The concept of ‘global/transnational elite’ and the accompanying four arguments about its alleged formation are critically assessed in terms of conceptual clarity, theoretical consistency and the adequacy of empirical support. The advocates argue that globalization coincides with the emergence of a new ‘global’ or ‘transnational’ elite ‘without a country’, that is, a new ‘power actor’ no longer anchored within national power structures of nation-states. These arguments are found deficient. The paper concludes that the concept of ‘global elite’ has weak theoretical foundations, and that the accompanied claims about its formation are implausible. Persisting inter-elite competition and conflicts preclude the formation of a single global elite, though globalisation results in increasing contacts, coordination and collaborative links among national elites.
