Contenu du sommaire

Democracy in spain : legitimacy, discontent and disaffection This article examines three basic attitudes towards democracy, and takes Spain as a case study. A variety of empirical indicators gleaned from numerous surveys are used to distinguish between democratic legitimacy and political discontent, as well as between this (which includes the well-known indicator of dissatisfaction with the way democracy works) and political disaffection. The article traces the different ways in which these attitudes have evolved in Spain over the last twenty years, and demonstrates that they belong to different dimensions. It also includes the results of two tests showing that these two sets of attitudes are conceptually and empirically distinct : a factor ana­lysis confirms the distinct clustering of the indicators at the individual level, whilst cohort analysis identifies different patterns of continuity and change accross generations.

Studying the regulatory state in europe The general move in European economies towards the privatization of public enterprises and the liberalization of monopolized markets has not resulted in a simple retreat of the state. In­stead, governments heavily « re-regulate » economic activities. The paradox of liberalization and re-regulation has given rise to the thesis of the « rise of the regulatory state in Europe » (G. Majone). This paper seeks to explore the neglected dimension of institutional contingency and variation of the regulatory state. Drawing on examples from the sensitive realm of infrastructures and public utilities (economic regulation), the paper challenges Majone's vision of convergence towards a single expertise-based, efficiency-oriented regulatory process. The main argument is that the nature and outcomes of public regulation will crucially depend on specific institutional configurations which combine European-level, national, and sectoral settings.

Deuxième partie : Passage en cabinet et trajectoires professionnelles Le devenir professionnel des anciens membres de cabinets ministériels dans cette enquête por­tant sur 422 membres de cabinets de la période 1981-1986 et 1988-1993 est examiné à deux moments différents : immédiatement après le dernier passage en cabinet et au moment de l'enquête (en 1997). La pratique du pantouflage reste limitée et concerne principalement les énarques administrateurs civils du ministère de l'Économie qui avaient le plus à attendre pro­fessionnellement du tournant néolibéral, en termes de débouchés nouveaux dans le secteur privé ou privatisé. Une autre population reste fidèle au service de l'État, en partie sans doute parce qu'elle est issue d'administrations qui ont en général peu à craindre de la politique de libéralisation (Intérieur) ou peuvent espérer des débouchés au sein de l'État liés à sa réorga­nisation (Affaires sociales). Enfin, les reconversions vers la politique professionnelle ou les promotions via des nominations au tour extérieur restent limitées. L'étude plaide pour une approche fine des stratégies professionnelles des membres de cabinets, s'intéressant aux res- The members of the french socialist ministers' cabinets (1981-1993) : recruitment and reconversion Second part : Professional itinerariesafter cabinet positions The professional fate of 422 former ministerial cabinet members having served in 1981-1986 and 1988-1993 is examined at two different points : immediately after cabinet service and at the time of the survey (i.e. in 1997). The practice o/pantouflage - a corporate job ? is infrequent ; it concerns only ENA graduates belonging to the Ministry of the Economy as administrateurs civils, who stood to gain most from the neo-liberal turn in terms of job opportunities in private or privatized firms. Another population has remained faithful to public service, partly no doubt because it had little to fear from liberalization (Ministry of the Interior) or because it could hope for opportunities linked with the reorganization of the public sector (Social Affairs). Lastly, shifts to professional politics and promotions to higher civil service bodies through tour exté­rieur appointments concern only small numbers. The article advocates studying the individual strategy of cabinet members, taking into account their resources and their values as well as changes in the structure of available professional opportunities. sources des individus et à leurs valeurs et tenant compte de l'évolution de la structure de leurs opportunités professionnelles.

A test of alternative interpretations of the contemporary politics of race : a critical examination of divided by color This paper examines two interpretations of the contemporary politics of race. One emphasizes the persisting power of racism ; the other, the centrality of politics and political values. Each interpretation, to this point, has relied on surveys tailored to its distinctive concerns. We want now to see how the racism-centered and political oriented interpretations of the contemporary politics of race when tested alongside one another in the very surveys that the proponents of a racism-centered interpretation believe make their case. The empirical results show that contrary to the racism-centered interpretation, no blacklash against blacks took place in the late 1960s ; the measure supposed to measure the new racism is only incidentally related to the two elements that purportedly comprise the new racism ; their measure owes the closeness of connection to racial policy preferences as much to tapping positive feelings of identification with blacks as aversion to them : and insofar as their measure taps core American values, rather than reflecting individualism as the racism-centered interpretation claims, it is rooted in egalitarianism, as the politics-oriented interpretation contends.

?The front national vote in the bouches-du-rhône département : a « laboratory » for an alliance between the right and the far right ? Unemployment, insecurity and immigration are the main worries of the FN voters. The dépar­tement of Bouches-du-Rhône [in Southern France] embodies this trilogy. But are these factors sufficient to explain the Front National's electoral implantation in that département ? The article seeks mainly to answer that question. The data show that unemployment and the pre­sence of a foreign population have no direct impact on the elections and that conventional wisdom notwithstanding, the FN vote, particularly in Marseilles, does not correspond to the map of its parameters. A broader examination reveals a strong proximity between the electorate of the right-wing parties and that of the FN, judging from vote « transfers ». The origin of that phenomenon is clearly deeper than a simple alliance effect. It is to be sought in the local poli­tical tradition, in an ideological kinship between the right and the far right.