Home>Olivier Borraz

Olivier Borraz

CNRS Senior Researcher, HDR

Centre for the Sociology of Organisations (CSO)

Research Interest(s): Environment, Risks, Health security, Public action, sociology of health

Discipline(s): Sociology

Research Group(s): Public Policy and Transformations of the State, Knowledge, Science and Expertise Program

Language(s): English

Biography

BIO

Over the last 20 years, Olivier Borraz has conducted research in the field of risk governance and regulation, and more recently in crisis preparedness and management.

He first focused on risk governance related to environmental health, with case studies on controversies (e.g., mobile telephony), scientific expertise (e.g., the creation of independent agencies) and decision-making processes (e.g., vaccines). He later began to study risk-based regulation, jointly undertaking a comparison of the diffusion of risk-based instruments in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, in sectors as diverse as occupational health, flooding, food safety, and education. This work led several major publications to highlight the role of institutional variables in the implementation of risk-based regulation, as well as the variations in what risk actually means from country to country.

His more recent work focuses on crisis preparedness, including a study of the French nuclear sector and a research project on volcanic alerts in the French Antilles with the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. He also studies crisis management, in particular the case of the Covid-19 pandemic and the many organizational adaptations introduced during this crisis.

In May 2023, Olivier Borraz cofounded the CRISISLab, a hub for research, training and experimentation in human and social sciences dedicated to crises and organizational adaptability. The aim is to increase the visibility of research on crises in these disciplines and offer the possibility for discussions between researchers and practitioners.

publications

See all publications

TEACHING ACTIVITIEs

Crisis and Disaster Management, Governing Ecological Transitions in European Cities, Sciences Po Urban School (24h)

Case study in crisis management (with Jan Verlin), Sciences Po School of Public Affairs (12h)

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

Offices Held

  • Director of the CSO (July 2013 - december 2022)
  • Member of Sciences Po Paris’ board of directors (2013 - 2016)
  • Co-leader of the CNRS’ Pluridisciplinary Thematic Network (with Sandrine Lefranc and Daniel Benamouzig, 2005 - 2008) Sociétés en mouvement, science sociale en evolution [Societies on the move, social sciences in evolution] (2005 - 2008)
  • Scientific secretary of the CNRS National Committee’s section on Politics, Power, Organization (2000-2004)

Membership in Research Groups

  • Scientific council of the Direction générale des douanes et des droits indirects (Border police directorate of the Finance ministry) (2022-)
  • Expert college of the Direction générale de la sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises (Civil security and crisis management directorate of the ministry of Interior) (2023-)

Previous Membership in Research Groups

  • Member of the Health and Radiofrequencies Foundation’s scientific council (2007 - 2010)
  • Member of the Institut de Recherche en Santé Publique’s [Research Institute on Public Health] scientific council (2007 - 2009)
  • Member of the Plan national santé environnement’s [National plan on environmental health] assessment committee (2006 - 2007)
  • Member of the Groupement d’intérêt scientifique’s Risques collectifs et situation de crise [French Scientific Interest Group’s Collective risks and crisis situations] scientific council (2003 - 2005)
  • Member of the Commissariat Général du Plan’s politique de préservation de la ressource en eau destinée à la consommation humaine’s [Plan Commission’s policies on preservation of water intended for human use] assessment group (2000 - 2001)
  • Membre du conseil scientifique de l'Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire (2010-2015).
  • Membre du conseil scientifique de l’Institut de Recherche en Santé Publique (2007-2009).
  • Membre du conseil scientifique de la Fondation Santé et Radiofréquences (2007-2010).
  • Membre du conseil scientifique du GIS Risques collectifs et situation de crise (2003-2005).
  • Membre du Comité d'évaluation du Plan national santé environnement (2006-2007)
  • Membre de l’instance d’évaluation de la politique de préservation de la ressource en eau destinée à la consommation humaine, Commissariat Général au Plan (2000-2001).
  • Member of the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire’s [French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety] scientific council (2010 - 2016)
  • Working group of the Conseil d’État on La prise en compte du risque dans la décision publique (Integrating risk in public decision-making) (2017-18)
  • Support committee of Santé Publique France (French public health agency) on the heath impact of the Lubrizol fire (2020-23)

