Contenu du sommaire : Fonction publique : "ressembler à la population" ?

Fonction publique : "ressembler à la population" ?

• Introduction - Mme Gwénaële Calvès p. 245
  Representative bureaucracy theory's ideal vision of a civil service which reflects the wider population is used to counter two types of criticism levelled at public administration : one, an Anglo-American view, which queries the democratic legitimacy of non-elected civil services, and another, multinational state argument, which contests the legitimacy of the state itself in a quasi-secessionist context. In whichever form, this theory requires the need for legal distinctions between different groups of citizens (according to their sociological and, if appropriate, ethnic background) as far as civil service recruitment, career development and organisational regulations are concerned. If this approach to public administration were to be applied to France, a comprehensive review of the principles of neutrality, secularism, equality and general interest would be necessary. Nevertheless, analysis of multinational states'quota systems shows how such regulations can be relaxed if a more flexible approach is adopted.

• Mieux administrer une société plurielle

  • La bureaucratie représentative - M. David H. Rosenbloom p. 251
    Representative Bureaucracy. Following J. D. Kingsley's work in the 1940s, the authors trace the origins and development of the concept of representative bureaucracy in the United States. The concept suggests that a civil service which reflects the composition of society is conducive to increased practical efficiency and greater democratic legitimacy. There are two versions of this theory : one emphasises the civil service's social make-up, and notably how this affects administrative decision-making to varying degrees, and the other is more concerned with the mechanisms enabling citizens to be involved in administrative action, such as negotiated rulemaking and advisory committees.
  • Le lien entre représentativité active et passive de l'administration - MM. Kenneth J. Meier p. 265
    The Linkage between Active and Passive Bureaucratic Representation. The authors examine whether representative bureaucracy makes it easier to take account of the wide range of interests in civil society. The article provides a comprehensive account of all the theoretical issues surrounding the concepts of passive and active representation in the United States, as well as a number of empirical examples. It also looks at the factors which can be used to reduce the impact of this phenomenon and counter criticism of it. The authors then try to apply these theories to the case of France and identify elements of strong resistance to this approach in the French system.
  • Descente chez les bleus : une expérience professionnelle au sein de la police montréalaise - M. Maurice Chalom p. 281
    Life with the Boys in Blue : a Professional Experience in the Montreal Police. The author gives an account of the fifteen years he spent in the Montreal police department as a community relations adviser. In this role, he was asked to examine why his organisation was uneasy about ethnic diversity and unwilling to embrace it. He was also asked, where appropriate, to identify the causes of the problem and make proposals regarding personnel management, recruitment strategies and staff in-service training for police officers in intercultural relations, conflict management and conflict resolution. The article essentially contemplates the progress and setbacks of reform aimed at introducing community policing, which is both preventative and attentive to the specific ethnocultural characteristics of the urban area in which the police have to maintain order. The author concludes that it is impossible to reform the police without giving high priority to diversity management and interethnic relations.

• Servir un état plurinational

  • La bureaucratie représentative au sein des Etats multinationaux - MM. Alain-G. Gagnon p. 291
    Representative Bureaucracy in Multinational States. The authors provide a comparative analysis of representative bureaucracy in multinational states, described as being states with more than one group which defines itself as a nation. A clear distinction is made between multinational states (with their historically, culturally and ethnically established minorities) and multiethnic states (with their ethnic communities made up of different waves of immigration, whose culture is more reflected in family life and associations). The authors have selected four types of multinational state in which specific notions of the state, the civil service and national minority representation have gradually become dominant : Turkey, a unitary state, is characterised by extremely passive representation owing to its “Republicanist ideology”; the United Kingdom before 1997, a “union state”, had active representation resulting from a “unionist ideology”; Canada, a federal state, is characterised by a degree of passive representation which reflects the importance given to liberal values ; and Nigeria, a “federal communitarianist state”, stands out for its extremely active representation, which is the result of “communitarianist ideology”.
  • L'équilibre des recrutements dans la fonction publique belge - M. Francis Delpérée p. 307
    Recruitment Balance in the Belgian Civil Service. The Belgian civil service, which was originally established on a unified basis, has started to give greater consideration to diversity as a result of three major institutional developments. Firstly, federalisation of the state has led to new legal regulations on the recruitment and promotion of civil servants at both federal level, where access to certain positions is now subject to quotas based on language community criteria, and federated level, where the communities'and regions'civil services are now recognised as being independent. Secondly, Europeanisation of the state has led to a relaxation of nationality rules regarding access to public sector jobs. Lastly, internationalisation of society has generated new social concerns, for example concerning the representation of women in elected and public positions, the participation of non-EU foreigners in local elections and, more broadly, anti-discrimination efforts in public sector employment.
  • Un système de "proportionnelle ethnique" : le secteur public du Trentin-Haut Adige - M. Francesco Palermo p. 321
    An “Ethnic Proportional” Representation System : the Public Sector in Trentino-South Tyrol. In Trentino-South Tyrol, and notably the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, public sector jobs are divided up in proportion to the size of the three language groups (German, Italian and Ladin). This special system for the collective protection of minorities, which is described as being an “ethnic proportional” representation system, results from specific historical circumstances and the need to protect the German-speaking minority. However, it raises certain difficulties of a theoretical nature, above all regarding the danger of incompatibility with constitutional rules and EU regulations, and of a practical nature, notably owing to its negative effects in terms of impartiality and effective administration. Although the situation is potentially explosive, it is subject to almost total political and social consensus.
  • L'administration de la Nouvelle-Calédonie en mal de représentativité - M. Nicolas Clinchamps p. 335
    Representation Problems in New Caledonia's Civil Service. The author examines whether New Caledonia's civil service is representative of the territory's national and ethnic groups, and whether there is any demand for greater representation. This study on civil service officials (for whom it is difficult to obtain reliable information) suggests that this is not generally the case. It also includes an analysis of their legal status, although specific provisions only concern minor matters. New Caledonia's civil service is currently affected by two dynamic factors : firstly, the need to “achieve a new balance” in accordance with the Preamble of the Nouméa Accord, and secondly, the need to give local people priority access to jobs. The achievement of a new balance has an ethnic dimension, but it is not strong enough to foster the emergence of a representative civil service. Furthermore, giving local people priority access to jobs seems to go against such a development.

• Chroniques

  • Chronique de l'administration - Bénédicte Delaunay, Michel Le Clainche, Hervé Rihal et Luc Rouban p. 347
  • Chronique du secteur public économique - André G. Delion et Michel Durupty p. 367