This book argues that, under certain societal and institutional conditions, party-, interest group- and bureaucracy-based elites can interact positively to extend political timeframes beyond short electoral terms and foster reasoned long-term planning for democratic decision making. Focusing on Finland within a broader analytic framework and comparative context, it unearths institutions and practices that give the elites capacity to curtail democratic short-sightedness and offer long-term solutions for contemporary threats such as economic globalization, climate change, geopolitical competition. The study also reveals factors that condition the operative capacity of future-regarding institutions. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of political science, public policy and administration, elites and management, and futures studies.