Awards and Honours

1998
CNRS Bronze medal

1995
GRALE-CNRS “Prix special du jury” [Jury Prize] for theses about local governments

EDUCATION

Degrees

2007
Habilitation (professorial thesis) in Political Science, Sciences Po Paris

1994
PhD in Sociology, Political Studies Institute (IEP) - Paris

1987
DEA (M.Phil) in Sociology, Political Studies Institute (IEP) - Paris

1986
Master’s in Political Sociology, Pantheon-Sorbonne University

Professional Background

Senior research fellow (research professor) (2007 - present)

CNRS research fellow (1995 - present)

Projects

  • AGORAS (Amélioration de la Gouvernance des Organisations et des Réseaux d’Acteurs pour la Sûreté nucléaire)
  • Analyse sociologique d’Eau de Paris
  • HowSAFE (How States Account for Failure in Europe)

publications

  • Yann Bérard, Olivier Borraz, Benoit Giry, Patrick Pigeon, Sandrine Revet. Les risques et catastrophes sous le regard des SHS : bilan et perspectives. Premier séminaire scientifique du projet RISC du PEPR Risques (IRiMa), Soraya Boudia, Nov 2024, Paris, France. ⟨hal-04824522⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Authoritarianism As a Bureaucratic Phenomenon. The Tocqueville Review/La revue Tocqueville, 2024, 45 (1), pp.115-125. ⟨10.3138/ttr.45.1.115⟩. ⟨hal-04647606⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Jan Verlin. Décider en situation d'urgence. Castel, Patrick; Chessel, Marie-Emmanuelle. A la recherche de la décision : études de cas en sciences sociales, Presses universitaires du Septentrion, pp.157-178, 2024, 978-2-7574-4092-6. ⟨10.4000/books.septentrion.153459⟩. ⟨hal-04847757⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Bengt Jacobsson. Organizing Expertise During a Crisis. France and Sweden in the Fight Against Covid-19. Journal of Organizational Sociology, 2023, 1 (1), pp.73-107. ⟨10.1515/joso-2023-0009⟩. ⟨hal-04369321⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Christine Musselin. Les Organisations. Gefen Alexandre. Un monde commun. Les savoirs des sciences humaines et sociales, CNRS Editions, pp.210-213, 2023, 9782271147530. ⟨hal-04117546⟩
  • Henri Bergeron, Olivier Borraz. Le pouvoir en crise. Borraz Olivier. La société des organisations, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.315 - 328, 2022, 9782724638608. ⟨hal-03685380⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Christine Musselin. Introduction. Borraz Olivier. La société des organisations, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.5 - 23, 2022, 9782724638608. ⟨hal-03675390⟩
  • Olivier Borraz (Dir.). La société des organisations. Presses de Sciences Po, 2022, 9782724638608. ⟨hal-03667908⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Anne-Laure Beaussier, Mara Wesseling, David Demeritt, Henry Rothstein, et al.. Why regulators assess risk differently. Regulatory style, business organisation, and the varied practice of risk-based food safety inspections across the EU. Regulation & Governance, 2022, 16 (1), pp.274-292. ⟨10.1111/rego.12320⟩. ⟨hal-02958579⟩
  • Henri Bergeron, Olivier Borraz. La réponse suédoise à la crise : une stratégie claire pourtant incomprise. Les Tribunes de la santé, 2021. ⟨hal-03499554⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Lubrizol: quelles leçons ?. Environnement, Risques & Santé, 2021, 20 (2), pp.191-197. ⟨10.1684/ers.2021.1528⟩. ⟨hal-03494442⟩
  • David Demortain, Olivier Borraz. Managing technical reputation: Regulatory agencies and evidential work in risk assessment. Public Administration, 2021, Special Issue: Symposia: Corporatization of public services: new perspectives and enduring challenges, 100 (2), pp.394-407. ⟨10.1111/padm.12734⟩. ⟨hal-03185765⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz. Burocracia, organizações, políticas públicas e formalização do conhecimento. Sociologia Política da ação pública : teorias, abordagens et conceitos, 2021, 9786587791173. ⟨hal-03494563⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Émilien Ruiz. Vers une histoire de l’intelligence administrative. Le Mouvement social, 2020, 273, pp.3 - 12. ⟨10.3917/lms1.273.0003⟩. ⟨hal-03162084⟩
