Publishing Company, 1978.

[19] Odubayo, T. & Alabi. The Elite Factor in Nigeria’s Political–Power Dynamics, Journal of Studies in
Social Sciences. 8(1), 121-139 (2014).

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