Standing in the space between fields: The interstitial power of elites in Italian banking foundations

Abstract

In this article, I explore interstitiality – a concept based on Gil Eyal’s notion of ‘spaces between fields’ – as a potential heuristic lens for observing contemporary elites, applying it to high-ranking figures in the Compagnia San Paolo (CSP). CSP is a banking foundation ( Fondazione di origine bancaria or FOB) that was set up in the 1990s arising from the privatization of the Italian banking sector. After outlining the theoretical underpinnings of interstitiality, I bring the construct to bear on my own empirical work. First, I elucidate what FOBs are and why they may represent a valuable interstitial observatory on a significant segment of power elite. Second, I examine CSP as an emblematic instance of an FOB. Third, I illustrate the main characteristics of CSP’s elites, suggesting that these groups reflect the features of interstitiality insofar as: they merge logics and grammars of justification from different fields; and, given their high degree of mobility across fields, they contribute to disseminating discursive and governmental practices of hybridization. My aim, as advocated for by Mike Savage and Karel Williams, is to enrich the sociological debate on elites by introducing a new conceptual tool.

The Interstitial Elites of the Italian Foundations of Banking Origin

“…Fourth are Italian and European philanthropy sectors via the Fobs' links with Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association) and their networking with other types of foundations. Furthermore, over the past two decades Fobs have consistently occupied a key role in Italian policymaking-whether alongside, as equals to, independently of, and sometimes even in a position of supremacy over, 'traditional' elected or appointed political actors (Arrigoni, 2021). This position has been legitimised over time thanks to the Fobs' legislative underpinnings, the fact that they can make free use of their assets because they are private, their 'new' philanthropic nature, and last but not least the participation in their governing bodies of figures who already enjoyed elite status in other fields and who circulate in and around the foundations, thus providing access to other resources (Khan, 2012).…”

In un diverso Stato?

“…Alla stregua di altri tipi di fondazioni -politiche (Dakowska 2014) o filantropiche (McGoey 2021) -di alcuni think tank (Medvetz 2015) o network delle nuove «élite influenti» (Wedel 2017), possono essere considerate tra i soggetti emblematici dell'avvenuto trasferimento di parti consistenti del policy making dall'arena governativa a organismi non democraticamente eletti, spesso tecnocratici, caratterizzanti la tarda modernità (Mastropaolo 2011). Infatti, dopo l'iniziale periodo di assestamento, negli ultimi due decenni, le Fob sono andate ad occupare stabilmente un ruolo chiave nel policy making italiano, accanto ai "tradi-zionali" attori politici eletti o nominati, sostituendo ai meccanismi della rappresentanza quelli della finanza e della filantropia (Arrigoni 2021;Greco, Tombari 2020).…”

World society and field theory: The infiltration of development into humanitarianism

“… 1 1 Recent literature has devoted attention to the spaces between fields. Liu (2021) proposed a Simmelian typology based on the dimensions of heterogeneity and social distance, whereas Eyal pointed to social activities that unfold between fields (Eyal, 2013; see Arrigoni, 2021). …”