‘Circulation of elites’ most closely refers to which one of the following?

In Vilfredo Pareto’s elite theory (The Mind and Society), the ‘circulation of elites’ refers to the cyclical rotation of elites in power—specifically the continuous alternation between ‘lions’ (rulers characterized by persistence of aggregates and force) and ‘foxes’ (rulers characterized by combinations, cunning, and manipulation), as well as mobility between governing and non-governing strata.