Quarante ans de cabinets ministériels

Public opinion is eager to believe that those who, relatively anonymously, surround, aid, and advise the politician wield a great deal of influence. The "powers behind the throne " are thus invested with a power ail the stronger as it is thought to be secret, and in any case, is poorly known. This book dismisses thèse preconceived ideas. The names cautiously pronounced designate, in the vast majority of cases, men (and more rarely women) who hold clearly defined posts in ministerial cabinets. Who are thèse men ? Where do they corne from ? What are their motivations and préoccupations ? What is the rôle of the Cabinet, the institution which unités their efforts, in the decision-making process ? A major study of four différent political régimes shows the real importance of thèse men and the growing rôle in French political life that this original body, the ministerial cabinet, is taking in our institutions.