Articles by François Randour
Political Research Exchange, 2021
The literature on national parliaments and the EU has built up its knowledge on the strength and ... more The literature on national parliaments and the EU has built up its knowledge on the strength and activities of domestic parliaments in the European Union. While these studies were of outmost importance to understand how and why parliaments and MPs act on EU affairs, we still know little on the influence of domestic parliaments on the EU policy of their executive and on EU policy-making more generally. The article first presents the current gaps in knowledge as well as the challenges to study the influence of parliaments in EU affairs and ends by presenting a research strategy which advocates ‘reconnecting’ empirical works on national parliaments and the EU with the Principal-Agent model. This research agenda could foster new theoretical and empirical studies with important implications for the debate on the (re)parliamentarisation of the European Union as well as on EU negotiations.
Discourse & Society, 2020
There is a long tradition of linguistic research on political discourse, but little attention has... more There is a long tradition of linguistic research on political discourse, but little attention has been paid to what the concept of political discourse itself encompasses. With this in mind, this article aims to understand what types of discourse are categorized as ‘political’ in linguistic research and what their characteristics are (form, type of actors, policy domains, geographical coverage). To this end, we conducted a systematic literature review of 164 scientific articles from the Scopus database. Overall, the findings show that political discourse is generally limited to the discourses of (institutionalized) political elites and most specifically to oral monological speeches. The review also highlights discrepancies regarding the geographical scope and the policy domains covered by the empirical analyses, more specifically a bias toward the Western world and issues related to external defense policies, justice and home affairs.
Journal of language and politics, 2019
This article analyses the use of (deliberate) metaphors in political discourse produced by French... more This article analyses the use of (deliberate) metaphors in political discourse produced by French-speaking Belgian regional parliamentarians during non-institutional political interviews. The article first investigates if the use of deliberate metaphor limits itself to a particular type of political discourse (i.e. public and institutional political discourse) or if metaphor use is also found in other types of settings (i.e. non-institutional political discourse). Second, the article analyses the variation of deliberate metaphor use between political actors depending on gender, seniority and political affiliation. To this end, the article applies Steen’s (2008) three-dimensional model of metaphor analysis on biographical interviews conducted with French-speaking Belgian regional parliamentarians (RMPs). Our results indicate that RMPs, when using non-deliberate metaphors, mostly rely on source domains such as construction, battle and relationships. This is in contrast with the use of deliberate metaphors, where source domains like sports, nature and container take the upper hand.
Cognitextes - Revue de l'association française de Linguistique Cognitive, 2019
There is a long tradition of linguistic research on political discourse, but there has been littl... more There is a long tradition of linguistic research on political discourse, but there has been little attention to what is meant by the concept of political discourse itself. In these studies, political corpora collected from discourses by political elites (presidential debates, presidential addresses, public speeches, …) often appear to be overrepresented, leaving aside other forms of political discourses such as media discourse on political issues or citizen discourse. In this context, this contribution pursues a twofold objective. First, we aim to understand what types of discourse are categorized as political in linguistic research and what their characteristics are (type of actors, themes, etc.). To answer these questions, this contribution provides a PRISMA bibliometric analysis on a sample of 172 scientific articles from the Scopus database. Secondly, this article explores to what extent the notion of political discourse refers to a coherent whole from a linguistic point of view. To answer this second question, we study the formal characteristics of three subtypes of political discourse (parliamentary debates, televised debates and citizen corpora) in order to assess their degree of divergence. The results of these analyses reveal a real difference between these three corpora and allow us to better understand what could constitute the political genre and its textual registers.
