As lógicas do recrutamento político

Resumo A análise da posição social e da origem das lideranças partidárias revela que os mecanismos atuais de recrutamento político tendem a favorecer as classes superiores da sociedade, embora cada partido privilegie a ascensão de frações distintas dessas classes. As oposições entre partidos que estruturam o funcionamento do campo político mostram-se, assim, como a duplicação (por outro lado, relativamente autônoma) da estruturação interna das classes superiores. As diferenças que separam, por um lado, os dirigentes do Partido Comunista Francês (PCF) e do Partido Socialista Francês (PS) e, por outro, os da Coalizão pela República (RPR) e da União pela Democracia Francesa (UDF) são, por exemplo, fortemente marcadas pela oposição entre os polos intelectual e econômico dessas classes. Do mesmo modo, quando buscam em outros espaços, o PCF e PS recrutam sobretudo agentes que ocupam as posições inferiores-dominadas, ao passo que a UDF e a RPR privilegiam o recrutamento de agentes que se encontram nas posições superiores-dominantes. Esse jogo de homologias permite também compreender a lógica do recrutamento das classes médias e popular e formular algumas hipóteses sobre os mecanismos da influência e da representação políticas. Palavras chave: recrutamento político; classes sociais; partidos.   Abstract Analysis of the original social positions of party leaders shows that the present mechanisms of political recruitment tend to favour the upper classes of society, but that each party encourages the ascent of different fractions of these classes. The contrasts between parties which structure the functioning of the political spectrum thus appear to duplicate (quite independently moreover) the internal structures of the upper classes. The differences between the leaders of the PCF and PS on one hand, and the RPR and UDF on the other, bear a strong resemblance, for example, to the contrast between the intellectual and economic poles of these classes. Similarly, when these parties recruit in other strata, the PCF and PS tend to recruit officials in lower-dominated positions, whereas the UDF and RPR prefer to recruit officials in senior-dominant positions. This pattern of homologies also explains the logic behind recruitment aimed at the middle and popular classes, and allows a few assumptions to be made concerning the mechanism of political influence and representation. Key words: political recruitment; social classes; political parties

Democracy and elites

From a sociological point of view the elitist phenomenon must be examined from two angles: the question of renewal of the elites, and that of their unity. When it comes to the question of renewal, internal mobility needs to be distinguished from structural mobility: that is to say, the replacement of one type of elite by another one. For example, could professional politicians give way in the future to amateurs because of the profound mistrust that affects them? Internal renewal is currently limited by the predominantly school-based mode of reproduction that is well demonstrated for the political elite, including the populist political elite, and produces selection effects. About the problem of unity of the elites, there are two distinct questions: are the various elites united, and each one cohesive? The monist hypothesis is faced with difficulties when it is applied to "modern" societies, characterized by a structural differentiation of their sectors of activity. The struggles between elites open up opportunities for the representation of interests of groups outside the elites. Political elites are divided along individual and collective interests and their divisions echo social cleavages. They must be defined and analyzed by their political and ideological tendencies and their links with various groups, but also by their relative positions within political fields. Such hypotheses highlight the distrust in established elites and the populist phenomenon in times of crisis

Mort et résurrection du paradigme de Michigan. Remarques sur quelques résultats récents de la sociologie des comportements politiques aux États-Unis

The sociology of political behavior was influenced for a long time by the work done at the University of Michigan, to such an extent that there were references to the domination of the Michigan paradigm. Recent works — particularly those of Norman Nie, Sidney Verba, and John Petrocik — show that the American voter has changed, that his behavior no longer corresponds to the portrait sketched by the dominant paradigm with reference to his level of political competence, and to thé way his electoral choices are mode and to his party identification. These authors come to the conclusion that the work of the Michigan group is out dated; that it was valid for only one specifie period of American history. But the old and the new results are not necessarily contradictory and can be integrated into a model taking into account both the individual characteristics of the social agents and the working of the political field.La sociologie des comportements politiques a longtemps été influencée par les travaux des chercheurs de l'Université du Michigan, au point que l'on a pu parler d'une domination du paradigme de Michigan. Des travaux récents — notamment ceux de Norman Nie, Sidney Verba et John Petrocik — montrent que l'électeur américain a changé, que son comportement ne correspond plus au portrait brossé par le paradigme dominant, en ce qui concerne tant le niveau de compétence politique, les modalités de ses choix électoraux, que son identification partisane. Leurs auteurs en tirent la conclusion que les travaux du groupe de Michigan sont dépassés, qu'ils ne vaudraient que pour une période spécifique de l'histoire américaine. Mais les résultats anciens et nouveaux ne sont pas nécessairement contradictoires et peuvent être intégrés dans un modèle tenant compte à la fois des caractéristiques individuelles des agents sociaux et des conditions de fonctionnement du champ politique.Gaxie Daniel. Mort et résurrection du paradigme de Michigan. Remarques sur quelques résultats récents de la sociologie des comportements politiques aux États-Unis. In: Revue française de science politique, 32ᵉ année, n°2, 1982. pp. 251-269

Économie des partis et rétributions du militantisme

PARTY ECONOMY AND REWARDS FOR MILITANCY, by DANIEL GAXIE Political parties spread, often successfully, the ideology of the devoted and disinterested militant. Partisan activity is described in such cases as action in support of a cause. However, analysis of the workings of political organisations points to the existence of mainly symbolic rewards. In addition to positions in the machinery of State and official internal responsibilities, parties do in fact provide their members with opportunities of social advancement and, above all, integration. These bonuses explain in turn the structural characteristics of parties such as the strong organisation, the strict hierarchy, the role of ideology and the small size of basic units in collective organisations. They also throw light on the laws governing the way they work, in particular the factors affecting membership or militancy and the logic behind splits or the constitution of factions. [Revue française de science politique XXVII (1), février 1977, pp. 123-154.]ECONOMIE DES PARTIS ET RÉTRIBUTIONS DU MILITANTISME, par DANIEL GAXIE Les partis politiques diffusent, souvent avec succès, une idéologie du militant dévoué et désintéressé. L'activité partisane est alors présentée comme une action au service d'une cause. Or l'analyse du fonctionnement des organisations politiques permet de mettre en évidence l'existence de rétributions principalement symboliques. Outre les postes dans l'appareil d'Etat et les responsabilités hiérarchiques internes, les partis fournissent en effet des possibilités d'ascension et surtout d'intégration sociales à leurs adhérents. Ces gratifications permettent à leur tour de comprendre les caractéristiques morphologiques des partis comme la forte articulation, la stricte hiérarchie, le rôle de l'idéologie et la faible dimension des unités de base des organisations de masse. Elles éclairent également leurs lois de fonctionnement notamment les facteurs de l'adhésion ou du militantisme et la logique des scissions ou de la constitution des tendances. [Revue française de science politique XXVII (I), février 1977, pp. 123-154.]Gaxie Daniel. Économie des partis et rétributions du militantisme. In: Revue française de science politique, 27ᵉ année, n°1, 1977. pp. 123-154