Répartition des pouvoirs et formes comparées d'administration locale aux États-Unis
By: BECQUART-LECLERCQ, Jeanne
.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Paris : IIAP, juil./sept. 1981Revue Française D'Administration Publique 19, p. 35-56Abstract: A comparison of local government requires to go beyond superficial phenomena of designation or verbal explanation in an endeavour to apprise the essential feature of socio-political mechanics. The author discusses the institutional framework of the US local government and shows the real implication of the famous tradition of autonomy and 'self-government': in theory, the local administration is endowed with what is known as 'home-rule', but in actual fact, local government is a puppet, the strings of which are pulled by the States. In addition, some local entities are threatened by absorption and have to fight against the imperialism of neighbouring townships which benefit from the priviledges granted by city expansion legislation.Abstract: The analysis of the typical features of local government highlights the complexity and the variety of the American local system and shows how each type forms a structure which resembles more less that of the French commune, in particular as regards the main local representative, the Major, sometimes elected at large by direct ballot, sometimes coopted from among the municipal council. An enquiry carried out in a sample of Wisconsin burroughs shows a relative decrease of the political aspect of local government in favour of local bureaucracy and pressure groups
A comparison of local government requires to go beyond superficial phenomena of designation or verbal explanation in an endeavour to apprise the essential feature of socio-political mechanics. The author discusses the institutional framework of the US local government and shows the real implication of the famous tradition of autonomy and 'self-government': in theory, the local administration is endowed with what is known as 'home-rule', but in actual fact, local government is a puppet, the strings of which are pulled by the States. In addition, some local entities are threatened by absorption and have to fight against the imperialism of neighbouring townships which benefit from the priviledges granted by city expansion legislation.
The analysis of the typical features of local government highlights the complexity and the variety of the American local system and shows how each type forms a structure which resembles more less that of the French commune, in particular as regards the main local representative, the Major, sometimes elected at large by direct ballot, sometimes coopted from among the municipal council. An enquiry carried out in a sample of Wisconsin burroughs shows a relative decrease of the political aspect of local government in favour of local bureaucracy and pressure groups
Click on an image to view it in the image viewer
There are no comments for this item.