City of London and Place de Paris

Abstract

Policy networks have been described as ‘the enstructuration of past policies, of ideologies and of policy processes’ (Smith, 1993, p. 8). There can be little doubt that the circumstances surrounding the emergence of a particular policy network have a profound impact on its functioning, conditioning for instance rules of inclusion and exclusion, the frequency of interorganizational relationships and the respective positions of network members within. This presentation and preliminary characterization of British and French policy networks in financial services consequently focuses on their historical and regulatory surroundings. The role of professional associations, supervisory authorities and responsible departments is also assessed, to gain a first insight into the workings of each sub-system.