Contenu du sommaire : Sociologie politique des passeurs : acteurs dans la circulation des savoirs, des normes et des politiques publiques

POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY OF PASSEURS ACTORS AND THE CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE, NORMS AND PUBLIC POLICIES`/titrebThe article introduces the special issue on « passeurs ». It examines whether, in diverse spatial and temporal configurations, a common sociological figure emerges in the transfer of ideas, norms and public policies : the passeurs. Passeurs are actors who work on transfer processes. Yet, the status or vocation of these actors is not specifically related to their transfer activities. Passeurs have three characteristic features that distinguish them from brokers : they are both intermediaries and producers, or intermediaries and receivers of norms ; their activity implies investing in a new social role ; and they are often secondary actors in the social fields in which they operate. Through contributions from research in international sociology and research in the sociology of public action, our dossier proposes a first analysis of the categories of passeurs into three pairs of opposition : passeurs of conviction vs. professional passeurs ; internal passeurs vs. external passeurs ; single-positioned passeurs vs. multipositioned passseurs.

PASSEURS IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS IN GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICY`/titrebThis article studies activities of transnational « passeurs » focusing on the case of the emergence and diffusion of the « Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development » norm between 1990 and 2015. Drawing on qualitative document analysis, interviews and observations, the paper shows how actors linked to the OECD Secretary General evolve in a competitive political environment around the very definition of the norm that is transferred. It argues that international norm circulation is largely determined by the ability of passeurs to take advantage of expert networks and global policy processes in the context of international organizations. For that purpose, passeurs can take on different roles. Hence, the article identifies two distinct roles of passeurs in global sustainability governance : « professional intermediaries » and « multi-positioned entrepreneurial passeurs ».

`titrebPRODUCING PASSEURS. A STRATEGY TO TRANSFER INTERNATIONAL NORMS`/titreb
The article examines how and why actors become « passeurs » (a notion close to the one of norm and policy brokers). Based on extensive field research, this case study focuses on the transfer of asylum norms in Ukraine. International organisations establish a transfer chain and recruit employees who, together with local NGO staff, frequently new to the asylum field, become professional passeurs. They spread international norms among Ukrainian state officials, often via personal links, and succeed in turning them into voluntary passeurs. Studying transfer through the lens of passeurs helps to nuance the dichotomies between imposed and voluntary transfer, as well as between norm promoters and recipients. It also contributes to emerging research on the temporalities of transfer.

PASSEURS AND THEIR BELIEFS. PREVENTING RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM IN THE GERMAN LAND OF BRANDENBURG`/titrebThis article examines the influence of « passeurs » (a notion close to the one of norm and policy brokers) on the policy against right-wing extremism during the preventive turn which occurred in the German Bundesland of Brandenburg in the late 1990s. Whereas this policy was traditionally conducted by state actors and was characterised by the use of repressive instruments, so-called passeurs have developed and enhanced the circulation of preventive norms in the Land of Brandenburg. I show that the circulation of preventive norms is a process that strongly relies on the individual convictions of passeurs. These convictions are articulated with a national ideal setting favourable to the norms promoted by passeurs, which eventually serves their personal interests. Yet, actors only fully become passeurs when they institutionalise their preventive actions and therefore manage to collectively and systematically transfer their practices. An actor-centred constructivist approach which combines ideas, institutions, and interests enable me to develop a sociology of passeurs and to highlight their central role in the policy shift against right-wing extremism in Germany.

THE TEMPORALITY AND ROLE OF PASSEURS. THE TRANSFER AND REINFORCEMENT OF HEALTH CARE NORMS PERTAINING TO SOCIAL VULNERABILITY IN FRENCH PUBLIC HOSPITALS`/titrebDrawing on the concept of « passeurs », as actors facilitating the circulation of norms, this article analyzes both the transfer and consolidation of health care norms pertaining to social vulnerability in French public hospitals. The initial export phase of the norms from the humanitarian field (1990-1998) involved passeurs with a strong conviction, occupying an eminent position in both, the humanitarian and hospital fields. This process led to their institutionalization in form of units dedicated to the access of health care for vulnerable patient in 1998. The second phase of consolidation and translation of the norms (2000-2015) took place within the hospitals involving PASS professionals. Passeurs of the second phase consolidated the transfer according to two modes, either by preserving the norms as they were bequeathed by the first generation of passeurs, or by adapting them to the neo-managerial standards prevailing in French hospitals at the time. The article shows that passeurs differ according to their (individual or collective) strategies and their arenas (professional association, conferences).