Decentralization in France: Central Steering, Capacity Building and Identity Construction

Cole, Alistair Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9222-0523 2006. Decentralization in France: Central Steering, Capacity Building and Identity Construction. French Politics 4 (1) , pp. 31-57. 10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200091

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Abstract

This article provides an overview on decentralization in France from three distinct conceptual lenses. It considers decentralization in France first as part of a wider process of state reform, an example of 'steering at a distance' drawn from a subset of the literature on governance. The second reading is of decentralization as part of an iterative process of local and regional capacity building. The third reading of decentralization, drawn from literature on new regionalism and minority nationalism, tests linkages between identity formation and meso-level political institutions. Although each hypothesis can draw some support from the evidence presented, the article concludes that capacity building captures the dynamic process unleashed by decentralization better than either central state steering or identity-based mobilization.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Department of Politics and International Relations (POLIR)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	decentralization; governance; capacity-building; identity; state
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
ISSN:	1476-3427
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 March 2017
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 18:08
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/3506

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