Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Effective Governance Designs Of Food Safety Regulation In The Eu Do Rules Make The Difference 1St Edition Giulia Bazzan full chapter pdf docx
Effective Governance Designs Of Food Safety Regulation In The Eu Do Rules Make The Difference 1St Edition Giulia Bazzan full chapter pdf docx
https://ebookmass.com/product/european-union-external-
environmental-policy-rules-regulation-and-governance-beyond-
borders-1st-edition-camilla-adelle/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-eu-migration-system-of-
governance-justice-on-the-move-1st-ed-edition-michela-ceccorulli/
https://ebookmass.com/product/eu-law-beyond-eu-borders-the-
extraterritorial-reach-of-eu-law-marise-cremona-editor/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-birth-of-digital-human-rights-
digitized-data-governance-as-a-human-rights-issue-in-the-eu-1st-
edition-rebekah-dowd/
Republics of Difference. Religious and Racial Self-
Governance in the Spanish Atlantic World Karen B.
Graubart
https://ebookmass.com/product/republics-of-difference-religious-
and-racial-self-governance-in-the-spanish-atlantic-world-karen-b-
graubart/
https://ebookmass.com/product/present-knowledge-in-food-safety-a-
risk-based-approach-through-the-food-chain-michael-e-knowles/
https://ebookmass.com/product/air-traffic-management-economics-
regulation-and-governance-1st-edition-margaret-arblaster/
https://ebookmass.com/product/nanotechnology-applications-in-
food-flavor-stability-nutrition-and-safety-1st-edition-alexandru-
grumezescu/
https://ebookmass.com/product/digitalisation-sustainability-and-
the-banking-and-capital-markets-union-thoughts-on-current-issues-
of-eu-financial-regulation-1st-edition-lukas-boffel/
Effective Governance
Designs of Food Safety
Regulation in the EU
Do Rules Make the
Difference?
Giulia Bazzan
Effective Governance Designs of Food Safety
Regulation in the EU
Giulia Bazzan
Effective Governance
Designs of Food
Safety Regulation
in the EU
Do Rules Make the Difference?
Giulia Bazzan
Department of Food and Resource Economics
University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect
to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Davide, and the inspirational women who supported me along
this journey
Preface
vii
Contents
ix
x Contents
Appendix141
Index145
About the Author
xiii
Abbreviations
xv
xvi Abbreviations
xvii
List of Tables
xix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
It has been 30 years since ‘doing a Gummer’ passed into slang. In 1990,
the British Minister of Agriculture John Gummer attempted to reassure
the public that British beef was safe—despite growing concerns over the
1
Source: https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/402989/50607-
WHO-Food-Safety-publicationV4_Web.pdf (Last accessed: March 2021).
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 3
Considine, 2012; Howlett & Ramesh, 2014, 2016; Peters et al., 2018;
Rotberg, 2014; Wu et al., 2010, 2015).
Against this background, this book adopts an institutional design’s
approach to study effectiveness of food safety regulation, drawing upon
the Institutional Analysis and Development framework (IAD), developed
by Elinor Ostrom (1986, 2005, 2009, 2011). Specifically, it investigates
differences in effectiveness of food safety regulation across European
countries and explains them by differences in domestic governance
designs.
I will now discuss the landscape in which this contribution situates and
introduce the question of effective governance designs of food safety
regulation.
idea that regulators pursuit some conception of the public interest and
different interpretations of what the public interest might be and how is to
be achieved are contested, leading to competing conceptions and, thus, to
ineffective delivery of outcomes or confused procedures. A second account
ascribes regulatory failure to bounded rationality (Simon, 1991) that
affects individual and organizational decision-making, resulting in limited
information, uncertainty, and ambiguity of knowledge. According to
Simon’s account, rationality is limited when individuals make decisions:
indeed, bounded rational agents experience limits in formulating and solv-
ing complex problems and in processing information (Simon, 1991: 129).
Much of the existing literature focusing on regulatory failure has pointed
to the self-interested behaviour of key actors engaged in the regulatory
process, while ideas-based approaches have emphasized the role played by
ideological conservatism in producing under-performance, either by fail-
ing to adapt ideas to new circumstances, or by rejecting information that
challenges existing dominant understandings. A fourth account is pro-
vided by institutional theories, which suggest that institutional structures
and arrangements, as well as social processes, significantly shape regula-
tion. Failures, from such perspective, can be seen as the effects of inter-
and intra-institutional pressures, as well as the effects of the spread of
regulation across layers of government and types of organization.
Recently, effectiveness has been defined as the creation of a frame for
action that may shape a range of regulatory responses and it can be under-
stood at three levels of analysis. The first is at the level of what includes an
effective formulation environment that leads to effective design; the sec-
ond concerns how effective instrument mixes can be effectively con-
structed to address complex objectives; the third focuses on what
constitutes the effectiveness of particular types of instruments (Peters
et al., 2018: 21). The governance turn encouraged much of the academic
discussion about effectiveness in design at the level of instruments of the
market and the state, as well as the dichotomous governance styles such as
hierarchies and markets (Michael Howlett, 2004; Peters et al., 2018). This
orientation entails the idea that the nature of the overall design space can
have a significant bearing on how effectively intended design activities take
place and, therefore, on the effectiveness of regulatory designs that emerge
from them (Peters et al., 2018: 22).
