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What is a career politician? Theories, concepts, and measures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2020

Nicholas Allen Open the ORCID record for Nicholas Allen [Opens in a new window] ,
Gabriele Magni ,
Donald Searing  and
Philip Warncke
Nicholas Allen*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
Gabriele Magni
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA90045, USA
Donald Searing
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599-3265, USA
Philip Warncke
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599-3265, USA
*
*E-mail: nicholas.allen@royalholloway.ac.uk
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Abstract

This paper examines the concept “career politician.” It seeks to clarify, systematize, and measure this ambiguous multidimensional concept in order to facilitate testing theories and hypotheses associated with it. We argue that career politicians are full-time politicians who lack significant experience in the wider world and have other distinguishing attributes for which they are both appreciated and criticized. From claims and critiques put forward by political scientists, journalists, publics, and politicians, we extract four principal dimensions: Strong Commitment, Narrow Occupational Background, Narrow Life Experience, and Strong Ambition. These dimensions and their indicators fit Wittgenstein’s family-resemblance conceptual structure, which is how we analyze, measure and validate them with data from a longitudinal study of British MPs spanning 1971–2016.

Keywords

career politicianprofessional politiciancareeristpolitical classpolitical ambitionfamily-resemblance concepts
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , May 2020 , pp. 199 - 217
Copyright
© European Consortium for Political Research 2020

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