The many faces of budgetary order

This introduction reframes the problematic of budgetary (dis)order within the literature on public finance. Existing research has produced significant findings regarding the rules, practices, and actors of the budgetary process; the influence of economic expertise on decision‑making; and, lastly, the effects of transformations in the French financial system on the budgetary process. What remains rare, however, are studies that consider these multiple dimensions in the analysis of sectoral policies. The aim of this dossier is therefore to look beyond the broad narrative of “budgetary order” and to examine the (dis)orders that underlie it – disorders that become particularly visible in the making of policy budgets. The description of the contributions first highlights the forms taken by the tightening of budgetary constraints on social and local spending. It then points to the “disordering” processes that remain possible, both through explicit political trade‑offs and through more or less concealed budgetary informality. Finally, it underscores the plurality of budgetary orders, reflecting the unequal legitimacy ascribed to different types of expenditure.