Literature on European regulation attempted to assess whether a cer-
tain combination of substantive and procedural regulatory instruments
reflects good regulation or not. Particular attention has been paid to the
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 11
Policy Capacity
Policy capacity is a core concept in governance studies and has attracted
considerable attention over the years (Painter & Pierre, 2005; Peters,
2015; Rayner & Howlett, 2009; Wu et al., 2015). As governments have
to address increasingly complex problems, concerns about capacity have
arisen. Indeed, the increasing complexity of many contemporary policy
issues together with rising expectations of the public presents unprece-
dented challenges to the capacity of governments to make and implement
effective policies (Wu et al., 2015). The terms ‘policy capacity’, ‘gover-
nance capacity’, ‘administrative capacity’, and ‘institutional capacity’ have
often been used interchangeably (Rayner & Howlett, 2009). Most schol-
ars define policy capacity as ‘affecting government’s ability to make intel-
ligent choices’ (Painter & Pierre, 2005; Wu et al., 2015: 2), to scan the
12 G. BAZZAN
controls over public sector agencies (Wu et al., 2018: 12). On the one
hand, operational capacity enables public agencies the discretion to carry
out their functions; on the other hand, it provides controls on their discre-
tion to ensure good governance.
reduction within reasonable limits’ (Klinke & Renn, 2010: 17) The term
‘acceptable’ refers to an activity where ‘the remaining risks are so low that
additional efforts for risk reduction are not seen as necessary’ (Klinke &
Renn, 2010: 17). The process of judging the tolerability and acceptability
of a risk can be structured into two distinct components: risk characteriza-
tion and risk evaluation. The former determines the evidence-based com-
ponent for making the necessary judgement on the tolerability and
acceptability of a risk, while the latter determines the value-based compo-
nent for making this judgement (Klinke & Renn, 2010). This separation
of evidence and values is functional, and not necessarily organizational.
However, the European regulatory system tends to favour an organiza-
tional separation, in the food area as well as in chemical regulation (Klinke
& Renn, 2010; Lofstedt & Vogel, 2001).
When considering risk handling in modern society, many influential
factors come into play. One major aspect of risk governance concerns
national culture, political traditions, and social norms that influence the
mechanisms and institutions for integrating knowledge and expertise in
the policy arenas. Each country and different risk domain within the same
country may pursue different pathways for dealing with risk, with regard
to inclusion and selection of rules, interpretative frames, and action plans
for dealing with evidence. Criteria of good governance have been dis-
cussed extensively and in many different contexts (Baldwin et al., 2012;
Jordana & Levi-Faur, 2004; Knill & Lenschow, 2003). Central issues are
sound scientific expertise, adequate inclusion of public concerns, consis-
tency and coherence in making trade-offs between risks and benefits, non-
discrimination and proportionality in designing risk management options,
and assurance of thorough monitoring and independent oversight during
implementation. Moreover, governance structures should reflect criteria
of transparency, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, sustainability,
equity, and respect for the rule of law (Klinke & Renn, 2010). The White
Paper on European Governance of the European Commission identifies
openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness, and coherence as key
elements of good governance.2
Many approaches to risk have been developed over the past decades. As
recalled by Hood et al. (2001), the best known is the work of Beck (1992):
according to Beck, we live in a risk society. As well as a risk society, we are
2
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/DOC_01_10 (Last
accessed: March 2021).
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 15
This Contribution
The area of food regulation and its governance has generated an extensive
body of work, drawing the attention of several scholars, from a wide range
of disciplines and perspectives. Over the years, political scientists and pol-
icy scholars have drawn their attention in studying food and agriculture
policy-making as a generative empirical example in the theoretical devel-
opment of policy studies (Daugbjerg & Feindt, 2017: 1566). These stud-
ies (Biesbroek & Candel, 2020; Candel & Biesbroek, 2018; Coleman
et al., 1996; Coleman & Grant, 1998; Daugbjerg, 2003; Daugbjerg &
Swinbank, 2012, 2015, 2016; Feindt, 2010; Feindt & Flynn, 2009;
Jackson & Deeg, 2012; Jordan et al., 1994; Kay, 2005; Lowe et al., 2010;
Marsh & Smith, 2000; Skogstad, 1998, 2008; Termeer et al., 2012, 2019;
Termeer & Dewulf, 2019) have contributed to theoretical developments
in public policy and political science within a number of research fields
concerned with the explanation of policy outcomes, policy stability, and
policy change (Daugbjerg & Feindt, 2017).
Recently, scholars have focused on how the resulting multiple and con-
flicting actor rationalities and the overlap of several regulatory roles affect
the effectiveness and legitimacy of the decision-making and implementa-
tion of food safety policy (Thomann, 2018). By highlighting issues such as
regulatory capture and deficient enforcement systems, Thomann (2018)
suggests that food safety governance increasingly shares the characteristic
of a wicked problem: indeed, hybridization of food safety governance
implies that the multiple actors involved often diverge in how they define
the problems and their strategic intensions. The globalization of both
public and private food safety regulations has also led to new modes of
accountability: from border public control to the direct responsibility of
suppliers for safe food, enforced through inspections by retailers and third-
party certifiers (Thomann, 2018; Thomann & Sager, 2017). A core issue
is the capacity of food safety governance structures to deal with multiple
frames, adjust actions to uncertain changes, and respond to changing
agendas and expectations. Literature recently underlined the need of fur-
ther investigating the conditions under which the regulatory structures
ensure effective food safety (Scharff et al., 2009; Thomann, 2018).
