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Genieys, William, 2010, The New Custodians of the State. Programmatic Elites in French Society , New Brunswick & New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, xi 213pp., ISBN 978–1412811569, $49.95 (hb)

Genieys, William, 2010, The New Custodians of the State. Programmatic Elites in French Society ,... The study of elites has traditionally attracted the attention of sociologists and political scientists alike. Particular attention is usually paid to elites in the process of modernisation, societal transition and change. In the case of France, a country where the major societal revolution took place, the ability of elites to engage the wider society successfully is of major importance, as social unrest somehow has become part of the political milieu. Even at the time, when this review is written, the French cities and streets are bulging with people – workers, students – who are dissatisfied with the ruling party and President Sarkozy’s proposal to reform the pension system and to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Although, this is still a lower retirement age than many other European/EU countries the public outbursts of dissatisfaction have been strong. Throughout the history of the French state the bureaucrats and technocrats have held a very prominent role. The system of preparing the top echelons of those who will be running the government agencies and largest national enterprises has been traditionally highly elitist, where Grande Ecoles have played a prominent if not an exclusive role. The book starts with the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Comparative Sociology Brill

Genieys, William, 2010, The New Custodians of the State. Programmatic Elites in French Society , New Brunswick & New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, xi 213pp., ISBN 978–1412811569, $49.95 (hb)

Comparative Sociology , Volume 11 (4): 626 – Jan 1, 2012

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Book Reviews
ISSN
1569-1322
eISSN
1569-1330
DOI
10.1163/156913312X619445
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The study of elites has traditionally attracted the attention of sociologists and political scientists alike. Particular attention is usually paid to elites in the process of modernisation, societal transition and change. In the case of France, a country where the major societal revolution took place, the ability of elites to engage the wider society successfully is of major importance, as social unrest somehow has become part of the political milieu. Even at the time, when this review is written, the French cities and streets are bulging with people – workers, students – who are dissatisfied with the ruling party and President Sarkozy’s proposal to reform the pension system and to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Although, this is still a lower retirement age than many other European/EU countries the public outbursts of dissatisfaction have been strong. Throughout the history of the French state the bureaucrats and technocrats have held a very prominent role. The system of preparing the top echelons of those who will be running the government agencies and largest national enterprises has been traditionally highly elitist, where Grande Ecoles have played a prominent if not an exclusive role. The book starts with the

Journal

Comparative SociologyBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2012

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