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Concept information

social science subjects > politics and international relations > governance > political process > iron law of oligarchy
... > social science subjects > business and management > management settings > business management > governance > political process > iron law of oligarchy
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organization studies encyc > organizational power, politics, and conflict > iron law of oligarchy
social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > politics and society > iron law of oligarchy

Preferred term

iron law of oligarchy  

Definition

  • Iron law of oligarchy is a theory of organization first developed by German sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 study of the German Social Democratic Party. According to the theory, no matter how democratic at the start, all forms of large-scale organizations—democratic or nondemocratic—eventually and inevitably lead to oligarchic governance with authoritarian and bureaucratic structures. [Source: The Encyclopedia of Political Science; Oligarchy, Iron Law of]

Broader concept

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URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/N9J-Z6Z21L8G-W

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