Elite Relations in Germany

Traditionally, Germany has had a segmented elite with little interchange between economic, cultural, political and military elites. Although borderlines have become somewhat more permeable (except for military elites), the professionalisation of politics as a career has led to a political class in a static sense, that is, when it comes to securing common privileges. Political decisions, however, are not controlled by a unified political class but are the result of a complex decision making process involving a wide range of elites extending beyond the political class.