Basic Income Studies, 2018
Using an experimental design, this paper tackles the question of the framing impact of metaphors ... more Using an experimental design, this paper tackles the question of the framing impact of metaphors by focusing on the opportunity to implement a basic income (BI) system in a given polity. We take advantage of the preliminary stage of the BI debate in Belgium to study the influence of discursive strategies on the opinion formation process of individuals, since carefully choosing the arguments employed to address this question can help increase its psychological feasibility. Our experiment aims at determining to what extent the confrontation of individuals to metaphors illustrating the BI system impacts the way they apprehend its implementation. We show that very light variations in an informative text can induce major differences in the opinion formation process of the participants. BI proponents should thus pay attention to which metaphors are put forward in the public debate, as this could modify its outcome.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2017
Drawing on qualitative case studies of two specific European decision-making processes in the agr... more Drawing on qualitative case studies of two specific European decision-making processes in the agricultural and environmental sectors, this paper discusses how and why Belgian regional parliaments activated (or not) their control mechanisms to scrutinise their respective regional ministers. The findings show that parliamentary scrutiny of the agricultural and environmental policy fields has undergone a process of institutional and behavioural Europeanisation. Belgian regional parliaments rely mostly on classical parliamentary tools aimed at gathering information and, to a lesser extent, on constraining instruments aimed at influencing their government. Rather than trying to influence the EU negotiations, the MPs try to assess the potential impact of the reforms on their regional policy sectors. The findings also demonstrate that domestic media coverage and political salience of the EU negotiation associated with important implementing powers of regional parliaments have a positive effect on the level of scrutiny conducted by Belgian regional assemblies.
Journal of Common Market Studies, Apr 10, 2014
This article analyzes the reasons why in 2010 the European Commission proposed a legislative fram... more This article analyzes the reasons why in 2010 the European Commission proposed a legislative framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that could give some powers back to the Member States. This legislative proposal is puzzling since it moves the centre of decision-making regarding the cultivation of GMOs from the EU level back to the domestic level and it also contradicts the generally acknowledged behaviour of the Commission as a competence maximizer. Using a multilevel governance perspective and based on an extensive literature review and semi-structured interviews, the article examines the dynamics and relationships between the various levels of governance that generated pressures on the Commission to issue this counterintuitive proposal. The findings suggest that the Commission is making a (necessary) trade-off between, on the one hand, the respect of international obligations and the preservation of the internal market, and on the other hand, internal pressures towards stricter regulation of GMOs.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Mar 2014
In the wake of the Copernic reform, Belgium’s senior federal civil servants are now appointed for... more In the wake of the Copernic reform, Belgium’s senior federal civil servants are now appointed for a fixed term and guided on performance via management plans. This article sets out to assess the impact of the introduction of the fixed-term system on the autonomy of senior civil servants with regard to the horizontal departments responsible for the budget, on the one hand, and human resources, on the other hand, within Belgium’s federal administration. Based on the so-called ‘inconsistencies’ approach, the article focuses briefly on three inconsistencies: internal, discursive and contextual. An analysis of these inconsistencies confirms one of the forms of ‘cheating’ in the relationship between ministers and senior civil servants formulated by Hood and Lodge (2006), namely that the first can be inclined to reduce the margin of discretion of the latter by maintaining formal or informal mechanisms to exercise control over the provision of resources.
Points for practitioners Greater managerial autonomy for senior civil servants, as advocated by NPM, cannot succeed without a transformation of the traditional modes of operation of the political-administrative relationship accompanying structural reforms. The low degree of autonomy of senior civil servants does not stem so much from the introduction of a ‘contractual’ relationship, but from the lack of support shown by the latter in the implementation of such reforms. In the case studied, senior civil servants can only be made more accountable and given greater autonomy if the ‘pyramid’ of control is reformed and internal audit activities developed.
