Transformations in political activities and careers in light of legal regulation and related instruments
Les transformations des activités et des carrières politiques à la lumière de la régulation légale et des instruments qui y sont associés
Journal L'Année sociologique - special issue
Revue L'Année sociologique - numéro spécial
Published on Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Abstract
Over the past thirty years, most European countries have adopted legislation designed to regulate political activities and the boundaries of professional politics. These laws have been introduced in response to societal demands, a lack of trust in representatives and institutions, and ’political crises’ and ’scandals’ involving elected officials. These laws and instruments contribute to the formation and governance of a group of political professionals. For example, instruments have been developed to support the ethical transformation of political spaces and the definition of good practices.
Announcement
Argument
L’Année sociologique, a French academic journal publishing in French and in English and available on CAIRN.info, is launching a call for papers to prepare a special issue on “Transformations in political activities and careers in light of legal regulation and related instruments.” This call for papers aims to analyze the long-term impact on institutions, on practices and ways of doing politics, on changes in practices at different levels, on the transformation of social norms, and the emergence of 'good practices' that are not necessarily regulated. It is also to analyse the emergence and transformation of activities and areas of intervention, and their consequences for the political competition, the division of political labour, and political careers.
Over the past thirty years, most European countries have adopted legislation designed to regulate political activities and the boundaries of professional politics. These laws have been introduced in response to societal demands, a lack of trust in representatives and institutions, and ’political crises’ and ’scandals’ involving elected officials. The legislation establishes parity as the norm, limits the possibility of holding elected office alongside other activities (whether political or not) and regulates the transition to roles representing interests at the end of a political career. It also combats conflicts of interest and promotes democratic transparency. In France, for example, political parties must present an equal number of men and women on their lists in list-based elections. In most European countries, holding multiple offices is either prohibited or limited. In the European Parliament, as in other assemblies, MEPs must submit a declaration of interests. The regulation of political activities has been accompanied by the introduction of instruments such as codes of ethics and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, as well as social norms, all of which are the subject of debate and controversy.
These laws and instruments contribute to the formation and governance of a group of political professionals (Michon & Ollion, 2018). For example, instruments have been developed to support the ethical transformation of political spaces and the definition of good practices. These include codes of ethics and registers for recusal from the examination of a text in the event of a conflict of interest, as well as the attribution of an amendment adopted by an interest group to its source. Existing work has addressed these issues from various angles and to varying degrees of depth. These approaches include studying their genesis (Bereni, 2015 ; Lorrain, 1993 ; Saint-Martin, 2014 ; Fleury, 2016 ; Zattoni and Cuomo, 2008 ; Vargovčíková and Vauchez, 2024), analysing the specific features of ethical instruments (Bolleyer et al., 2020 ; Wickberg and Phélippeau, 2025), examining gender quotas and parity in the selection of political personnel (Norris, 1997 ; Celis et al., 2014 ; Achin and Lévêque, 2014) and evaluating the effectiveness of parliamentary ethics instruments. Research has also been conducted to develop methodologies for assessing transparency (Bolleyer and Smirnova, 2017 ; de Sousa and Coroado, 2025) and analysing the impact of laws and ethical mechanisms on the behaviour of elected officials (Mancuso, 1995). While political sociology has examined the origins and implementation of various laws, particularly those concerning parity rather than transparency, the long-term impact on institutions is less well documented. This applies to practices and ways of doing politics, changes in practices at different levels, the transformation of social norms, and the emergence of ’good practices’ that are not necessarily regulated.
This issue focuses on the implementation of laws and instruments that regulate political activities, as well as their practical repercussions. The aim is to analyse the emergence and transformation of activities and areas of intervention, and their consequences for the political competition, the division of political labour and political careers. It is important to examine repercussions that go beyond the mere application of existing legislation and to consider whether laws governing political activities contribute to opening up political institutions, democratising access to elected office, fostering closer ties with certain professional spheres and renewing practices. In what ways ? Another aim is to understand how actors, whether professional politicians or candidates, respond to and adapt to these changes. This involves analysing and explaining the effects of changes in eligibility rules (Abélès, 1989 ; Norris & Lovenduski, 1995) and the ways in which political roles are assumed and institutions are inhabited (Lagroye, 1997).
The analysis of potential limitations, differential appropriations and accommodations, as well as adaptation and circumvention strategies, should enable reflection on the tensions between representativeness and effectiveness, as well as between transparency and democratic trust. This issue aims to provide contributions from the perspectives of public policy evaluation and the sociology of political life, institutions and politicians. It will highlight the limitations of measures, effects, reformulations and more or less unexpected adaptations. With this in mind, the issue aims to support renewed research on the transformations of professional politics (Offerlé, 2017 ; Michon and Ollion, 2018 ; Demazière and Le Saout, 2021 ; Rousset, 2023 ; Boelaert et al., 2023). Although it falls within the remit of political sociology, it also seeks to encourage dialogue with other disciplines, including the sociology of elites, law, institutions, labour, professional groups, gender, and social classes.
The aim is to bring together articles that adopt a variety of approaches and perspectives. Proposals in English or French may cover European and non-European contexts. Comparisons and original methodological proposals are welcome. Possible topics for articles include :
- the consequences of gender quotas and the implementation of parity ;
- restrictions or prohibitions on holding multiple political offices or positions ;
- the ethical transformation of political spaces ;
- the regulation of the combination of political activities with related or external activities.
- movement between political positions and roles in the private and commercial sectors.
