The Methodological Field of Elitology and the Interview Method | South-Russian Journal of Social Sciences
The Methodological Field of Elitology and the Interview Method
Vol. 25 (2024) No. 3, Sociological Interpretations
Vol. 25 (2024) No. 3
Sociological Interpretations

The Methodological Field of Elitology and the Interview Method

Grigoryan D.K.
South-­Russian Institute of Management RANEPA
ORCID ID 0000-0002-9411-8418
PDF (Russian)
https://doi.org/10.31429/26190567-25-3-131-142
https://doi.org/10.31429/26190567-25-3-131-142

How to Cite Array

Grigoryan D.K. (2024) The Methodological Field of Elitology and the Interview Method. South-Russian Journal of Social Sciences, 25 (3), pp. 131-142. DOI: 10.31429/26190567-25-3-131-142 (In Russian)
Submission Date 2024-07-29
Accepted Date 2024-09-05
Published Date 2024-09-30

Copyright (c) 2024 Давид Кромвелович Григорян

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The article examines the methodological and practical constraints associated with the use of the interview method in elitology and presents a critical examination of contemporary methodological approaches in elitology. The study examines the genesis of terminological and interpretative apparatus in Russian elitological research, with a focus on borrowings from the arsenal of Western political science. The Anglo-­Saxon American political science tradition is founded upon a metaphorical interpretation and symbolic representation of imperial Roman civilization, as well as an anthropocentric worldview and cognitive logic that formalizes the perception of the institutional structure of the political system. In accordance with the prevailing structural-­functional methodological approach in Western political science, the existence of a functional political institution formally subordinated to legal grounds within the system of state and political administration and municipal self-government signifies the unequivocal fulfillment of political functions prescribed at the legislative level with a predetermined outcome by political institutions and representatives of political elites participating in them within the framework of political participation. Any divergence from the results defined by legal norms is regarded as a deviation. At the same time, the character of a political elite representative, encompassing their social, cultural, communicative and political capital, emotional and individual psychological and volitional attributes, diverse historical and contemporary contexts, and political strategic vision, is not a subject of analysis. The interview method used in elitology enables the acquisition of a representative image of a politician’s personality, their and emotional attributes, and cognitive processes, to varying degrees of completeness. Thereupon, the interview method employed in elitological research is not entirely objective. The representativeness of the data obtained is dependent upon a number of factors, including the design of the interview program, the personality of the interviewer, the ability to foster a trusting atmosphere, and the accuracy of the interpretation of the results.

Keywords

political elites, methodology of political science analysis, anthropo-­politological aspects of research, possibilities and limitations of the interview method

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