How technocratic is the power elite? A new approach and evidence from a mixed-method study of the Danish power elite

Claims about the ‘rise of the technocrats’ have a long history and have recently gained new attention in the context of debates on economic policy, neoliberalism and the mounting conflict between technocracy and populism. Against this background, we conduct the first comprehensive study of technocratic dominance in a national power elite, based on unique bibliographical and relational data on the 423 individuals in the Danish power elite, as well as in-depth interviews with 30 of its most prominent members. On the level of overall elite composition, half of the Danish power elite is found to match the professional identity of a technocrat, although subject to significant sectoral variation, based on educational background and experience from technocratic career hubs. The qualitative data indicates that professional identity can be linked to technocratic ideology and preferences for depoliticised governance, but also provides evidence of a near-consensus on progressive managerialism, paternalistic elitism and centrist pragmatism, which include members of the power elite not formally trained as technocrats. We suggest that this calls for increased attention to the way in which economic policies and crisis management are shaped by broader technocratic ideology and beliefs, which are part of a mounting conflict with populism.