Revue des affaires européennes (2013)
Books and book chapters by François Randour
In: Xhardez, C., Counet, M., Randour, F., Niessen, C. (dir) (2020). 50 ans de fédéralisation de l’Etat belge: institutions, acteurs, politiques publique et particularité du fédéralisme belge. Academia: Louvain-la-Neuve, 264p. , 2020
This chapter aims at assessing the impact of the European integration on the political institutio... more This chapter aims at assessing the impact of the European integration on the political institutions of federal Belgium. Over the last 50 years, Belgian federal political institutions witnessed, in parallel, a pooling of their sovereignty to the EU level and a process of decentralization at the domestic level. Indeed, in EU federal Member States like Belgium, while some competences are highly Europeanized - e.g. agriculture, environment - they are, at the same time, regionalized or shared between the regional and national governance levels. This situation raises numerous questions, among which how are regional and national institutions in federal countries shaped by the multi-level setting in which they operate?
Against this background, the chapter tackles the following question: how does Europeanization affects Belgian federal political institutions? In particular, the chapter analyses and compares the direct and indirect consequences of the European integration on both executive (i.e. government and their administration) and legislative (i.e. regional and national parliaments) institutions. It discusses whether acting within a multi-level setting triggers, on the one hand, a rise of the degree of centralization and cooperation between political institutions or, on the other hand, whether it stimulates pressure for more decentralization. In fine, the chapter contributes to the literature on the differentiated impact of European integration as well as on federal studies.
Academia: Collection Science Politique, 2020
Il n'est pas possible de comprendre la Belgique d'aujourd'hui sans prendre en compte sa dimension... more Il n'est pas possible de comprendre la Belgique d'aujourd'hui sans prendre en compte sa dimension fédérale. Entre crises politiques, réformes de l'État et multiplication des niveaux de pouvoir, la manière de gouverner en Belgique a radicalement changé au cours des 50 dernières années. Dans cet ouvrage, alors que la Belgique vient de traverser l'une de ses plus longues crises politiques, seize chercheurs venant de huit universités belges s'attachent à évaluer le fédéralisme et ses défis.
The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union offers a comprehensive pictu... more The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union offers a comprehensive picture of the European activities of national parliaments in all the 28 member states of the EU. In the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty, it questions whether national legislatures do matter in European governance. With contributions from both academics and practitioners, this volume integrates the latest constitutional and legal developments as well as the consequences of the economic crisis in every country in the EU. Special emphasis is also placed on the actual parliamentary practices relating to European affairs. In addition, the volume includes some cross-sectional entries on key issues such as parliamentary administration and inter-parliamentary cooperation. By covering a large number of aspects and cases, this collection provides a unique source for assessing the degree of actual parliamentary and democratic control of the European governance at the domestic level.
Working Papers by François Randour
Book Reviews by François Randour
In Revue Internationale de Politique comparée (2011)
Conference Presentations by François Randour
La réforme Copernic 10 ans après : quels changements dans les pratiques de gestion des ressources... more La réforme Copernic 10 ans après : quels changements dans les pratiques de gestion des ressources humaines dans l'administration fédérale belge ? Sous-titre :Quel équilibre entre l'autonomie opérationnelle des tops managers et l'encadrement effectué par les départements ministériels horizontaux ? Christian de Visscher 1 François Randour 2
Drafts by François Randour
ECPR General Conference, Hamburg (Germany), 22-25/8/2018., 2018
This paper examines in a comparative perspective the negotiation autonomy of the Austrian, Belgia... more This paper examines in a comparative perspective the negotiation autonomy of the Austrian, Belgian and German federal executives in the Council of the European Union vis-à-vis their domestic parliaments. The paper aims at explaining to what extent, how and why regional and national parliamentary actors scrutinized EU decision-making processes and with what consequences for the executives. Relying on semi-structured interviews with representatives of the Council of the EU, administrators and parliamentarians, the paper presents original empirical data on four legislative decision-making processes in the environmental policy sector, a competence that is in part regionalized in Austria, Belgium and Germany. Hence, the paper questions the impact of the scrutiny of domestic parliament(s) on the representatives negotiating in the Environment configuration of the Council. The study conducted a crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and examined the impact of 5 variables on the negotiation autonomy of executives: (1) the preference homogeneity between federal executives and domestic parliaments, (2) the cohesion of the domestic parliamentary system, (3) the existence of an informational asymmetry in favor of executives (4) the domestic salience of the EU decision-making process, and (5) the implementing powers of domestic actors. The result shows that the level of autonomy of federal executives is closely bound to the presence or absence of homogenous preferences and of the salience of EU decision-making processes.