Previous evidence suggests that the conditions required to effectively pro-
tect the public interest include an overlap of norms, objectives, and inter-
ests of public and private regulation; effective monitoring and enforcing
the compliance of businesses; the potential for self-evaluation; compliance
18 G. BAZZAN
with due process standards; and information management and data shar-
ing (Havinga, 2006; Thomann, 2018; Verbruggen, 2013).
This book poses the question of effectiveness of governance of food
safety regulation, and develops an explanatory model, addressing three
intertwined sets of questions that food safety governance research has left
unanswered.
First, which institutional features do affect effectiveness of governance
of food safety regulation? Building on the Institutional Analysis and
Development framework (IAD), Chap. 2 models the governance of food
safety as a configuration of institutional elements that structure informa-
tion and create incentives to act or not to act—thereby imposing con-
straints on the range of possible behaviours (Ostrom, 2009). It identifies
the agencies that carry out monitoring and enforcement activities and
exert control over the information as units of analysis of this research. In
light of regulatory governance and capacity theories, it specifies indepen-
dence, accountability, and policy capacity as the main institutional ele-
ments relevant to address the question of effectiveness of food safety
regulation across Europe. Finally, it constructs the explanatory model by
involving precise assumptions about a limited set of explanatory condi-
tions and by deriving precise expectations about the result of combining
these conditions.
My empirical approach combines systematic cross-case comparison
with within-case analysis. Drawing upon the IAD assumption about the
configurational nature of institutions, this book applies Qualitative
Comparative Analysis (QCA), a set-theoretic methodology that models
causal complexity on the basis of three features: equifinality, asymmetric
causation, and conjunctural causation (Rihoux and Ragin, 2009; Schneider
& Wagemann, 2012). In Chap. 3, I outline the research design by tackling
both ontological and methodological questions, showing how food safety
regulation is an illustrative and likely case for assessing the impact that the
institutional features of monitoring and enforcement exert over regulatory
outcomes and, thus, effectiveness of regulation. I introduce the cases and
provide a brief overview of the regulatory context and governance designs
of each.
The food safety governance designs of the EU15 Member States anal-
ysed in this book are investigated through the collection of an original
dataset inclusive of measures of independence and accountability of the
domestic food safety agencies, as well as of policy capacity and of food
safety delivered (as measure of regulatory effectiveness).
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 19
References
Abels, G., & Kobusch, A. (2015). Regulation of food safety in the EU: Explaining
organizational diversity among Member States. In The changing landscape of
food governance (pp. 39–56). Edward Elgar.
Aucoin, P., & Heintzman, R. (2000). The dialectics of accountability for perfor-
mance in public management reform. International Review of Administrative
Sciences, 66(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852300661005
Bakvis, H. (2000). Rebuilding policy capacity in the era of the fiscal dividend: A
report from Canada. Governance, 13(1), 71–103. https://doi.
org/10.1111/0952-1895.00124
Baldwin, R., Cave, M., & Lodge, M. (2012). Understanding regulation: Theory,
strategy, and practice. Oxford University Press.
Baldwin, R., Scott, C., & Hood, C. (1998). A reader on regulation. Oxford
University Press.
Beck, U. (1992). From industrial society to the risk society: Questions of survival,
social structure and ecological enlightenment. Theory, Culture & Society, 9(1),
97–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327692009001006
Bemelmans-Videc, M. L., Rist, R. C., & Vedung, E. (Eds.). (1998). Carrots, sticks
& sermons: Policy instruments and their evaluation. Transaction Publishers.
Biela, J., & Papadopoulos, Y. (2014). The empirical assessment of agency account-
ability: A regime approach and an application to the German Bundesnetzagentur.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, 80(2), 362–381. https://doi.
org/10.1177/0020852313514526
Biesbroek, R., & Candel, J. J. L. (2020). Mechanisms for policy (dis)integration:
Explaining food policy and climate change adaptation policy in the Netherlands.
Policy Sciences, 53(1), 61–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-019-09354-2
Black, J. (2002). Critical reflections on regulation. Australian Journal of Legal
Philosophy, 27, 1–35.
Bovens, M. (2005). The concept of public accountability. In The Oxford handbook
of public management.
Bovens, M. (2007). Analysing and assessing accountability: A conceptual frame-
work. European Law Journal, 13(4), 447–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.
1468-0386.2007.00378.x
Bovens, M. (2010). Two concepts of accountability: Accountability as a virtue and
as a mechanism. West European Politics, 33(5), 946–967. https://doi.org/1
0.1080/01402382.2010.486119
Bovens, M., Goodin, R. E., & Schillemans, T. (2014). The Oxford handbook public
accountability. Oxford University Press.
Bullock, H., Mountford, J., & Stanley, R. (2001). Better policy-making. Centre for
Management and Policy Studies.
