Local Governance in England and France

Addressing issues at the cutting edge of comparative politics and public policy, this book is based on extensive research and interviews with local decision makers in two pairs of cities in England and France. The book provides a rigorous checklist of institutional and policy reforms in the two countries since the early 1980s.

Local Governance in England and France addresses issues at the cutting edge of comparative politics and public policy. The book is based on extensive research and interviews, over 300 in total, with local decision makers in two pairs of cities in England and France: Lille and Leeds; Rennes and Southampton. No other Anglo-French comparative project has ever gone into such depth - based on actual case studies - making this book an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike. The book poses key questions about the changing role of the state, the difficulties of policy coordination in a fragmented institutional context, and about the relationship between governance, networks as well as political and democratic accountability. It will be of great interest to the professional research community, and practitioners in Britain, France and beyond, as well as to students of comparative politics, European public policy, British / French politics, European studies, public management and local government studies.

1. The Age of Governance2. Local Politics and Policy-making in England3. Local Politics and Policy-making in France4. The Governance of Local Economic Development in England and France5. The Governance of Education in England and France6. Governing British Cities7. Governing French Cities8. Local Governance in England and France

Alistair Cole is Professorial Research Fellow at Cardiff University. His many publications include Franco German Relations, French Politics and Society, and Francois Mitterand: A study in political leadership.Peter John is Anniversary Reader in Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London. He chaired the Political Studies Association Research Sub-Committee, 1999-2000, and worked closely with the Economic and Social Research Council as an adviser. He is the author of Analysing Public Policy.