Ethnographic approaches to the study of political executives

This chapter answers five straightforward questions about an ethnographic approach to the study of the political executive: What is ethnography? Why does it matter? Who does ethnography? What is the research agenda? What are the limits to an ethnographic approach?

In answering these questions, there are few ethnographic studies of the political executive that we can draw on. The main tools are participant observation and elite interviewing but they need to be supplemented by other ways of ‘being there’. The chapter discusses three key topics for future research; quantitative or qualitative analysis, bricolage, and the network analysis of court politics. It summarizes briefly the limits of an ethnographic approach. The chapter concludes that the approach is edifying even though its potential has not been realized.