Governing and Governance in France

Discusses key challenges faced by France's governors and identifies a form of governance mediated by domestic institutions, ideas and interests.

Alistair Cole (Author)

9780521608312, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 August 2008

264 pages, 6 tables
22.6 x 15.1 x 1.5 cm, 0.42 kg

'Built upon the firm foundations of exhaustive fieldwork and an immensely detailed grasp of both the contours of the French state, and the debates surrounding its contemporary evolution, Governing and Governance in France combines admirable empirical depth with impressive and insightful theoretical sophistication. Systematically situating French governance and state capacities in a broader comparative and conceptual context, Cole's outstanding book lucidly explores the dilemmas and difficulties of the profound political and economic transition from dirigiste market-steering state to France's contemporary regulatory, market-supporting state. This theoretically and empirically ambitious book also masterfully synthesises and critiques an impressive range of political science literature, and it will be compulsory reading for all serious scholars of the evolving nature of governance, and of contemporary French politics.' Dr Ben Clift, Associate Professor of Political Economy, University of Warwick

As a leading European nation with a particular state tradition and historical legacy, France has long fascinated foreign observers. In recent decades, the 'orthodox model' of French politics and policy-making has been challenged by powerful forces of globalization, Europeanisation, decentralization, administrative reform and changing patterns of state-society relations. In this compelling examination of French politics since the 1970s, Alistair Cole discusses these key challenges and identifies the key drivers of change. He argues that French-style governance is an untidy affair, rather than a neatly ordered and organized hierarchy, and that, though changes in France are comparable to those in other European Union countries, its governance is mediated by domestic institutions, interests and ideas. The pressures facing France are viewed through nationally specific lenses and mediated in ways that ensure that the French polity retains distinctive characteristics.

Preface
1. Governing France
2. Reforming the state
3. Decentralisation and local governance
4. Europeanisation
5. State capacity and public policy
6. State-society relations
7. Making sense of the state
8. Governing and governance in France.

Subject Areas: EU & European institutions [JPSN2], Politics & government [JP], Sociology [JHB]