Les élus ruraux face Ág la territorialisation de l'action publique

Abstract

« Territorial development policies » are intented to promote a cooperative, participatory, global, and localized mode of public action. As such, they are an ideal ground to treat the question of the alterations and recomposition of public action. This article deals more specifically with the role of local political representatives in the implementation of these policies in rural areas, in order to see in which way their place in local governance has changed. It shows that territorial anchoring is an important source of legitimacy for political representatives. In this context, while some political leaders favour territorial reorganization by taking the head of inter-communal groupings set up to implement local development programmes, political representatives mostly act in order to get resources for their constituencies.© 2003 Presses de Sciences Po.