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 21
Daugbjerg, C., & Swinbank, A. (2015). Globalization and new policy concerns:
The WTO and the EU’s sustainability criteria for biofuels. Journal of European
Public Policy, 22(3), 429–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350176
3.2014.927520
Daugbjerg, C., & Swinbank, A. (2016). Three decades of policy layering and
politically sustainable reform in the European Union’s Agricultural Policy:
Policy layering and politically sustainable reform. Governance, 29(2), 265–280.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12171
Day, P., & Klein, R. (1987). Accountabilities: Five public services. Tavistock Publ.
Edwards, G. A., & Waverman, L. (2004). The effects of public ownership and
regulatory independence on regulatory outcomes: A study of interconnect
rates in EU telecommunications. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.
org/10.2139/ssrn.588722
Elgie, R., & McMenamin, I. (2005). Credible commitment, political uncertainty
or policy complexity? Explaining variations in the independence of non-
majoritarian institutions in France. British Journal of Political Science,
35(3), 531–548.
Eliadis, P., Hill, M., & Howlett, M. (2005). Designing government: From instru-
ments to governance. McGill-Queen’s Press-MQUP.
Ennser-Jedenastik, L. (2016). The politicization of regulatory agencies: Between
partisan influence and formal independence. Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory, 26(3), 507–518. https://doi.org/10.1093/
jopart/muv022
Feindt, P. H. (2010). Policy learning and environmental policy integration in the
Common Agricultural Policy, 1973–2003. Public Administration, 88(2),
296–314. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01833.x
Feindt, P. H., & Flynn, A. (2009). Policy stretching and institutional layering:
British food policy between security, safety, quality, health and climate change.
British Politics, 4(3), 386–414. https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2009.13
Gilardi, F. (2002). Policy credibility and delegation to independent regulatory
agencies: A comparative empirical analysis. Journal of European Public Policy,
9(6), 873–893. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350176022000046409
Gilardi, F. (2005). The institutional foundations of regulatory capitalism: The dif-
fusion of independent regulatory agencies in Western Europe. The Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 598. http://www.jstor.org/
stable/25046081
Gilardi, F. (2008). Delegation in the regulatory state. Edward Elgar Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781848441361
Goodin, R. E. (2003). Democratic accountability: The third sector and all. SSRN
Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.418262
1 REGULATORY GOVERNANCE, POLICY CAPACITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS… 23
Renn, O., & Walker, K. (2008). Lessons learned: A re-assessment of the IRGC
framework on risk governance. In O. Renn & K. D. Walker (Eds.), Global risk
governance (Vol. 1, pp. 331–367). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6799-0_14
Rihoux & Ragin. (2009). Configurational comparative methods.
Robson, M. (2013, April 22). Food safety. Oxford University Press. https://doi.
org/10.1093/obo/9780199756797-0099
Rotberg, R. I. (2014). Good governance means performance and results.
Governance, 27(3), 511–518.
Salamon, L. M. (2002). The tools of government: An introduction to the new gover-
nance. Oxford University Press.
Sanders, E. (2008). Historical institutionalism. Oxford University Press. https://
doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199548460.003.0003
Scharff, R. L., McDowell, J., & Medeiros, L. (2009). Evaluation of an educational
intervention using the enhanced food safety cost-of-illness model. Journal of
Food Protection, 72(1), 137–141. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-
72.1.137
Scharpf, F. W. (1997). Games real actors play: Actor-centered institutionalism in
policy research. Routledge.
Schillemans, T., & Bovens, M. (2014). The challenge of multiple accountability.
In Accountable governance: Problems and promises. Routledge.
Schneider, A., & Ingram, H. (1990). Behavioral assumptions of policy tools. The
Journal of Politics, 52(2), 510–529. https://doi.org/10.2307/2131904
Schneider, C. Q., & Wagemann, C. (2012). Set-theoretic methods for the social sci-
ences: A guide to qualitative comparative analysis. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139004244
Scott, C. (2000). Accountability in the regulatory state. Journal of Law and Society,
27(1), 38–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6478.00146
Simon, H. A. (1991). Bounded rationality and organizational learning.
Organization Science, 2(1), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.125
Skogstad, G. (1998). Ideas, paradigms and institutions: Agricultural exceptional-
ism in the European Union and the United States. Governance, 11(4), 463–490.
https://doi.org/10.1111/0952-1895.00082
Skogstad, G. (2008). Internationalization and Canadian agriculture: Policy and
governing paradigms. University of Toronto Press. https://doi.
org/10.3138/9781442688360
Termeer, C. J. A. M., Biesbroek, R., & van den Brink, M. (2012). Institutions for
adaptation to climate change: Comparing national adaptation strategies in
Europe. European Political Science, 11(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1057/
eps.2011.7
28 G. BAZZAN
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., & Howlett, M. (2015). Policy capacity: A conceptual frame-
work for understanding policy competences and capabilities. Policy and Society,
34(3–4), 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polsoc.2015.09.001
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., & Howlett, M. (2018). Policy capacity: Conceptual frame-
work and essential components. In X. Wu, M. Howlett, & M. Ramesh (Eds.),
Policy capacity and governance (pp. 1–25). Springer International Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54675-9_1
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., & Howlett, M. (2020). Policy resources, capacities and capa-
bilities. In A modern guide to public policy (pp. 178–190). Edward Elgar
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789904987.00020
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., Howlett, M., & Fritzen, S. (2010). The public policy primer:
Managing public policy. Routledge.
