Suchergebnisse

First published in 1979, in Conflict and Consensus in France a number of authorities on French politics examine some of the basic problems of legitimacy, consensus formation and conflict resolution which the regime continues to face after the elections of March 1978. Early in 1978 the French Fifth Republic, then twenty five years old, appeared to be facing a major political and constitutional crisis. That crisis did not materialize as the result of the totally unexpected defeat of the left in the March 1978 elections. Professor Douglas Johnson analyses the historical debate about the divisions in French society. John Frears raises the question of the validity of President Giscard d'Estaing's views on legitimacy and consensus. Vincent Wright looks at the conflicts which emerged during the March 1978 election campaign and the extent to which they have been resolved. Dissentient France' is examined by Professor Jack Hayward while Anne Stevens explores the conflicts which riddle the French administration. Four policy areas are then analyzed by Diana Green, Ezra Suleiman, Dorothy Pickles and Howard Machin in order to determine the extent of conflict and consensus among the French political elites. This is an important historical reference work for students and scholars of French politics.

Politics and Administration under the French Fifth Republic ; Accusations of political meddling made against the administration in the Fifth Republic merit deeper reflection upon the relationship between politics and the administration. They would appear to be over simplifications, which do not take account of the much more complex realities of the French political and administrative System. The force of tradition, the importance of what is not said, the extreme extent to which relationships are personalised are among the characteristics which make it impossible to attempt to create a model of the System.

The Administrative State : Myth and Reality ; To strengthen the administration while at the same time assuring its subordination : these were the objectives of the founders of the Fifth Republic. The resuit has many nuances. There hâve been numerous reforms but these hâve lacked cohérence. The réduction of the power of the administration is the resuit particularly of internal divisions and reflects its extremely diverse component parts. Controls over its activities hâve been stepped up and, naturally, the more the administration intervenes the more it exposes itself to extemal pressure groups with which it enjoys co-operative, if not dépendent, relationships.

Letters to an American Friend : the Ten Paradoxes of the French Administration ; The enumeration of a number of paradoxes with regard to the administration in France offers a living panorama of its reality. Thus, while it présents itself as unified and indivisible, the Republic is a site of confrontation between diverging interests ; while acknowledging that there is a problem of co-ordination, govemments do not cease to make it worse ; the dogma of the 'general interest' is smashed to pièces by practices which are known to exist by everyone and are tolerated ; while relatively non-unionised in general, the country has a public sector in which trade unions play a determining rôle ; admired abroad, the French administration is criticised ferociously in its own country... These paradoxes help to form an assessment of an administration which is not only an institution watching over public policy, but is in itself an arena for the activities of a large part of the political, financial and industrial elite of the country.

The Fifth Republic : From the Droit de l'État to the État de droit ? ; In 1958 the French legal System was the direct inheritor of a long tradition with its roots in the Ancien régime and which was characterised by a natural distrust of judicial authority. The Fifth Republic has been marked by a 'judicialisation' of public acts through the increased autonomy of French and European judicial authorities and through the advent of a control over the constitutionality of législation. This increase in the power and the rôle of the judiciary in public life is due to a great number of factors — démocratie, économie, social and political. Notably the judge plays the rôle of referee at the heart of political power and suppléments démocratie control mechanisms with regard to numerous affairs.

The National Co-ordination of European Policy-making Negociating the Quagmire ; The co-ordination of European policy poses major problems for member States. The need for constant decision-making, conflicts between sectorial interests, the web of power networks and interests, agenda changes, the fluctuation of members, the overlap of legislative and executive powers and indecisive procedures are among the variables which State administrations are badly prepared to manage. Two levels of co-ordination exist — national and community. At the national level Systems of co-ordination vary enormously from one country to another. At the community level, co-ordination is carried out for ail countries by permanent représentatives. But internai conflicts are reflected at European level.

Questions from an English Jacobin to French Regionalists ; Regionalisation does not seem to be the System best able to respond to the needs identified by regionalists themselves. According to regionalists, decentralisation should increase administrative efficiency, create a more rational and more just framework for economie action and be more democratie. Analyses show, however, that a centralised State is often more apt at responding to these requirements.