Books in the French Politics, Society and Culture series

This book argues that the defeat of the main French Centre Right party in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, and its subsequent disintegration, were the result of a failure to respond effectively to the challenges posed by a continuing realignment of the party system.

Special attention is given to the 2002 national elections, when right-wing extremist Le Pen made such a spectacular showing in the presidential contest. Was the first-ballot success of Le Pen based on issues of law and order, ethnicity, nationalism or on the economy?

In the shadow of a French national narrative which demonises and rejects local specificities, highly differentiated territorial political spaces have been created, shaped by identity, decentralisation, and public policy. This book analyses regional power in France and paints a picture of a controversial central state undergoing fundamental changes.

A companion volume to Drake's Intellectuals and Politics in Post-War France (2002), French Intellectuals from the Dreyfus Affair to the Occupation traces the political positions adopted by French writers and artists from the end of the 19th century to the Liberation.

This book explores Charles De Gaulle's use and strict control of television between 1958 and 1969, highlighting the association between charismatic power and television with regards to legitimizing the Gaullist leadership and determining an evolution towards presidentialism during the Fifth Republic.

An analysis of the first half of Francois Hollande's five-year presidential term that examines the strengths and weaknesses of presidential politics following the Left's return to power in 2012 and puts forward an interpretation of the underlying nature of contemporary French politics, and the French Fifth Republic.

Culture, understood broadly, lay at the heart of contrasting right-wing strategies for government in France during the pivotal decade of 2002-2012. Looking at issues of secularism, education, televisual performance, public memory and nation-branding Ahearne analyses how presidents Chirac and Sarkozy sought to redefine contemporary French identity.

This engaging exploration of the French Socialist Party details the exceptional problems that the party has faced and the way it has dealt with them. The result is a comprehensive and compelling guide to the quiddities of political infighting, the structure of power and of the environment in which the party operates.

This study departs from traditional interpretations of cohabitation in French politics, which suggest French institutions are capable of coping when the President and Prime Minister originate from different political parties. Instead, it offers the opposite view that cohabitation leads to partisan conflict and inertia in the policy-making process.

Was the victory of Francois Hollande, the Socialist challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy, inevitable in the 2012 French Presidential elections? This book argues that a combination of economic downturn, policy choices and personal unpopularity meant that the Right-wing incumbent faced an almost impossible task in holding onto power for another five years.

Accounts of public intellectuals in France and French feminism have focused on a specific set of women thinkers overlooking some major women intellectuals. This book aims redresses this balance by studying these forgotten intellectuals creating a cultural and theoretical re-evaluation of the gendered phenomenon of the public intellectual in France.

In the French Republic political leadership is normally provided by the presidency, albeit from a very narrow constitutional base. This volume examines the strengths and weaknesses of that leadership as well as the way that executive power has been established in the republican context.

Focusing on the changing nature of policymaking in the Fifth Republic as a key factor in the organization of each protest, Graeme Hayes asks why some protests succeed where others fail, and how we should understand the relationship between states and social movements in general.

Contemporary France has witnessed a rise of new forms of social movement, mobilising around new causes and articulating changing demands. She argues that emerging movements share a profoundly civic dimension: these are movements about rights and are concerned with who has rights and what those rights are.

With globalization and the EU, local and regional government in member states have experienced dramatic changes in their operation, responsibilities and organizations. Loughlin presents an overview of the theory and practice of subnational government in France and a detailed examination of the outcomes.

Is it true that de Gaulle kept journalists at a distance because he disliked the press? The author examines de Gaulle's communications strategy and broadcasting policy, comparing his approach to public communications with that of past French leaders and contemporary American presidents.

Parties and the Party System in France seeks to explain the paradox of France's current relationship to politics through a comprehensive analysis of French political parties and their interaction over the last fifty years, set against the two contexts of French history and of contemporary theories of parties and party systems.

This study examines the record of French and EU interactions with China, Japan and Vietnam in the areas of economic exchanges, political security relations and human rights to establish if there has been a trend of converging 'European' politics and collective European conceptions of interest and identity.

This book provides a systematic account of the changing priorities, procedures and practices of French NGOs active in overseas development work. It explores whether French NGOs are eschewing wider trends in the Northern NGO sector and uses Resource Dependence theory and a case study of NGO field-work in Cameroon to shed light on these actors.

Sarkozy came to power promising radical political and social change while simultaneously developing a presidential persona that melded the public and the personal under the glare of media attention, unparalleled in the French Fifth Republic. This volume provides a detailed analysis of the fit between his ambitions and the outcomes of his presidency

This book examines the ways in which France's relations with the international community have evolved in a period of accelerating globalization. It considers the role of the nation state, and its capacity for political initiative, examining French strategies to reinforce French influence on the world stage.

Sarkozy came to power promising radical political and social change while simultaneously developing a presidential persona that melded the public and the personal under the glare of media attention, unparalleled in the French Fifth Republic. This volume provides a detailed analysis of the fit between his ambitions and the outcomes of his presidency

This book addresses essential questions about the determinants and dynamics of the French political system over the long haul. Beyond 'French exceptionalism', this long term perspective allows for the mapping of key institutions of the Fifth Republic both in terms of their evolution and the complex interplay between institutions and politics.

Business Elites and Corporate Governance in France and the UK is a cross-national study of business elites and corporate governance in France and the UK. It examines corporate governance from a comparative standpoint and looks beneath the surface at the exercise of power and authority in two distinct national business systems.

Combining fresh, critical insights from a feminist and anti-racist perspective, this is an excellent synthesis of some of the most important issues on the French public policy agenda. It provides detailed analysis and broad contextualization of debates on employment, parity, domestic violence, abortion, prostitution, and Islamic headscarves.

Paul Smith examines how the Senate has attempted, since 1958, to locate itself within the French (semi-) presidential system, how it asserts its place in relation to the President, Government and National Assembly and how it has sought, in recent years, to develop an autonomous and particular sense of identity.

The logic behind European monetary cooperation and integration can only be understood through an examination of French efforts to maximise their monetary power in relation to Germany and America.