Researching Amongst Elites: Challenges and Opportunities in Studying Up

Academics often direct their research ‘across’ in order to examine issues that grip members of the middle classes, or ‘down’ in order to understand the difficulties workers and other marginalized groups endure. Research that is directed ‘up’ at individuals and groups with positions of greater wealth and power is less common, yet ‘studying up’ can contribute to our understanding of growing inequality, economic polarization and social change by studying the rich, powerful and elite in our society. Presenting the latest empirical case studies from Canada, The USA and Australia, this volume explores the challenges and difficulties involved in conducting research amongst the rich and elite, whilst shedding light on the manner in which power is harnessed, protected and controlled to manage and manipulate resources. A demonstration of the importance of studying up to our understanding of decision-making, governance and the nature of contemporary democracy in the global economy, Researching Amongst Elites will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists and geographers working in areas such as social research methods, social stratification, the sociology of elites and relations of class, wealth and power.