1. Role of Elite in Social development
Elite are the most influential and prestigious stratum in a society. The elites are those persons
who are recognized as outstanding leaders in a given field. Thus there are political, religious,
scientific, business and artistic elite.
Parry Geriant has defined „small minorities who play an exceptionally influential part in the
affairs of society in specific fields‟
Bank described elite as „decision makers whose power is not subject to control by any other body
in the society because of their superiority‟
Political elite
A political élite is a group of people, corporations, political parties and/or any other kind of civil
society organization who manage and organize government and all the manifestations of political
power: “elites may defined as persons who, by virtue of their strategic locations in large or
otherwise pivotal organizations and movements, are able to affect political outcomes regularly
and substantially”
Political elite include those:
(a) Who are elected/nominated to central and state legislatures,
(b) Who occupy important positions in national or state-level political parties,
(c) Individuals who do not hold any formal positions either in the government or in political
parties but are still considered as persons of great political prestige and power because they
control power-exercisers (e.g., Gandhi, Jaya Prakash Narayan).
Role of political elite
Work for the interest of people
Political elites and representation are often related due to the fact that these groups are constantly
searching to control government. In modern democracies, political authorities have to represent
the interests of citizens. For winning elections, politicians must succeed in convincing electors.
Politicians are frequently dealing between the “mandate” of the post and the interests of people
that represent. Currently, these interests are expressed by public opinion polls.
Shape the political system
The functioning of democratic systems is determined not only by either for the action of citizens
or the performance of political system, but also by the behavior of political actors. Decision-
makers in public institutions are political elites and they operate through political parties.
Political elites have to deal with power institutions and “shape” the political system. In some
2. cases the elites elaborate strong rules in order to maintain their power avoiding political
competition.
Upholding democracy
Morlino (1989) argued that stability in democracies was determined by the behavior of the
political elites and non-political elites, i.e. the degree of commitment of elites with the
maintenance of the political regime of representative democracy. The main issue regarding the
link between democratic consolidation and social change is how societies define its power
structure. Power is the capacity to perform effectively in pursuing its common goals, or
regarding the ability of a group (élite) within a community to be successful in conflicts with its
rivals.
Committed to social interest
The elites are those who had a stable economic background (though politics was not their
profession for earning their livelihood), were highly educated, mostly belonged to the upper
castes, and were committed to societal interests. Their socio-political ideology was based on
nationalism, liberalism and religio-cultural reforms.
Military
Military is the armed forces of a country responsible for securing and defending a country. That
is the army, navy and marines.
Role of military
Eligible during war
The armed forces of a country are skilled and tactical in facing war because they are
knowledgeable & trained in art of warfare. The military rulers are expert and intelligent to take
quick decisions in the emergency situation of war.
Maintaining law & order
Maintenance of peace and order in the country is one of the key functions of military. When
there is possibility to occur unexpected clash or conflicts among various groups in the country,
military works as a coercive force to eliminate these. For example, in the enforcement of the
sentence of war criminals the government of Bangladesh had taken special measures in some
special areas of the country by bringing BGB (Border Guard Battalion) in the field to ensure
extra protection & avoiding clashes.
Protection of sovereignty
Military force helps to protect the country from external threats and attacks which could be
dangerous for the government & sovereignty. BGB provides guard at the border of Bangladesh
to reduce terrorist‟s activism like human abduction, trafficking of detrimental drugs etc.
3. Humanitarian help
At the time of emergency situations like war, natural disasters (flood, cyclone, tornado, Sidor
etc.) military works throughout the country to rescue the people form danger. They help the
people find a safe place, distribute medicines, drugs, safe water, food, relief etc.
Political stability
Military helps to bring about stability in the political environment of a country where the leading
political parties are in continuous rivalries among them & unable to find a way to get power in
decent way without disorder. Military works as a mediator and arranges election so that existing
political turmoil can be finished & parties may form government in constitutional way.
Implements social welfare program
Military works for the implementation of development programs taken by the government
throughout the country. For example under the social safety net programs of government BGB
works for VGF (Vulnerable Group Feeding) program like selling of rice at a lower price in open
market so that poor people with lower income can have access to basic needs.
Bureaucracy: Meaning and Definition
Bureaucracy or the Civil Service constitutes the permanent and professional part of the executive
organ of government. It is usually described as the non-political or politically neutral, permanent,
and professionally trained civil service.
(1) “Bureaucracy means the civil servants, the administrative functionaries who are
professionally trained for the public service and who enjoy permanency of tenure, promotion
within service-partly by seniority and partly by merit.” -Garner
Role of Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy or Civil Service plays an important role by performing the following functions:
1. Implementation of Governmental Policies and Laws: It is the responsibility of the
bureaucracy to carry out and implement the policies of the government. Good policies and laws
can really serve their objectives only when these are efficiently implemented by the civil
servants.
2. Role in Policy-Formulation: Policy-making is the function of the political executive.
However, the Bureaucracy plays an active role in this exercise. Civil Servants supply the data
needed by the political executive for formulating the policies. In fact, Civil servants formulate
several alternative policies and describe the merits and demerits of each. The Political Executive
then selects and adopts one such policy alternative as the governmental policy.
4. 3. Running of Administration: To run the day to day administration in accordance with the
policies, laws, rules, regulations and decisions of the government is also the key responsibility of
the Bureaucracy. The political executive simply exercises guiding, controlling and supervising
functions.
4. Advisory Function: One of the important functions of the Bureaucracy is to advise the
political executive. The ministers receive all the information and advice regarding the
functioning of their respective departments from the civil servants. As amateurs, the ministers
have little knowledge about the functions of their departments. They, therefore, depend upon the
advice of bureaucracy. As qualified, experienced and expert civil servants working in all
government departments, they provide expert and professional advice and information to the
ministers.
5. Role in Legislative Work: The civil servants play an important but indirect role in law-
making. They draft the bills which the ministers submit to the legislature for law-making. The
ministers provide all the information asked for by the legislature by taking the help of the civil
servants.
6. Semi-judicial Work: The emergence of the system of administrative justice, under which
several types of the cases and disputes are decided by the executive, has further been a source of
increased semi-judicial work of the bureaucracy. The disputes involving the grant of permits,
licenses, tax concessions, quotas etc. are now settled by the civil servants.
7. Collection of Taxes and Disbursement of Financial Benefits: The civil servants play a
vitally important role in financial administration. They advise the political executive in respect of
all financial planning, tax-structure, tax-administration and the like. They collect taxes and settle
disputes involving recovery of taxes. They play a vital role in preparing the budget and taxation
proposals.
8. Record-Keeping: The Civil Service has the sole responsibility of keeping systematically all
government records. They collect, classify and analyses all data pertaining to all activities of the
government. They collect and maintain vital socio-economic statistics which are used for the
formulation of Public policies and plans.
9. Role in Public Relations: The era of modern welfare state and democratic politics has made it
essential for the government to keep close relations with the people of the state. The need for
maintaining active and full public relations is a vital necessity of every state. The civil servants
play an active role in this sphere.
They are the main agents who establish direct contacts with the people. They serve as a two way
link. On the one hand, they communicate all government decisions to the people, and on the
other hand, they communicate to the government the needs, interests and views of the people.
