Paris and the Provinces

The Politics of Local Government Reform in France

Peter Gourevitch

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032357713
• eBook ISBN: 9781000736298
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

First published in 1980, Paris and the Provinces explores why reforms of central-local relations in France have been so ineffectual. Professor Gourevitch discovers the cause in party politics and personal rivalries. The struggle for dominance among different parties (Gaullists, Communists, Socialists, Christian Democrats, Independents and others) and individuals (De Gaulle, Giscard, Chirac, Mitterand, Marchais, etc.) has influenced virtually every aspect of institutional reform, from the creation of the regional administration and delineation of its powers to the delegation of specific responsibilities to cities and towns.

Conflict over the mechanisms that link local life to the national government is by no means limited to France. This book closely examines comparable events in Italy and analyses the factors that differentiate the strength of 'ethnically' based challenges to central authority in Britain, Spain, Belgium, Yugoslavia and Canada, from the relative weakness of such challenges in France, Italy and Germany. By evaluating the territorial distribution between the capital and the countryside as both an influence on and an object of policy, Paris and the Provinces contributes significantly to understanding the connections between party politics and policy formation and will be of interest to students of political science, government, and public policy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part One: The Issues
• Part Two: The Debate
• Part Three: Comparisons And Conclusions
• Bibliography
• Index