A Divided Republic : Nation, State and Citizenship in Contemporary France

This Book Is An Original And Sophisticated Historical Interpretation Of Contemporary French Political Culture. Until Now, There Have Been Few Attempts To Understand The Political Consequences Of The Profound Geopolitical, Intellectual And Economic Changes That France Has Undergone Since The 1970s. However, Emile Chabal's Detailed Study Shows How Passionate Debates Over Citizenship, Immigration, Colonial Memory, The Reform Of The State And The Historiography Of Modern France Have Galvanised The French Elite And Created New Spaces For Discussion And Disagreement. Many Of These Debates Have Coalesced Around Two Political Languages - Republicanism And Liberalism - Both Of Which Structure The Historical Imagination And The Symbolic Vocabulary Of French Political Actors. The Tension Between These Two Political Languages Has Become The Central Battleground Of Contemporary French Politics. It Is Around These Two Poles That Politicians, Intellectuals And Members Of France's Vast Civil Society Have Tried To Negotiate The Formidable Challenges Of Ideological Uncertainty And A Renewed Sense Of Global Insecurity-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Introduction: French Politics After The Deluge; Part I. Writing The National Narrative In Contemporary France: The Return Of Republicanism: 1. Writing Histories: Two Republican Narratives; 2. From Nouveaux Philosophes To Nouveaux Re;actionnaires: Marxism And The Republic; 3. La Re;publique En Danger! The Search For Consensus And The Rise Of Neo-republican Politics; 4. Postcolonies I: Integration, Disintegration And Citizenship; 5. The Republic, The Anglo-saxon And The European Project; Part Ii. Liberal Critics Of Contemporary France: Le Libe;ralisme Introuvable?: 6. In The Shadow Of Raymond Aron: The 'liberal Revival' Of The 1980s; 7. Rewriting Jacobinism: François Furet, Pierre Rosanvallon And Modern French History; 8. Postcolonies Ii: The Politics Of Multiculturalism And Colonial Memory; 9. Whither The Trente Glorieuses? The Language Of Crisis And The Reform Of The State; 10. Liberal Politics In France: A Story Of Failure?; Conclusion: Political Consensus In Twenty-first-century France; Bibliography; Index. Emile Chabal. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Table of contents 9 Acknowledgements 11 Note on translation 14 Introduction: French politics after the deluge 15 Part I Writing the national narrative in contemporary France 21 The return of republicanism 21 1 Writing histories: two republican narratives 23 Republicanism in modern French history 25 The institutional narrative: the Republic as lieu de mémoire 32 The transformative narrative: the Republic as laïcité 39 2 From nouveaux philosophes to nouveaux réactionnaires: Marxism and the Republic 46 Régis Debray's revolutionary Republic 52 Alain Finkielkraut's Republic of Letters 57 The perennial return of the French intellectual? 66 3 La République en danger! The search for consensus and the rise of neo-republican politics 69 Adieu 89? The search for political consensus in the 1980s 70 La République à l'attaque! Headscarves, parité and regional languages 79 The all-conquering Republic? 92 4 Post-colonies I: integration, disintegration and citizenship 94 Dividing the nation: immigration, the Front National and la fracture sociale 95 Repairing the nation: the Haut Conseil à l'intégration 104 From intégration to communautarisme: the language of integration and the French elite 109 Intégration à la française: a political paradigm 117 5 The Republic, the Anglo-Saxon and the European project 119 The anti-France? Economics and the modèle anglo-saxon 120 Dystopias: Anglo-Saxon society 127 The Anglo-Saxon in Europe 134 The global Republic? 142 Part II Liberal critics of contemporary France 145 Le libéralisme introuvable? 145 6 In the shadow of Raymond Aron: the 'liberal revival' of the 1980s 149 Celebrating Raymond Aron, 1983-2010 152 Securing the liberal revival: the journal Commentaire 163 A mature French liberalism at last? 169 7 Rewriting Jacobinism: François Furet, Pierre Rosanvallon and modern French history 172 The melancholy liberalism of François Furet 174 Solidarity and civil society: Pierre Rosanvallon and the construction of the liberal political space 187 The strange liberalism of François Furet and Pierre Rosanvallon 198 8 Post-colonies II: the politics of multiculturalism and colonial memory 200 La France ethnique? Multiculturalism, droit à la difference and identity politics 201 La guerre des mémoires: colonial memory and the post-colonial challenge 211 Postcolonialism as liberalism: an impossible equation? 221 9 Whither the Trente Glorieuses? The language of crisis and the reform of the state 223 La France bloquée: the critique of the bureaucracy and the crise de la représentation 224 La France malade: reforming the 'French model' 233 La France ouverte? Looking beyond the Hexagon 240 La France économique? A changing language of politics 245 10 Liberal politics in France: a story of failure? 247 Liberalism and the left: the legacies of the deuxième gauche 248 Liberalism and the right: from neo-liberalism to declinism 259 Liberal politics: defeated or defeatist? 273 Conclusion: the search for consensus in twenty-first-century France 275 Bibliography 279 Archives and libraries consulted 279 Interviews 279 Published material 279 Newspapers and magazines 279 France 280 United Kingdom and United States 280 Government publications and reports 280 Books and journal articles 281 Unpublished material 304 Audiovisual sources 305 Radio 305 Television 305 Music/Audio/Film 305 Internet resources and websites 306 Index 307 "This book is an original and sophisticated historical interpretation of contemporary French political culture. Until now, there have been few attempts to understand the political consequences of the profound geopolitical, intellectual and economic changes that France has undergone since the 1970s. However, Emile Chabal's detailed study shows how passionate debates over citizenship, immigration, colonial memory, the reform of the state and the historiography of modern France have galvanised the French elite and created new spaces for discussion and disagreement. Many of these debates have coalesced around two political languages - republicanism and liberalism - both of which structure the historical imagination and the symbolic vocabulary of French political actors. The tension between these two political languages has become the central battleground of contemporary French politics. It is around these two poles that politicians, intellectuals and members of France's vast civil society have tried to negotiate the formidable challenges of ideological uncertainty and a renewed sense of global insecurity" (Source : rabat de la jaquette)