The construction of political capital in an elite university. Networks, learnings and socialization strategies in students of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Abstract

The paper analyzes the development strategies of the political capital of the students of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), thinking about the construction of networks, the political learning processes and the socialization strategies of students who are part of the elite student’s organization in PUC. Through a qualitative approach –which mixes network analysis and a biographical approach– we analyze the trajectories of ten student leaders in this elite university space. The results show that the processes of political socialization are gradual and staggered, and that the networks of political socialization rule the resources available to compete, although these are differentiated by the political orientation (left-right) of the interviewees. In addition, it is shown that the process of political socialization implies the incorporation of ideological and practical dispositions, related to operational and managerial aspects of political activity and that the PUC is structured as a laboratory of national politics. © 2022 Universidad de Talca. All rights reserved.