CHAPTER 2
Introduction
Scholarly attention has been paid both to effectiveness of regulation and
to its failures, and a number of approaches can be adopted in explaining
how regulation develops, succeeds, or fails. Some accounts emphasize
external factors shaping regulation—such as the force of interest groups,
dominant ideas, or the nature of economy—while others emphasize
endogenous factors—such as institutional cultures. Effectiveness of regu-
lation has been explained by interest-based approaches, ideas-based
approaches, and institutional approaches (Baldwin et al., 2012). As to
these latter, institutional approaches range from those that emphasize the
importance of formal rules in shaping behaviours, to those stressing the
importance of political rules of the games, to those that regard all human
action as embedded in their social context (Baldwin et al., 2012: 53).
This study investigates differences in effectiveness of food safety regula-
tion across 15 Western European countries and explains them by differ-
ences in domestic institutional designs. The Institutional Analysis and
Development (IAD) framework (Ostrom, 2005, 2011) inspired the focus
of this book: the institutional dimension of governance is the one that by
shaping individual actors’ strategies and behaviours can lead to the achieve-
ment of the desired outcome.
One of the main assumption of the IAD is that ‘regularities in actions
cannot occur if rules are not enforced’ (Ostrom, 2011: 20). A simplifying
assumption that is frequently made in analytical theories is that individuals
will take only those actions that are permitted or required. However, in
settings where a high investment is not made in monitoring the actions of
participants, considerable difference between predicted and actual behav-
iour can occur because of the lack of congruence between a model of
legitimate behaviour and the illegal actions that individuals take (Ostrom,
2011: 22). This is particularly true in the policy area of food safety, where
the spreading of new animal and human diseases, the use of harmful prod-
ucts for human and animal health, the increase of environmental pollu-
tion, and the deliberate adulteration of food products shed light on the
crucial role played by food safety regulation for the protection of public
health. Within this policy area, monitoring and enforcement of regulation
have a central stage, and the Institutional Analysis and Development con-
stitutes the theoretical framework that makes the strongest claims with
respect to the impact these activities exert over regulatory effectiveness, by
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The
Marchioness of Brinvilliers, the poisoner of the
seventeenth century
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.
Language: English
By ALBERT SMITH
LONDON
RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON STREET
Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen
1886
The Escape of Lachaussée Prevented
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
The Mountebank of the Carrefour du Châtelet
CHAPTER II.
The Boat-Mill on the River
CHAPTER III.
The Arrest of the Physician
CHAPTER IV.
The Students of 1665
CHAPTER V.
Sainte-Croix and his Creature
CHAPTER VI.
Maître Glazer, the Apothecary, and his man, Panurge,
Discourse with the People on Poisons—The Visit of the
Marchioness
CHAPTER VII.
Louise Gauthier Falls into the Hands of Lachaussée
CHAPTER VIII.
The Catacombs of the Bièvre and their Occupants
CHAPTER IX.
The Revenge of Sainte-Croix—The Rencontre in the Bastille
CHAPTER X.
What further befel Louise in the Catacombs of the Bièvre
CHAPTER XI.
Maître Picard Prosecutes a Successful Crusade against the
Students
CHAPTER XII.
Exili Spreads the Snare for Sainte-Croix, who falls into it
CHAPTER XIII.
Gaudin Learns Strange Secrets in the Bastille
CHAPTER XIV.
The Château in the Country—The Meeting—Le Premier Pas
CHAPTER XV.
Versailles—The Rival Actresses—The Discovery
CHAPTER XVI.
The Grotto of Thetis—The Good and Evil Angels
CHAPTER XVII.
The Gascon Goes through Fire and Water to Attract
Attention—The Brother and Sister
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Rue de L’Hirondelle
CHAPTER XIX.
The Mischief still Thickens on all Sides
CHAPTER XX.
Two Great Villains
CHAPTER XXI.
The Dead-house of the Hôtel Dieu, and the Orgy at the Hôtel
de Cluny
CHAPTER XXII.
The Orgy at the Hôtel de Cluny
CHAPTER XXIII.
Sainte-Croix and Marie Encounter an Uninvited Guest
CHAPTER XXIV.
Louise Gauthier falls into Dangerous Hands
CHAPTER XXV.
Marie has Louise in her Power—The Last Carousal
CHAPTER XXVI.
Sainte-Croix Discovers the Great Secret sooner than he
expected
CHAPTER XXVII.
Matters Become very Serious for all Parties—The Discovery
and the Flight
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Flight of Marie to Liége—Paris—The Gibbet of
Montfaucon
CHAPTER XXIX.
Philippe Avails himself of Maître Picard’s Horse for the
Marchioness
CHAPTER XXX.
The Stratagem at Mortefontaine—Senlis—The Accident
CHAPTER XXXI.
Philippe Glazer Throws Desgrais off the Scent
CHAPTER XXXII.
Offemont to Liége—An Old Acquaintance—The Sanctuary
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The End of Lachaussée
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Game is up—The Trap—Marie Returns with Desgrais to
the Conciergerie
CHAPTER XXXV.
News for Louise Gauthier and Benoit
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Journey—Examination of the Marchioness
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The Last Interview
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Water Question—Exili—The Place de Grêve
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Louise Gauthier—The Conclusion
ENDNOTES.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
WORKED FROM THE ORIGINAL ETCHINGS
By John Leech
CHAPTER I.