Conférence: Belgium:The State of the Federation, organisée par l’ABSP/ VPW,, 2019
This chapter aims at assessing the impact of the European integration on the political institutio... more This chapter aims at assessing the impact of the European integration on the political institutions of federal Belgium. Over the last 50 years, Belgian federal political institutions witnessed, in parallel, a pooling of their sovereignty to the EU level and a process of decentralization at the domestic level. Indeed, in EU federal Member States like Belgium, while some competences are highly Europeanized-e.g. agriculture, environment-they are, at the same time, regionalized or shared between the regional and national governance levels. This situation raises numerous questions, among which how are regional and national institutions in federal countries shaped by the multi-level setting in which they operate? Against this background, the chapter tackles the following question: how does Europeanization affects Belgian federal political institutions? In particular, the chapter analyses and compares the direct and indirect consequences of the European integration on both executive (i.e. government and their administration) and legislative (i.e. regional and national parliaments) institutions. It discusses whether acting within a multi-level setting triggers, on the one hand, a rise of the degree of centralization and cooperation between political institutions or, on the other hand, whether it stimulates pressure for more decentralization. In fine, the chapter contributes to the literature on the differentiated impact of European integration as well as on federal studies.
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Articles by François Randour
Points for practitioners Greater managerial autonomy for senior civil servants, as advocated by NPM, cannot succeed without a transformation of the traditional modes of operation of the political-administrative relationship accompanying structural reforms. The low degree of autonomy of senior civil servants does not stem so much from the introduction of a ‘contractual’ relationship, but from the lack of support shown by the latter in the implementation of such reforms. In the case studied, senior civil servants can only be made more accountable and given greater autonomy if the ‘pyramid’ of control is reformed and internal audit activities developed.
Books and book chapters by François Randour
Against this background, the chapter tackles the following question: how does Europeanization affects Belgian federal political institutions? In particular, the chapter analyses and compares the direct and indirect consequences of the European integration on both executive (i.e. government and their administration) and legislative (i.e. regional and national parliaments) institutions. It discusses whether acting within a multi-level setting triggers, on the one hand, a rise of the degree of centralization and cooperation between political institutions or, on the other hand, whether it stimulates pressure for more decentralization. In fine, the chapter contributes to the literature on the differentiated impact of European integration as well as on federal studies.
Working Papers by François Randour
Book Reviews by François Randour
Conference Presentations by François Randour
Drafts by François Randour
Points for practitioners Greater managerial autonomy for senior civil servants, as advocated by NPM, cannot succeed without a transformation of the traditional modes of operation of the political-administrative relationship accompanying structural reforms. The low degree of autonomy of senior civil servants does not stem so much from the introduction of a ‘contractual’ relationship, but from the lack of support shown by the latter in the implementation of such reforms. In the case studied, senior civil servants can only be made more accountable and given greater autonomy if the ‘pyramid’ of control is reformed and internal audit activities developed.
Against this background, the chapter tackles the following question: how does Europeanization affects Belgian federal political institutions? In particular, the chapter analyses and compares the direct and indirect consequences of the European integration on both executive (i.e. government and their administration) and legislative (i.e. regional and national parliaments) institutions. It discusses whether acting within a multi-level setting triggers, on the one hand, a rise of the degree of centralization and cooperation between political institutions or, on the other hand, whether it stimulates pressure for more decentralization. In fine, the chapter contributes to the literature on the differentiated impact of European integration as well as on federal studies.
mis en lumière la complexité du système institutionnel belge, mais également l’impact que cela peut avoir sur les processus décisionnels européens.