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ABSTRACTCombining the elitist theories of Mosca, Pareto and Michels and the pluralist theories represented mostly by Robert Dahl, this article points to three main propositions. First, it underlines the non-representativity of political representatives, who generally enjoy a superior social status, and, secondly, their non-homogeneity, depending on political parties affiliation. Thirdly, it illustrates the phenomenon of elite circulation through the renewal of Legislatures. These characteristics, also present in other countries, are confirmed by the study of members of the Quebec National Assembly since 1944. One can thus conclude that if the political competition generates a social selection it does not create a totally homogeneous group, for members in each political party exhibit specific traits. The article also shows that, in the last twenty years, the rate of replacement of the Quebec Legislature has been important, in comparison with previous, more stable periods.

In France and elsewhere much has been said about trade-unions and politics. Specialists in labour legislation were interested in the illicit nature of political strike and in the one of trade-union information with political backbone by revealing the flimsy limits parting « politic » from « professional » in union activity.To certain European observers the opposition between political activity and professionnal activity seems futile and false at the same time (Verdier) and conceptually doubtful (Pizzorno).The Industrial Relations Congress of Laval University held on April 30th and on May 1st, 1973 laid down the following theme: « Political Orientation of Labour Relations ». The author intends to use additionnal factors, not only about links between labour relations and politics, but between the field of studies on industrial relations and political science.The latter, a matter of crucial importance that D. Carrier wished to become a « valid science of industrial relations », stands at the cross-roads of social sciences. It was therefore interesting to contact the specialists in political science, in order to try to understand the links between those two disciplines in full development.This opportunity was offered by the bulletin « Le syndicalisme compare » fromRivista italiana di scienza politica, under the direction of Giovani Sartori. He criticizes the excessive pressure of American political economists upon decisions pertaining to political science activity, the way of doing it, likewise he regrets they have left to specialists in industrial relations to look after trade-unions.The writer briefly considere the notions of professors Parsons, Leon Dion, Dunlop and Sartori and praises for a much closer view of the social system and of its elements — the political system as such must be suited explicitly to the economic system and also to the industrial relations system — which determine in a more satisfying way the various interactions and especialy the cross-checks from the field of industrial relations activity with the one of the political system.All that in circumstances under which trade-unions, social partners in an industrial relations system, are on the verge of becoming more thanpressure groups in some European countries, but realpower groups, full timepolitical manoeuvrers, performing under a logic other than the one used in pressure groups. Henceforth trade-unions get directly into the political system as the main object of political activity.Sartori enjoins us to study the compared trade-unionism considered as part and parcel of compared politics. The writer wishes compared trade-unionism to become the aim in forming real specialists in compared industrial relations.

AbstractHannah Arendt draws a parallel between aesthetics and politics. She does so not so much to aestheticize politics but to indicate that in both realms of human activity to judge is at play. Her analysis is threefold. First, she points out the difficulty of politics in the contemporary world. Then she goes on to discuss the role of arts in "hard times". Finally, she contrasts the world stage with the spectacle society. On the whole, this entreprise is aimed at explaining the role of judgement in the making of a diversified political community founded on persuasion.

SummaryIn this paper, the author tackles the question of the crisis in political representation, that is, the challenge now being faced by political organization in the way it represents social actors and social interests. He first describes the two main conditions necessary to ensure that the various social components of the population be represented politically : a capacity for organizing autonomously and for expressing views by means of public opinion is required. In short, democracy needs established social forces independent of political power and the state, and public opinion which is both critical and tolerant. The author then analyzes the crisis of representativity itself, which manifests itself at the party level, at the level of social forces, and of public opinion. The concluding part of this essay deals with the causes of this crisis and with means of coming out of it.

The study of a little-commented passage of Rousseau's Social Contract shows that Rousseau tackles the connection between freedom and security from a rather original angle. Both the statuses of being a subject (member of the state) and being a citizen (member of the sovereign people) derive from the nature of the body politic and imply two kinds of requirements : the protection of persons and goods and that of civil and political liberty. Rousseau does not consider these requirements as conflicting but sees them as ordered in the following way : liberty should be the condition of security.

The aim of this article is to analyse the preceptions of Québec Parliamentarians with regard to the idea that female legislators have the responsibility to represent women. We interviewed 24 female and 24 male members of the Québec National Assembly and representatives of the Province of Québec in the Canadian House of Commons, in order to determine if they agree with such an idea and whether women and men use the same arguments to justify their point of view. It appears that a clear majority of female legislators recognize their particular responsibility to women; at the same time, a majority of male legislators disagree that their female colleagues have the responsibility to take on such a role. Half of the female respondents reinforce their position by arguing that women represent a social minority, while the same number of male respondents advocate a conception of political representation that does not accomodate distinct social identities along gender lines.