Governing from the Centre
Core Executive Coordination in France
Vincent Wright author Jack Hayward author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:26th Sep '02
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Two leading authors challenge the assumption that France has a well coordinated government. The constitutional, political,and policy frameworks of coordination are critically assessed in relation to the central actors and spending ministries, as well as the formal and informal mechanisms of coordination. Four case studies are examined; the European Union, budget, privatization and immigration policy processes. The book concludes with forthright findings on a fragment executive struggling to steer a disparate and partially paralyzed institutional structure. The research findings offer precise cautionary recommendations to policy makers against the dangers of overconfident recourse to 'joined up' government. The findings are relevant, not merely to France, but generally to Western states more generally.
Overall, there is no book quite like it in either English or French, and, for anyone with an interest in this area, it deserves to be at the top of their reading list. * Political Studies Review *
... like anything written by Jack Hayward and/or Vincent Wright, this book is a pleasure to read. The chapters are chock-a-block with entertaining and always highly relevant examples and anecdotes derived from the authors' observations of French political life over a 30-year period. * Political Studies Review *
... the position of this book is straightforward. It will not be bettered. The names of the politicians will change, albeit only slowly given the sloth-like speed with which French political actors come and go, and the examples will be newer. Even so, the quality of the analysis in this book can only ever be matched, not beaten. * Political Studies Review *
[Hayward and Wright's] major and lasting contribution has less to do with a discussion about institutionalism than to deal with how core executive organizations handle interdependence relationships concerning policy issues in a politically sensitive environment. * Journal of Public Policy *
Hayward and Wright make an invaluable contribution for understanding the French polity ... they offer a comprehensive framework on a missing link in knowledge about politics and policy making in France: the centre. * Journal of Public Policy *
Hayward and Wright show an impressive ability to pick relevant details without losing the general thread of their analysis. * Journal of Public Policy *
... an excellent publication which is written in a lively way. Issues are addressed in an elegant manner. Jargon is avoided, even when the authors are theorizing. * Journal of Public Policy *
ISBN: 9780199256013
Dimensions: 242mm x 162mm x 22mm
Weight: 593g
304 pages