THE MOUNTEBANK OF THE CARREFOUR DU CHÂTELET
One hundred and eighty years ago, on a sunny spring evening in the
year of grace 1665, the space of ground which extended from the
front of the Grand Châtelet in Paris to the rude wooden barrier which
then formed the only safeguard between the public road and the
river, at the northern foot of the Pont au Change, was crowded with a
joyous and attentive mass of people, who had collected from their
evening promenade to this spot, and now surrounded the temporary
platform of an itinerant charlatan, erected in front of the ancient
fortress.
Let us rest awhile on the steps of the Pont au Change, to become
acquainted with the localities; for little of its ancient appearance now
remains. The present resident at Paris, however well versed he
might be in the topography of that city, might search in vain for even
the vestiges of any part of the principal building, which rose, at the
date above spoken of, on the banks of the River Seine. The Pont au
Change still exists, but not as it then appeared. The visitor may call
to mind this picturesque structure, with its seven arches crossing to
the Marché aux Fleurs from the corner of the Quai de la Megisserie.
In 1660 it was covered with houses, in common with most of the
other bridges that spanned the Seine, with the exception of the Pont
Neuf. These were now partly in ruins, from the ravages of time, and
frequent conflagrations. Lower down the river might be seen the
vestiges of the Pont Marchand—a wooden bridge, which had been
burnt down nearly forty years before, some of whose charred and
blackened timbers still obstructed the free course of the river. It had
stood on the site of the Pont aux Meuniers—also a wooden bridge—
to which six or seven boat-mills were attached; and these, in
consequence of the flooding of the Seine, dragged the whole
structure away in the winter of 1596.
The Grand Châtelet stood at the foot of the Pont au Change; its
ground is now occupied by a square, and an elegant fountain. The
origin of the Châtelet has been lost in antiquity. It had once been a
strong fortress; and its massive round-towers still betokened its
strength. Next it was a prison, where the still increasing city rendered
its position of little value in guarding the gates; and afterwards it
became the Court of Jurisdiction pertaining to the Provost of Paris.
Part of its structure was now in ruins; wild foliage grew along the
summits of its outer walls, and small buildings had been run up
between the buttresses, occupied by retailers of wine and small
merchandise. It was a great place of resort at all times; for a dark
and noisome passage, which ran through it, was the only
thoroughfare from the Pont au Change to the Rue St. Denis, and this
was constantly crowded with foot-passengers.
The afternoon sunlight fell upon the many turrets and spires, and
quivered on the vanes and casements of the fine old buildings that
then surrounded the carrefour. Across the river the minarets of the
Palais de Justice rose in sharp outline against the blue sky, glowing
in the ruddy tint; together with the campanile at the corner of the
quay, and the blackened towers of Notre Dame, farther in the Ile de
la Cité, round which flocks of birds were wheeling in the clear spring
air, who had their dwellings amidst the corbels, spouts, and belfries
of the cathedral. There was not an old gray gable or corroded spire
which, steeped in the rays of the setting sun, did not blush into light
and warmth. And the mild season had drawn all the inhabitants of
the houses who were not abroad to their windows, whence they
gazed upon the gay crowd below, through pleasant trellises of
climbing vegetation, which crept along the pieces of twine latticing
the casements. Humble things, indeed, the plants were,—hops,
common beans, wild convolvuli, and the like, spreading from a rude
cruche of mould upon the sill; but the beams of the sun came
through them cheerfully; and their shadows danced and trembled on
the rude tiled floor as sportively as on the costly inlaid parquets of
the richer quarters of the city.
The Carrefour du Châtelet was at this period, with the Pont Neuf,
the principal resort of the people of Paris, then, as now, ever
addicted to the promenade and out-of-door lounging. A singularly
varied panorama did the open place present to any one standing at
the cross which was reared in the centre, and gazing around him. He
might have seen a duel taking place between two young gallants on
the footpath, in open contest. Swords were then as quickly drawn
forth as tempers; no appointments were made for the seclusion of
the faubourgs beyond the walls which occupied the site of the
present boulevards; and these quarrels often ended fatally, though
merely fought for the possession of some courtesan who, in common
with others, blazed forth in her sumptuous trappings on the bridges
during the afternoon. But the guards never interfered, and the
passengers looked on unconcernedly until the struggle was, one way
or the other, decided.
The beggars were as numerous then as now, perhaps more so; for
the various Cours des Miracles, the ‘Rookeries’ of Paris, if we may
be allowed the expression, which abounded all over the city, offered
them a ready colony and retreat. Here were counterfeiters of every
disease to which humanity is liable, dragging themselves along the
rude footpath; there, beggars of more active habits, who swarmed,
cap in hand, by the side of the splendid carriages which passed
along the quays, to and from the Louvre. The thieves, too,
everywhere plied their vocation; and the absurd custom of carrying
the purse suspended at the girdle, favoured their delinquencies;
whence certain of them acquired the title of coupe-bourse, as in
England the pick-pockets were formerly termed cut-purses.
Crowds of soldiers, vendors of street merchandise, and charlatans
of every description filled the carrefour. Looking to the tableau
offered by the public resorts of Paris at the present time, the Champs
Elysées for instance (in 1665, consisting only of fields, literally in
cultivation), it is curious to observe how little the principal features of
the assembly have altered from the accounts left us by accurate and
careful delineators of former manners.
