Den bureaukratiske elite – karriereveje og topposter i centraladministrationen

Resumé

Artiklen kortlægger ved korrespondanceanalyse karriereveje for 122 topembedsmænd i centraladministrationen. Artiklen har tre anliggender: 1) at opdatere og nuancere billedet af den bureaukratiske elite i Danmark, som det kendes fra tidligere politologiske studier; 2) at positionere analysen i et europæisk perspektiv og i forhold til en anden dansk elite, topdirektører; og 3) at eksemplificere visse teoretiske og metodiske fordele ved felt- og korrespondanceanalyser uden så nær anknytning til Bourdieus sociologi, som det almindeligvist ses i magtstudier, bl.a. ved at introducere brug af idealtyper. Analysen understreger den stærke sociale reproduktion af magtens felt i statens top og den stigende ”djøficering” og politisering af centraladministrationen, men også at stadigt flere kvinder, yngre og mere alsidige karriereveje gør sig gældende. Analysen viser to vigtige modsætninger i topembedsmændenes karriereveje mellem henholdsvis feltinterne og -eksterne udgangspunkter og mellem dynamiske (moderne) og statiske (traditionelle) avancementer. På den baggrund opstilles fire idealtyper, som tjener til illustration af variation i rummet: den klassiske embedsmand, den moderne leder, specialisten og den politiske rådgiver. Overordnede ligheder med den tyske elitemodel (bred rekruttering og lille sektoriel cirkulation) og med topdirektørernes karrierevej i Danmark identificeres, men nuanceres forskelligt for hver af de fire idealtyper. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Troels Magelund Krarup: The Bureaucratic Elite – Career Trajectories and Top Posts in the Central Administration in Denmark This article endeavors to: 1) update and elaborate the knowledge about the bureaucratic elite in Denmark; 2) position this analysis in a European perspective and in relation to another Danish power elite, top CEOs; and 3) exemplify some theoretical and methodological advantages of field and correspondence analysis without the usual close conjunction with Bourdieu’s sociology, by introducing a new use of ideal types. In this study correspondence analysis is used to map career trajectories for 122 Danish top civil servants. The analysis stresses the strong reproduction of the field of power in the state’s top and the ongoing “djoefization” (i.e. employment of people with a social science education) and politicization of top civil servants. But it also indicates that more women and younger people have begun to appear in the field. Two important oppositions are found in career trajectories: between field internal and external backgrounds and between static (traditional) and dynamic (modern) advancements. Four ideal-types are constructed to illustrate the variation: traditional bureaucrat, modern leader, specialist and political adviser. Resemblances with the German elite (broad recruitment and low private-public circulation) and with top CEOs in Denmark are identified, but elaborated differently for each of the four ideal types. Key words: Bureaucracy, elite, correspondence analysis, the state, top civil servants, political advising.