Abstract

Rulers often face hostility from social elites, such as religious leaders, who have influence over popular perceptions of legitimacy. One strategy rulers use to address this is to purge incumbents and replace them with loyalists. However, purging influential public-facing figures risks provoking popular backlash. How do rulers balance the benefits of transforming the elite class against potential unrest? This paper examines a purge of religious leaders in Scotland carried out by William of Orange after the Glorious Revolution, using novel data on the universe of incumbent ministers paired with religious, economic, and political measures. The results indicate William purged incumbent religious leaders opportunistically, targeting less experienced ministers in agriculturally productive regions where he had strong popular backing. He avoided purging where his support was weaker, even of unaligned elites. The results suggest that rulers face constraints when confronting influential legitimating elites due to potential popular backlash.