The role of transnational elites and states in the protection of the middle classes. The Italo-German contribution to the International Institute of the Middle Classes in the Early Twentieth Century

The paper focuses on the influence that the interaction between elites may actually have, its potential impact on the life of States, and the concept of transnational elite itself. In particular the paper examines the importance of elites through the contribution made by the International Institute of the Middle Classes. Although the role played by such an organization has already been investigated elsewhere, a more comprehensive analysis seems to be necessary in order to explore the interaction between elites and the influence that their decisions had on the life of States, regardless of the utopian nature that the project carried out by the Institute ended up having. In that sense, while providing an insight on the European dynamics that impacted European institutions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the role played by the Institute may allow one to look at elites from a European perspective that goes beyond national borders without ignoring national interests . As a result, the Institute may not just be considered a sociocultural laboratory fostering transnational, culturally homogeneous networks, as it also played a part in the impact that “epistemic communities” had on the political, social, and economic decision-making processes and stability of some countries or areas. The contribution made by Italy and Germany within the context of the Institute over the first half of the twentieth century will be here investigated, making particular reference to the first international congresses that were held in various European cities in the early 1900s. Members of the global elites of the time participated in the congresses organized in Liège in 1905, in Vienna in 1908, and in Munich in 1911, where they exchanged knowledge about the objectives relating to the middle classes that were being pursued in Europe and the rest of the world. Such congresses became the perfect occasion to share findings of global investigations and discuss critical issues for the life of States, such as changes in the markets, the type of role that the State would play in the economy, and cooperation as a new way to foster the economic growth of States and resolve the conflict between society and the State.