Project description
Understanding governing elites in democracy
Political classes have existed since the formation of the first communities, with a small elite governing the majority. Many voters today believe that their governments serve the interests of wealthy elites rather than the people they were elected to represent. Does democracy lead to truly representative governing elites? To answer this question, the ERC-funded GETGOV project studies how democracy influences governance and decision-making. It will create a database containing bibliographic information about governing elites worldwide since 1789, including their gender and party affiliations. The project will demonstrate how democratisation influences leadership composition, suggesting that democracy makes elites more representative of the public. It will also examine whether diverse elites promote broader policies (e.g. mass primary education) and contribute to economic growth.
Objective
Ever since humans settled into communities, there have been political classes. A small elite governs, while the majority are governed. Historically, the governing elite has consisted of people from a narrow segment of society, such as aristocrats. However, the rise of democracy may have opened the path to power and changed the incentives of the leader to select governing elites from a broader segment of society. These elites may, in turn, opt for broad-based policies. Nonetheless, many voters today do not think that democracy has delivered on this promise. They indicate that their governments are captured by wealthy elites who do not care about them. So, does democracy result in more representative, diverse, and competent governing elites?
Research does not offer a clear answer to this question. GETGOV will make up for this deficit by investigating whether democracy has changed who govern us; and in turn how this impacts the decisions that are made.
To do so, it will build an unprecedented database, HistGov. HistGov will provide bibliographic information, such as gender and party affiliation, on individual governing elites globally from 1789 and onward. The project will break new theoretical ground by developing a model of how democratisation changes who governs us. An underlying notion is that democracy makes governing elites look more like the people they govern. Next, the project will use the new database to investigate whether more representative, diverse, and competent elites provide broad-based policies such as mass primary education and better outcomes such as economic growth.
This much-needed project will significantly improve our understanding of governing elites. We will know who they are, both historically and up to the present day. Furthermore, it will improve our understanding of why specific people govern us and how they impact our world. This is of pivotal importance in a world where many people feel that their political elites have failed them.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
0313 Oslo
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.