When the French Tried to be British: Party, Opposition, and the Quest for Civil Disagreement, 1814-1848 (Volume 46) (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas)

In When the French Tried to Be British, J.A.W. Gunn studies the French effort during 1814 to 1848 to adopt the set of common understandings that lent a comparative stability to British government. The institutions of a loyal opposition and disciplined political parties seemed to be implicit in the parliamentary model, but their acceptance foundered on French reluctance to accord legitimacy to political opponents. A sophisticated minority - including such major figures as Chateaubriand, Constant, Mme de Stael, and Guizot - recognized the need for something approaching the British political culture, but the wounds opened by the Revolution could not readily be healed. A more or less complete acceptance of the civil disagreement that was the spirit of the British model had to await the Fifth Republic. To a surprising degree, the French have remained unaware of the struggle in the Restoration and after to make political pluralism respectable. When the French Tried to Be British makes a significant contribution to the political and intellectual history of Restoration France and, to a lesser degree, the July Monarchy and offers much food for thought for those attempting similar ventures today.

In When the French Tried to Be British, J.A.W. Gunn studies the French effort during 1814 to 1848 to adopt the set of common understandings that lent a comparative stability to British government. The institutions of a loyal opposition and disciplined political parties seemed to be implicit in the parliamentary model, but their acceptance foundered on French reluctance to accord legitimacy to political opponents. A sophisticated minority - including such major figures as Chateaubriand, Constant, Mme de Staël, and Guizot - recognized the need for something approaching the British political culture, but the wounds opened by the Revolution could not readily be healed. A more or less complete acceptance of the civil disagreement that was the spirit of the British model had to await the Fifth Republic.

To a surprising degree, the French have remained unaware of the struggle in the Restoration and after to make political pluralism respectable. When the French Tried to Be British makes a significant contribution to the political and intellectual history of Restoration France and, to a lesser degree, the July Monarchy and offers much food for thought for those attempting similar ventures today.

In When the French Tried to Be British, J.A.W. Gunn studies the French effort during 1814 to 1848 to adopt the set of common understandings that lent a comparative stability to British government. The institutions of a loyal opposition and disciplined political parties seemed to be implicit in the parliamentary model, but their acceptance foundered on French reluctance to accord legitimacy to political opponents. A sophisticated minority - including such major figures as Chateaubriand, Constant, Mme de Staël, and Guizot - recognized the need for something approaching the British political culture, but the wounds opened by the Revolution could not readily be healed. A more or less complete acceptance of the civil disagreement that was the spirit of the British model had to await the Fifth Republic. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Conflict and Its Management in the French Tradition: Pre-revolutionary Perspectives 2 Against Party: The Burden of the Past 3 Honourable Connections: Ultra-Royalism and Party Government 4 Fiévée: Paradoxes by Instalment 5 Constant and Company: An Almost-Loyal Opposition 6 Chateaubriand: The Literary Lion as Political Theorist 7 Doctrinaires: Politics of the Chair Conclusion Select Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y