ABSTRACT
This chapter presents how the attention to and the study of elites have evolved. While there is no lack of historical antecedents for the current debate, during the latter part of the twentieth century the interest in elites declined. The workings of the power elite, at the other end of the social hierarchy, however, were discreetly hidden from the public eye, and public scrutiny of the privileged few was rare. While research in the social sciences followed a partly independent trajectory, it displayed a similar pattern of diminishing attention towards elites. Although the renaissance of elite studies is more, its roots may be traced back to the double crisis of the post-war settlement that manifested itself during the 1970s. While neoliberalism is commonly seen as pertaining to government and public policy, it is essential, to include the changes that simultaneously transformed large firms and their policies. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