  • Elsa Gisquet, Olivier Borraz. Simuler une crise. La construction de la réalité dans les exercices d’accident nucléaire. Sociologie, 2020, 11 (4), pp.385 - 398. ⟨10.3917/socio.114.0385⟩. ⟨hal-03048971⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Émilien Ruiz. Naissance de la sociologie administrative. Le Mouvement social, 273, pp.53, 2020. ⟨hal-03160278⟩
  • Marie Gaille, Philippe Terral, Philippe Askenazy, Regis Aubry, Henri Bergeron, et al.. Les sciences humaines et sociales face à la première vague de la pandémie de Covid-19 -Enjeux et formes de la recherche. [Rapport de recherche] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier. 2020. ⟨halshs-03036192v2⟩
  • François Dedieu, Olivier Borraz, Henri Bergeron, Patrick Castel. Covid 19 une crise organisationnelle. Presses de Sciences Po, 136 p., 2020, Essai, 9782724626650. ⟨hal-04573031⟩
  • Henri Bergeron, Olivier Borraz, Stéphane Le Bouler. Covid-19 : du bon usage de l'expertise. Journal de droit de la santé et de l'assurance maladie, 2020, 26, pp.53-55. ⟨hal-02957502⟩
  • François Dedieu, Olivier Borraz, Henri Bergeron, Patrick Castel. Après la crise : quelles formations pour relever les défis contemporains ?. Analyse Opinion Critique, 2020. ⟨hal-04573264⟩
  • François Dedieu, Olivier Borraz, Henri Bergeron, Patrick Castel. Gestion de crise : comment tirer les leçons du Coronavirus ?. Analyse Opinion Critique, 2020. ⟨hal-04573251⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Émilien Ruiz. Saisir l'État par son administration. Revue Française de Science Politique, 70 (1), pp.7-117, 2020, 9782724636482. ⟨halshs-02504287⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Émilien Ruiz. Saisir l’État par son administration. Pour une sociologie des rouages de l’action publique. Revue Française de Science Politique, 2020, Saisir l'État par son administration, 70 (1), pp.7-20. ⟨10.3917/rfsp.701.0007⟩. ⟨halshs-02504251⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Bernard Bougon, Olivier Cosson, Séverine Deguen, William Harang, et al.. Débat : Peut-on apprendre à décider en jouant ?. Entreprises et Histoire, 2019, 4 (97), pp.110-129. ⟨10.3917/eh.097.0110⟩. ⟨hal-03587290⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Une cartographie du populisme. Alain Dieckhoff; Christophe Jaffrelot; Elise Massicard. Populismes au pouvoir, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.24 - 29, 2019, 9782724625004. ⟨hal-02395230⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Lubrizol : pourquoi la « gestion de crise » à la française est dépassée. 2019. ⟨hal-02318891⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Elsa Gisquet. L'extension du domaine de la crise ? Les exercices de gestion de crise dans la gouvernance de la filière nucléaire française. Critique Internationale, 2019, 4 (85), pp.43 - 61. ⟨10.3917/crii.085.0043⟩. ⟨hal-02384226⟩
  • Henry Rothstein, David Demeritt, Regine Paul, Anne-Laure Beaussier, Mara Wesseling, et al.. Varieties of Risk Regulation in Europe: Coordination, complementarity & occupational safety in capitalist welfare states. Socio-Economic Review, 2019, pp.993-1020. ⟨10.1093/ser/mwx029⟩. ⟨hal-02160993⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz, Jean-Noël Jouzel, Danielle Salomon. L'expertise en sciences sociales : une affaire politique ? Le cas de l'Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire (Anses). Sociologies pratiques, 2018, 2 (37), pp.39 - 47. ⟨10.3917/sopr.037.0039⟩. ⟨hal-01960102⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Les métropoles du risque. 2017. ⟨hal-01963161⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Ivanne Merle, Mara Wesseling. Les risques de l'inspection : Les stratégies de défense des inspecteurs face aux changements du droit. Droit et Société : Revue internationale de théorie du droit et de sociologie juridique, 2017, 96, pp.289-304. ⟨10.3917/drs.096.0289⟩. ⟨hal-01963411⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Lydie Cabane. States of crisis. Reconfiguring European States in Crisis, Oxford University Press, pp.394 - 412, 2017, 9780198793373. ⟨hal-01520611⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz. Bureaucratie, organisations et formalisation des savoirs. L'Année Sociologique, 2016, 66 (1), pp.9 - 