Summary information

Study title

Power Structures of Finnish Society 2001

Creator

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (University of Tampere. Department of Political Science and International Relations)

Study number / PID

FSD1239 (FSD)

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1239 (URN)

10.60686/t-fsd1239 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Power Structures Surveys

The Power Structures Surveys examine the power elite in Finland. The respondents represent the following sectors of society: politics, administration, business life, organisations, mass media, science, and culture. The studies focus on institutional leadership positions and roles in the various sectors, not on the persons as such. The themes of the study include career, internationalisation, interaction, influence, and childhood home.

Abstract

In this power structure survey, the Finnish power elite is under observation. The respondents were from the following sectors of society: politics, administration, business life, organisations, mass media, science and culture. The study focuses on institutional leadership positions and roles in the various sectors, not on the persons as such. There were 1,285 elite positions in 2001. The themes of the survey included, among others, career, internationalisation, interaction, power and childhood home. In view of the respondents' careers, they were asked their main occupation, eventual other occupations, positions of trust, membership in different organisations and unofficial groups, and factors affecting career development (e.g. childhood home, gender). Interaction was measured by presenting the respondents with a list of possible contact partners and asking them about the frequency and the nature of the contact. The listed contact partners included, among others, the president of Finland, political party organisations, ministries, municipalities, army, church, different organisations, institutions of higher learning, and enterprises. In addition, the respondents were asked how often they appear in the media and to what extent they keep in touch with their acquaintances from younger years on account of their occupation. Internationalisation was studied by asking whether the respondents had studied or worked abroad and if they had personal contacts with citizens of other countries. In relation to power, the respondents were asked what forms of communication they considered most important in view of their own organisations. The respondents were also asked to assess the influence of various bodies (the parliament, representatives of cultural life, the press, labour market organisations, the EU, etc.). Further questions covered the greatest problems in Finnish society and the degree of antagonism between various groups in Finland. The impact of the recession on...

Social sciencesElites and leadership

Career developmentConflictDecision makingDemocracyElected officialsEliteGlobalizationMass mediaOrganizationsPolitical leadersPolitical powerPower structures

Data collection period

09/2001 - 10/2001

Country

Finland

Time dimension

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Analysis unit

Individual

Universe

The persons who are in different leading positions in the various sectors of society

Sampling procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

Kind of data

Quantitative

Data collection mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Publisher

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Publication year

2007

Terms of data access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2006). Social Upheaval and Transformation of Elite Structures. The Case of Finland. Political Studies Vol 54, Nr 1, 2006, 23-42.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2007). Nordic Elites in Comparative Perspective. Comparative Sociology 6 (2007), 158-189.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Opening the Inner Circle of Power: Circulation in the Finnish Elites in the Context of Major Societal Changes 1991-2011. Comparative Sociology 12(2013), 255-288.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). The Changing Influence of the Finnish Parliament since the Early 1990s. In: Raunio, Tapio & Nurmi, Hannu (toim.), The Serious Game of Politics. Festschrift for Matti Wiberg. Helsinki: Finnish Political Science Association 2014, 177-192
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2015). Elite Recruitment and Coherence of the Inner Core of Power in Finland. Changing Patterns during the Economic Crises of 1991-2011. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka & Borg, Sami (2004). Sukupolvien valta-asemien muutos eliiteissä ja eduskunnassa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 69(2), 147-158.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2003). Euroopan integraatio ja suomalaisen eliittirakenteen muutokset. Tiedepolitiikka 28(1), 29-44.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2003). Valta muutoksessa. Helsinki: WSOY.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Eliitti ja kansa. Kaksi eri maailmaa? Päättäjien ja kansalaisten asenne-erot vuosina 1991-2011. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 78(3), 245-258. URN:NBN:fi-fe201306144023
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Suomen poliittinen järjestelmä. Valtasuhteiden muutokset 1990-luvun alun jälkeen. Teoksessa Forsberg, Tuomas & Raunio, Tapio (toim.), Politiikan muutos. Tampere: Vastapaino 2014, 77-122.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Eduskunnan valta ja asema eliittien ja kansalaisten silmin. Teoksessa Raunio, Tapio & Wiberg, Matti (toim.), Eduskunta. Kansanvaltaa puolueiden ja hallituksen ehdoilla. Helsinki: Gaudeamus 2014, 91-108.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Suomi murroksessa 1991-2011: Muuttuiko eliittirakenne? Politiikka 54:4, 269-284, 2012.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Vallan sisäpiirissä. Suomalaisen eliittirakenteen muutos. Tampere: Vastapaino.
Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2023) Huippujohtajat kriisien Suomessa. Eliitit ja vallan verkostot 1990-luvulta 2020-luvulle. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.