- adaptation and circumvention strategies following the implementation of probity instruments, such as declarations of interests and assets, codes of ethics, and restrictions on consulting and legal activities for parliamentarians ;
- the organisation and self-organisation of political institutions.
This list is only indicative.
Submission guidelines
Authors interested in participating in this special issue are invited to submit an extended abstract (1 to 2 pages) by December 1st, 2025, to the Scientific editor(s). Any question can be asked beforehand, or requests for clarification. This abstract should identify the authors, their institutions, and their e-mail addresses ; and state the research question, field, methodology, expected results, and a brief bibliography. The selection of the proposals will be known before Christmas.
Send your paper to smichon@unistra.fr and delphine.renard@sorbonne-universite.fr
For proposals retained for the special issue, the first version of the article (maximum length 55,000 characters, following the Journal’s instructions presented on the Journal website) is expected by April 20, 2026, on the emails of the Journal and of the Scientific editor(s). The articles will then be evaluated anonymously by two reviewers of the Editorial Board and an external expert, for a publication in the Spring Issue in 2027.
References
Abélès, M., 1989, Jours tranquilles en 89 : ethnologie politique d’un département français. Paris, Odile Jacob.
Achin, C., Lévêque, S., 2014, « La parité sous contrôle », Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, n° 204, p. 118-137.
Bereni, L., 2015, La bataille de la parité : mobilisations pour la féminisation du pouvoir, Paris, Economica.
Boelaert, J., Casenave dit Milhet, L., Michon, S., Ollion, É., Vermersch, G., 2023, « La fin du nouveau monde. Sur quelques fluctuations récentes du capital politique à l’Assemblée nationale », Revue française de science politique, 73(2), p. 169-194.
Bolleyer, N., Smirnova, V., 2017, « Parliamentary ethics regulation and trust in European democracies », West European politics, 40(6), p. 1218-1240.
Bolleyer, N., Smirnova, V., Di Mascio, F. et al., 2020, « Conflict of interest regulation in European parliaments : Studying the evolution of complex regulatory regimes », Regulation & governance, 14(3), p. 428-446.
Celis, K., Erzeel, S., Mügge, L., & Damstra, A., 2014, « Quotas and intersectionality : Ethnicity and gender in candidate selection », International Political Science Review, 35(1), p. 41-54.
Demazière, D., Le Saout, R., 2021, « Vivre de la politique », Revue française de science politique, 71(1), p. 7-28.
De Sousa, Luís, Susana Coroado, 2025, « What do we talk about when we talk about ethics regulation in politics ? », Public Integrity, 27(2), p. 152-164.
Fleury, C., 2016, « Sociologie de la transparence de la vie publique : jeux d’acteurs et circulation de la régulation. Analyse de cas : Regards Citoyens », International Review of Sociology, 26(2), p. 337-350.
Lagroye, J., 1997, « On ne subit pas son rôle », Politix, 38, p. 7-17.
Lorrain, D., 1993, « Après la décentralisation L’action publique flexible », Sociologie du travail, 35(3), p. 285-307.
Mancuso, M.A., 1995, The ethical world of British MPs, Montreal, McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Michon, S., Ollion, É., 2018, « Retour sur la professionnalisation politique. Revue de littérature critique et perspectives », Sociologie du travail, 60(1).
Norris, P. (Ed.), 1997, Passages to power : Legislative recruitment in advanced democracies. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Norris, P., Lovenduski, J., 1995, Political recruitment : Gender, race and class in the British Parliament, Cambridge University Press.
Offerlé, M. (dir.), 2017 [1999], La Profession Politique, XIXe-XXe siècles, Paris, Belin.
Rousset, C., 2023, « Limiter et préserver sa pratique professionnelle. Les transformations du cumul des mandats chez les sénateurs français », Revue française de science politique, 73(1), p. 85-106.
Saint-Martin, D., 2014, « Gradual institutional change in congressional ethics : Endogenous pressures toward third-party enforcement », Studies in American Political Development, 28(2), p. 161-174.
Vargovčíková, J., Vauchez, A., 2024, « La Haute Autorité pour la transparence de la vie publique : naissance d’un régulateur déontologique aux frontières public-privé », dans Vauchez, A. (dir.), Le moment régulateur, Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, p. 121-145.
Wickberg, S., Phélippeau, É., 2025, « From Prohibition to Regulation : Towards the Institutionalization of Parliamentary Ethics in France », Public Integrity, 27(2), p. 180-191.
Zattoni, A., & Cuomo, F., 2008, « Why adopt codes of good governance ? A comparison of institutional and efficiency perspectives », Corporate governance : an international review, 16(1), p. 1-15.
Subjects
- Sociology (Main category)
- Society > Sociology > Sociology of work
- Society > Law > Sociology of law
- Society > Political studies > Political sociology
- Society > Political studies > Governance and public policies
- Society > Political studies > Political institutions
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Methods of processing and representation
Places
- Maison de la recherche 28 rue Serpente - Rédaction de L'Année sociologique
Paris 06 Luxembourg, France (75)
Date(s)
- Monday, December 01, 2025
Keywords
- espace politique, éthique, régulation, évolutions, personnel politique
Contact(s)
- Sébastien Michon
courriel : smichon [at] unistra [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- delphine Renard
courriel : delphine [dot] renard [at] sorbonne-universite [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Transformations in political activities and careers in light of legal regulation and related instruments », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/14yma
