Managerial reforms as hinges between the state and professions

For more than thirty years, managerial reforms have restructured the relationship between the state and professional groups. These reforms have been the subject of numerous works in the sociology of professions and the state; they describe their consequences on professional work and shed light on their genesis. However, the participation of professionals in the process of creating reforms represents a blind spot in this literature. Borrowing this notion from Andrew Abbott, this article seeks to consider managerial reforms as hinges between the state and the professions. This renewed perspective sheds new light on the role of professionals in the development of and debate around managerial reforms. It also sheds light on the plurality of forms of professional investment in managerial reforms.