British and French race policies have evolved from their fragmentary postwar form into relatively well-developed institutions today. They have not, however, proceeded smoothly, nor have they followed identical paths. Multiple subplots and unexpected twists and turns have marked the history of race policies in these two countries, from Labour's about-face on immigration policies in the 1960s to France's shifting rules that let Parliament place antiracism on the official agenda in 1990. Moreover, in spite of similarities in numbers and percentages of ethnic minorities, each country struck out in a substantially different race policy direction. Closely examining the historical record has unveiled details about how and why leaders in each country chose their race relations and antiracism structures.

Tracking the evolution of race policies in Britain and France also makes it possible to examine and to assess theoretical approaches to the study of comparative public policymaking. Chapter 1 outlined the power-interest, problem-solving, and institutional perspectives on policymaking, and suggested that each served to illuminate the policymaking process. It also focused on frames, arguing that mainstream views of policymaking downplayed the role of such ideational variables in accounts of policy choices. Chapters 2 through 6 drew on these theoretical schools of thought to help analyze the construction of race institutions in Britain and France. This chapter, in turn, uses the empirical material to evaluate the theoretical perspectives themselves, with special emphasis placed on the role of frames in policy analysis.