The New Custodians of the State: Programmatic Elites in French Society

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The New Custodians of the State: Programmatic Elites in French Society by Genieys,William, 9781412811569
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  • ISBN: 9781412811569 | 1412811562
  • Cover: Hardcover
  • Copyright: 3/15/2010

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The New Custodians of the State uses contemporaryFrance to reassess sociological theories of political andpolicymaking elites. Based on detailed case studiesdrawn from social policy and national defense sectors,it concludes that a new type of sectorally-based elite hasrisen to prominence in France since the 1980s. Genieyssuggests that programmatic elites found in specific policysectors, made up of individuals linked both by commoncareer paths and the resulting skills and expertise, shouldbe seen as new guardians of state power.Like their "technocratic" predecessors, programmaticelites maintain a high degree of independence with respectto electoral politics and to civil society; like them, theyshare an ideological commitment to protect and expandthe role of the state in French society. Unlike them,however, these new guardians of the state are structuredaround specific policy programs and limited in scope to agiven sector. Competition among programmatic elites atthe highest levels of the state emerges as the chief drivingforce behind innovation for social change.The New Custodians of the State introduces programmaticelites both as real-world actors and as an analyticcategory and highlights the limits of elite power byanalyzing the defeat of efforts by the French Ministry ofDefense. This book presents a thought-provoking criticalcase study that suggests that models presenting either asingle unified state elite or those that herald or decry thedemise of the state require modification. The work willbe of interest to students and scholars of France, and itssociety and government as well as anyone interested inthe policymaking process in other countries with respectto domestic policy or national defense.
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