But, besides all these, the mere idlers, of both sexes, were
numerous and remarkable; an ever-changing throng of gay habits,
glittering accoutrements, and attractive figures and faces. The
license of the age, unbounded in its extent, permitted appointments
of every kind to be made without notice. Every kind of dissipation
was openly practised, and therefore the world winked at it, as under
such circumstances it always does, even if the place of an illicit
assignation or conference (and in the reign of Louis XIV. they were
seldom otherwise) were a church, as indeed was most frequently the
case. The generally licentious taste extended to the dress and
conversation; hence, from the crowds of gallants who thronged the
carrefour, salutations and remarks of strange freedom were
constantly addressed to the handsome women who, in the
prodigality of their display of dazzling busts and shoulders, invited
satire or compliments; nay, to such a pitch was that negligee attire
carried, that some might be seen walking abroad in loose damask
robes merely confined at the waist by a cord of twisted silk.
The platform round which the laughing crowd had assembled was
formed on a light cart that had its wheels covered with some coarse
drapery. There were two occupants of this stage. One of them was a
man who might have numbered some forty years; but his thin
furrowed cheeks and sunken eye would have added another score
to his age, in the opinion of a casual observer. He was dressed
entirely in faded black serge, made after the fashion of the time, with
full arms, and trunks fastened just above the knee. Some bands of
vandyked lace were fastened round his wrists; and he wore a collar
of the same material, whilst his doublet was looped together but a
little way down his waist. A skull-cap of black velvet completed his
attire.
Yet few who looked at him took much notice of his dress: the
features of this man absorbed all attention. His face exactly
resembled that of a condor, his cap adding to the likeness by being
worn somewhat forward; from beneath which his long black hair fell
perfectly straight down the back of his neck. His brows were
scowling: his eyes deep-set and jet-black: but they were bloodshot,
and surrounded by the crimson ridges of the lids. His cheeks were
pallid as those of a corpse; and his general figure, naturally tall, was
increased in appearance of height by his attenuated limbs. He took
little notice of the crowd, but remained sitting at a small table on the
carriage, upon which there was a small show of chemical glasses
and preparations: leaving nearly all the business of his commerce to
his assistant.
This was a merry fellow, plump, and well-favoured, in the prime of
life. He was habited in a party-fashioned costume of black and white,
his opposite arms and legs being of different colours; and his doublet
quartered in the same style. Round his waist he carried a pointed
girdle, to which small hawk-bells were attached; and he wore the red
hood of the moyen âge period, fitting closely to his neck and head,
and hanging down at the top, to the extremity of which a larger bell
was fastened His face had such a comic expression, that he only
had to wink at the crowd to command their laughter. And when to
this he added his jests, he threw them into paroxysms of merriment.
‘Ohé! ohé! my masters!’ he cried, ‘the first physician of the
universe, and many other places, has come again to confer his
blessings on you. He has philtres for those who have not had
enough of love, and potions for those who have had too much. He
can attach to you a new mistress when she gets coy, or get rid of an
old one when she gets troublesome. And if you have two at once,
here is an elixir that will kill their jealousies.’
‘Send some to Louis!’ cried one of the bystanders.
A roar of laughter followed the speech, and the crowd looked
round to see the speaker. But, although bold enough to utter the
recommendation, he had not the courage to support it. However, the
cue had been given to the crowd, and the applause and laugh of
approbation continued.
‘Give it to La Vallière!’ exclaimed another of the citizens.
‘Or Madame de Montespan,’ cried a third.
‘Or, rather, to her husband!’ was ejaculated in a woman’s voice.
‘Respect his parents,’ exclaimed a bourgeois, with mock
solemnity, who was standing at the foot of the bridge, and pointing to
a group of three figures in bronze relief, which adorned a triangular
group of houses close to where he was stationed. They were those
of Louis XIII., Anne of Austria, and the present King when a child.
‘Simon Guillain, the sculptor, was a false workman!’ shouted the
bystander who had first spoken. ‘Where is the fourth of the family?’
The mountebank, who had been endeavouring to talk through the
noise, found himself completely outclamoured by the uproar that now
arose. He gave up making himself heard, and remained silent whilst
the crowd launched their sallies, or bandied their satirical jibes from
one to the other.
‘Where is the fourth?’ continued the speaker.
‘Ask Dame Perronette, who nursed him!’ was the reply from the
other side of the carrefour.
‘Ask Saint-Mars who locked on his iron mask.’
‘Who will knock and ask at Mazarin’s coffin!’ shouted another, with
a strength of lungs that ensured a hearing. ‘He ought to know best.’
The name of Anne of Austria was on the lips of many; but, with all
the license of the time, they dared not give utterance to it. And,
besides, as the last speaker finished, a yell broke forth that drowned
every other sound; and showed by its force, which partook almost of
ferocity, in what manner the memory of the Cardinal was yet held.
The instant comparative silence was obtained a fellow sung, from a
popular satire upon the late prime minister—
The throng chorused the last words with great emphasis; and then
in a few minutes were once more tranquil. The charged cloud had
got rid of its thunder, and the storm abated.
