John Higley is professor of government and sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the Research Committee on Political Elites of the International Political Science Association. Michael Burton is professor of sociology at Loyola College in Maryland.

This culmination of decades of work by Higley and Burton on elite politics is a major contribution to modern social science. . . . One notable feature of the book is its realism: liberal democracy is not likely to spread easily, for elite agreement is very hard to achieve. A second notable feature is the empirical range: the conceptual apparatus covers, with real insight, an astonishing number of cases, making for superlative comparative political inquiry quite as much as major theoretical contribution. Highly recommended.

• Chapter 1: Elites and Regimes Chapter 2: Disunited Elites and Unstable Regimes Chapter 3: Elite Settlements Chapter 4: Colonial Origins of Consensually United Elites Chapter 5: Convergences among Disunited Elites Chapter 6: Elites and Liberal Democratic Prospects

John Higley is professor of government and sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the Research Committee on Political Elites of the International Political Science Association. Michael Burton is professor of sociology at Loyola College in Maryland.

This culmination of decades of work by Higley and Burton on elite politics is a major contribution to modern social science. . . . One notable feature of the book is its realism: liberal democracy is not likely to spread easily, for elite agreement is very hard to achieve. A second notable feature is the empirical range: the conceptual apparatus covers, with real insight, an astonishing number of cases, making for superlative comparative political inquiry quite as much as major theoretical contribution. Highly recommended.

• Chapter 1: Elites and Regimes Chapter 2: Disunited Elites and Unstable Regimes Chapter 3: Elite Settlements Chapter 4: Colonial Origins of Consensually United Elites Chapter 5: Convergences among Disunited Elites Chapter 6: Elites and Liberal Democratic Prospects

John Higley is professor of government and sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the Research Committee on Political Elites of the International Political Science Association. Michael Burton is professor of sociology at Loyola College in Maryland.

This culmination of decades of work by Higley and Burton on elite politics is a major contribution to modern social science. . . . One notable feature of the book is its realism: liberal democracy is not likely to spread easily, for elite agreement is very hard to achieve. A second notable feature is the empirical range: the conceptual apparatus covers, with real insight, an astonishing number of cases, making for superlative comparative political inquiry quite as much as major theoretical contribution. Highly recommended.

• Chapter 1: Elites and Regimes Chapter 2: Disunited Elites and Unstable Regimes Chapter 3: Elite Settlements Chapter 4: Colonial Origins of Consensually United Elites Chapter 5: Convergences among Disunited Elites Chapter 6: Elites and Liberal Democratic Prospects