This volume is the culmination of a comparative enquiry undertaken on the theme of political participation and mobilisation in local communities in France and Britain. It was conducted within the framework of the Franco–British programme launched jointly in 1984 by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Economic and Social Research Council. Our thanks are due to these bodies not only for their financial assistance, without which this study would not have been published, but also for their encouragement of cooperation between the British and French research teams.

The present study is the result of a collaboration between the British Political Participation Study (Department of Government, University of Manchester) and the Centre d'Etude et de Recherche sur la Vie Locale (Equipe de Recherche Associée au CNRS, Institut d'Etudes politiques de Bordeaux). The two teams pooled their respective specialised skills, the former dealing with the theory and quantitative analysis of political participation, the latter with the politico-administrative features of society in local areas. Between 1984 and 1987 a series of regular meetings took place: the two groups met for the first time in July 1984, and the final stage of synthesis and revision began with the meeting which took place in Bordeaux in April 1987. Coordination was further maintained by exchanging and discussing working papers.

During these three years, we encountered difficulties inherent in comparative investigations carried out by two teams whose scientific backgrounds sometimes differ markedly, with each of them being accustomed to particular theoretical approaches, or familiar with specific methodological tools.