30. ⟨10.3917/anso.161.0009⟩. ⟨hal-01465506⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, David Demortain. Science réglementaire. Emmanuel Henry; Claude Gilbert; Jean-Noël Jouzel; Pascal Marichalar. Dictionnaire critique de l’expertise. Santé, travail, environnement, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.279 - 285, 2015, Collection Référence (Presses de Sciences Po), 9782724617603. ⟨hal-02344651⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Régulation. Emmanuel Henry; Claude Gilbert; Jean-Noël Jouzel; Pascal Marichalar. Dictionnaire critique de l’expertise. Santé, travail, environnement, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.258 - 264, 2015, 9782724617603. ⟨hal-01521036⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Commande. Emmanuel Henry; Claude Gilbert; Jean-Noël Jouzel; Pascal Marichalar. Dictionnaire critique de l’expertise. Santé, travail, environnement, Presses de Sciences Po, pp.64 - 71, 2015, 9782724617603. ⟨hal-01521032⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Emmanuel Henry. Sciences sociales. Dictionnaire critique de l’expertise. Santé, travail, environnement, pp.286-293, 2015, 9782724617603. ⟨hal-01520352⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz, Jean-Noël Jouzel, Danielle Salomon. A sociological checklist for assessing environmental health risks. 2014. ⟨hal-00973120⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. O surgimento das questões de risco. Sociologias, 2014, 16 (35), pp.106 - 137. ⟨10.1590/S1517-45222014000100005⟩. ⟨hal-01524038⟩
  • Olivier Borraz, Benoît Vergriette. Opening editorial. The Use of Social Sciences in Risk Assessment and Risk Management Organisations. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2014, 5 (1), pp.3-6. ⟨10.1017/S1867299X00008151⟩. ⟨hal-01522785⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz, Jean-Noël Jouzel, Danielle Salomon. A sociological checklist for assessing environmental health risks. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2014, 1, pp.36 - 45. ⟨10.1017/S1867299X00002932⟩. ⟨hal-01465509⟩
  • Henry Rothstein, Olivier Borraz, Michael Huber. Risk and the limits of governance: Exploring varied patterns of risk-based governance across Europe. Regulation & Governance, 2013, 7 (2), pp.215 - 235. ⟨10.1111/j.1748-5991.2012.01153.x⟩. ⟨hal-02309480⟩
  • Daniel Benamouzig, Olivier Borraz, Jean-Noël Jouzel, Danielle Salomon. Contribution opérationnelle des sciences humaines et sociales à l'expertise en santé‐alimentation-environnement‐ travail. 2013. ⟨hal-01064497⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Pour une sociologie critique des risques. Du risque à la menace, Presses Universitaires de France, pp.237 - 256, 2013, 9782130606314. ⟨hal-02367713⟩
  • Yannick Barthe, Olivier Borraz. De la réalité d'un problème sanitaire à l'étude de sa “réalisation” 12, 2013, p. 273‑276.. Environnement, Risques & Santé, 2013, 12 (4), pp.273-276. ⟨10.1684/ers.2013.0636⟩. ⟨hal-02139655⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Risco e regulaçao. Pedro Araujo; José Manuel Mendes. Os lugares (im)possiveis da cidadania. Estado et risco num mundo globalizado, Editora Almedina, pp.53 - 74, 2012, 9789724049427. ⟨hal-02197361⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Un nouveau cadre pour l’évaluation socio-économique des risques. Socio-économie des risques sanitaires : quelles approches pour quels usages ?, Réseau Risques et société (R2S); Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation Société.(IFRIS), Nov 2011, Paris, France. ⟨hal-03569386⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. Governing crises. Crises and Governance Conference, Oct 2011, Paris, France. ⟨hal-03569412⟩
  • Olivier Borraz. From risk to the government of uncertainty: the case of mobile telephony. Journal of Risk Research, 2011, 14 (8), pp.969 - 982. ⟨10.1080/13669877.2011.574316⟩. ⟨hal-02316370⟩
  • Michael Huber, Henry Rothstein, Olivier Borraz. From the 'Neurotic' to the 'Rationalising' State: Risk and the Limits of Governance. Chiara De Franco; Christoph O. Meyer. Forecasting, Warning and Responding to Transnational Risks, Palgrave Macmillan, pp.187 - 208, 2011, 9780230297845. ⟨hal-02413222⟩

More Information