Contenu du sommaire

The political system and social mobility Daniel Boy The analysis of the political consequences of social mobility gave rise as early as thé 19th century to a current of theoretical reflection which has had a considerable influence on early empirical research in this field, which began during the 1950s. Authors such as Lipset and Bendix consider that the currents of social mobility tend in the main to defuse the social and political demands of the working class, and thereby strengthen the existing political System. Analysis of the findings arrived at by these authors, supplemented by later research, shows that these initial conclusions may be seriously doubted. By constructing a plausible political reproduction model and varying the mobility flows, it is apparent that political equilibrium is affected less by the degres of mobiliiy within a society than by the movements that affect its overall social structure.

Administrative experimentation and rural development Michel Vilain Administration is now openly giving place to « local expériments » and is exalting this practice of administrative experimentation as a veritable doctrine for progress. Rural development is one of the prime areas for this new administrative empiricism, but it has to conted with the reluctance of both civil servants and leading citizens. The failure of experimental policies to prompt apprenticeship and decentralisation processes illustrates the viscosity of the structures and the sluggishness of behaviour in the French territorial administration model.

Stalin and national revolutions Thaï quang trung Analysis of Stalin's policy vis-à-vis national revolutions confirms the view concerning the limited nature of Soviet policy in the aftermath of world War II. It is clearly apparent that the post-war crisis in alliances cannot be blamed on Stalin's desire for revolution. Stalin no longer looked upon world revolution as the prime objective of Soviet foreign policy, and still less as an historical necessity. Stalin had decided on the division of the world into zones of influence and, no doubt, a lasting under standing with the might of America.

Les nouvelles institutions d'autonomie mises en place en Catalogne permettront-elles de réduire l'antagonisme multiséculaire qui affecte les relations entre l'Etat espagnol et l'ensemble catalan ? Au-delà des incertitudes qui pèsent sur l'expérience entreprise, on doit noter que la transformation des structures économiques et sociales de l'Espagne rend désormais possible le dialogue entre le centre castillan et les forces catalanistes. Si l'expé­rience n'en est qu'à ses débuts, les conditions de succès existent réellement pour la première fois.

L'étude des groupes de pression, longtemps secteur de pointe de la science politique, a connu dans la dernière décennie un certain discrédit. Cette perspective reste cependant fort utile pour l'analyse du système politique italien. Si le rôle des partis politiques appa­raît toujours prépondérant durant toute la période de l'après-guerre, les principaux groupes de pression traditionnels et, après 1968, les nouveaux groupes associatifs, n'en ont pas moins exercé une forte influence.