Governing the “ultra-periphery” of the European Union: a political sociology of the agro-industrial governance of French outermost regions

This article analyses the governance of the French outermost regions through the lens of their agro-industrial policy. Drawing on a political sociology focused on elite coalitions and their political work, it uncovers the multi-level processes that shape the European governance of these territories. The paper first traces the historical institutionalisation of this differentiated governance system, before showing how sectoral elites invest these arenas to deploy their political work and shape public policy. In this context, the agro-industrial policy of French outermost regions results from a politicised and depoliticised legitimation of their “specificities.”