The physician, who was upon the platform, took little notice of the
clamour. At its commencement, he glared round upon the assembly
for a few seconds, and then once more bent his eyes upon the table
before him. His assistant continued, as soon as he could make
himself audible—
‘Ohé! masters! a philtre for your eyes that will make them work
upon others at a distance. Here is one that will infect the spirit of the
other with sickness at heart; here is a second that will instil love also
by the glance of the eye that is washed with it.’
They were little phials containing a small quantity of coloured fluid.
The price was small, and they were eagerly purchased by the
multitude. But for every one of the second, they purchased a dozen
of the first.
‘Art thou sure of its operation?’ asked a looker-on.
‘Glances of love and malice shoot subtly,’ replied the fool; ‘and my
master can draw subtle spirits from simple things that shall work
upon each other at some distance. But your own spirits, with the aid
of this philtre, are more subtle than they.’
‘A proof! a proof!’ cried a young man at the extremity of the
carrefour.
‘The philtre is not for such as you,’ cried the mountebank. ‘You
have youth, and a well-favoured aspect; you have a strong arm, a
gay coat, and a trusty rapier. What would man require more?’
The crowd turned to look at the object of the clown’s speech. At
the end of the carrefour, two young men were gazing, arm-in-arm,
upon the assemblage. Both were of the same age; their existence
might have reached to some seven or eight-and-twenty years, and
they were attired in the gay military costume of the period; with rich
satin under-sleeves, and bright knots or epaulettes upon the right
shoulder.
One of them, to whom the mountebank had more particularly
addressed himself, was of a fair complexion, and wore his own light
hair in long flowing curls upon his shoulders. His face was well
formed, and singularly intelligent and expressive; his forehead high
and expansive, and his eyes deep set beneath the arch of the orbit,
ever bearing the appearance of fixed regard upon whatever object
they were cast. Still to the close observer there was a faint line
running from the edge of the nostril to the outer angle of the lip,
which, coupled with his retreating eye, gave him an expression of
satire and mistrust. But so varied was the general expression of his
face, that it was next to impossible to divine his thoughts for two
minutes together.
The other was dark—his face had less indication of intellect than
his companion’s, although in general contour equally good-looking.
Yet did the features bear a somewhat jaded expression, and the
colour on his cheek was rather fevered than healthy. His eyes too
were sunk, but more from active causes than natural formation; and
he gazed on the objects that surrounded him with the listless air of
an idler. His mind was evidently but little occupied with anything he
then saw. His attire was somewhat richer than his friend’s,
betokening a superior rank in the army.
‘A proof! a proof!’ cried the gayer of the two, repeating his words.
‘Where will you have it then?’ asked the mountebank, looking
about the square. ‘Ha! there is as fair a maiden as ever a king’s
officer might follow, sitting at the cross. Shall she be in love with
you?’
Again the attention of the crowd was directed by the glance of the
mountebank towards a rude iron cross that was set up in the
carrefour.
At its foot was a young girl, half sitting, half reclining upon the
stone-work which formed its base. She was attired in the costume of
the working order of Paris. Her hair, different from that of the higher
class of females, who wore it in light bunches of ringlets at the side
of the head, was in plain bands, over which a white handkerchief,
edged with lace, was carelessly thrown, falling in lappets on each
side. Her eyes and hair were alike dark as night, but her beautiful
face was deadly pale, until she found the gaze of the mob had been
called towards her. And then the red blood rushed to her neck and
cheeks, as she hastily rose from her seat, and was about to leave
the square.
‘A pretty wench enough,’ cried the cavalier with the black hair, as
he raised himself upon the step of a house to see her. She was still
hidden from his companion.
‘I doubt not,’ answered the other carelessly; ‘but I do not care to
look. No,’ he cried loudly to the mountebank, ‘I have no love to spare
her in return, and that might break her heart.’
The girl started at his voice, and looked towards the spot from
whence it proceeded. But she was unable to see him, for the
intervening people.
‘A beryl!’ cried the fool, showing a small crystal of a reddish tint to
the crowd. ‘A beryl! to tell your fortune then. Who will read the vision
in it? a young maiden, pure and without guile, can alone do it; are
there none in our good city of Paris?’
None stepped forward. The fair-haired cavalier laughed aloud as
he cried out:
‘You seem to have told what is past better than you can predict
what is to come. Ho! sirs, what say you to this slur upon the fair fame
of your daughters and sisters—will none of them venture?’
A murmur was arising from the crowd, when the physician, who
had been glancing angrily at the two young officers, suddenly rose
up, and shouted with a foreign accent—
‘If you will have your destinies unfolded, there needs no beryl to
picture them. Let me look at your hands, and I will tell you all.’
‘A match!’ cried the young soldier. ‘Now, good people, let us pass,
and see what this solemn-visaged doctor knows about us.’
The two officers advanced towards the platform. As they
approached it, the crowd fell back, and then immediately closed after
them with eager curiosity. The friends stood now directly beside the
waggon.
‘Your hands!’ said the physician.
They were immediately extended to him.
‘You are in the king’s service,’ continued he.
‘Our dresses would tell you that,’ said the darker of the two.
‘But they would not tell me that you are married,’ answered the
physician. ‘You have two children—a fair wife—and no friend.’
‘’Tis a lie!’ exclaimed the cavalier with the light hair.