This article analyses the emergence of administrative science in France in the wake of the Second World War. The birth of this discipline is examined through the history of its founders, a group of comparatist aiming at developing universal administrative principles. The post-war context prompted the creation of checks and balances against administrative power (through oversight of the legality of administrative action) and against the powers of nation states (through human rights and international organizations). Administrative science and comparative law were meant to rebuild international relations. The history of this discipline highlights a legal project to redefine the role and limits of executive power at the dawn of the construction of a new world order.

Points for practitioners

Looking at long-term developments in the science of administration helps to inform administrative practice by providing a historical and reflective perspective. This article shows how a new understanding of the administrative reality emerged after the fall of the totalitarian regimes of the first half of the 20th century. It highlights the different ways in which administrative power was controlled after the Second World War through greater oversight over administrative legality, the establishment of universal administrative principles and the proclamation of human rights. Questions of administrative legitimacy and the limitation of administrative power are still very much part of the daily practice of executive power, and represent a central aspect of administrative thinking.

本文分析了第二次世界大战后法国行政科学的兴起。该学科的诞生是通过其创建者的历史进行考察的，该学科的创建者是一群比较主义者，旨在发展普遍的行政原则。战后的情况促使人们建立起对行政权力（通过监督行政行动的合法性）和对民族国家的权力（通过人权和国际组织）进行制衡。行政科学和比较法旨在重建国际关系。该学科的历史着重强调了一个法律项目，该项目将在世界新秩序建设之初重新定义行政权的作用和局限性。

从业人员要点

通过提供历史性和反思性的观点，研究行政学的长期发展有助于为行政实践提供信息。本文说明了在20世纪上半叶极权主义政权垮台后，如何对行政现实产生新的认识。它强调了第二次世界大战后通过对行政合法性的更大监督，确立普遍行政原则和宣布人权来控制行政权力的不同方式。行政合法性和行政权力的限制问题仍然是行政权力日常实践的重要组成部分，它们代表着行政思想的中心方面。