Explore the vast range of titles available.

\"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\"-- Provided by publisher.

The pandemic may have consigned historians to their homes, but this did not stop history from taking centre-stage in public debate. From falling statues to culture wars, history in all its forms has continued to be deployed by states, activists, prestigious institutions and grassroots organisations. As has always been the case, those who study history for a living have rarely played a prominent role in these debates. At best, historians have tended to be confined to supporting roles as ‘advisers’, ‘consultants’ or ‘experts’. Still, even for those historians who eschew the rough-and-tumble of political and civic discussion, it is impossible to remain entirely neutral. Governments and politicians can overturn funding priorities; universities can suddenly find themselves targets of hostile political campaigning; and lecture halls can turn into sites of civic struggle. This constant historical instrumentalisation is a dramatic reminder of the power of narratives in constructing realities.

French politics in the 1970s is notoriously hard to decipher. The increasingly violent attacks on Gaullism and Communism, the decline in French geopolitical power, and the end of postwar economic growth led to unprecedented unease about the nation's collective future. But rather than treat the 1970s as an endpoint, I argue in this article that the 1970s represented a new beginning. I explore how more modest conceptions of political action, the emergence of a new kind of liberalism, and the development of identity politics led to a profound transformation of French political culture – one that tried to reconcile France's long statist tradition with the realities of an ever-more fragmented polity.

Rance and Britain, indispensable allies in two world wars, remember and forget their shared history in contrasting ways. The book will examine key episodes in the relationship between the two countries, including the outbreak of war in 1914, the battles of the Somme and Verdun, the Fall of France in 1940, Dunkirk, and British involvement in the French Resistance and the 1944 Liberation. The contributors discuss how the two countries tend to forget what they owe to each other, and have a distorted view of history which still colours and prejudices their relationship today, despite government efforts to build a close political and military partnership.

Using the case study of Montpellier, this article explores the relationship between local political actors and postcolonial minorities since the end of the Algerian War – particularly, the city's pied-noir, harki, Moroccan and Jewish populations. It examines the discourses used to secure the electoral allegiances of these groups and the myriad ways in which they laid claim to certain civic and political spaces. It employs diverse oral, archival and audio-visual sources to demonstrate how postcolonial minorities have gained important concessions from local authorities and how identity politics has developed under the Fifth Republic, despite France's strong republican tradition. Cet article explore les rapports entre acteurs de la politique locale et minorités postcoloniales depuis la fin de la guerre d’Algérie, et plus particulièrement les pieds-noirs, les harkis, les Marocains et les juifs de la ville de Montpellier. Y est analysé le discours retenu pour recevoir l’allégeance politique de ces groupes et les multiples façons dont ils ont occupé l’espace civique et politique. Sur la base de différentes sources orales, écrites et audiovisuelles, il démontre comment les minorités postcoloniales ont su obtenir d’importantes concessions de la part des autorités locales et comment s’est développée la politique identitaire sous la cinquième République, en dépit d’une forte tradition républicaine en France. Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet anhand der Fallstudie Montpellier die Beziehungen zwischen politischen Akteuren und postkolonialen Minderheiten auf lokaler Ebene im Anschluss an den Algerienkrieg. Dabei konzentriert er sich insbesondere auf die Pieds-Noirs, die Harkis, die Marrokaner und auf die jüdische Bevölkerungsgruppe in der Stadt. Der Autor analysiert die Themen und Aussagen, die zur Sicherung der Wählerstimmen dieser Gruppen eingesetzt wurden, sowie die vielfältigen Arten, in der diese bestimmte bürgerliche und politische Räume für sich beanspruchten. Anhand unterschiedlicher mündlicher, archivalischer und audiovisueller Quellen zeigt der Beitrag, wie postkoloniale Minderheiten den Kommunalbehörden erhebliche Zugeständnisse abrangen und wie sich trotz der starken republikanischen Tradition in Frankreich während der Fünften Republik eine Identitätspolitik entwickelte.

Using the case study of Montpellier, this article explores the relationship between local political actors and postcolonial minorities since the end of the Algerian War – particularly, the city's pied-noir, harki, Moroccan and Jewish populations. It examines the discourses used to secure the electoral allegiances of these groups and the myriad ways in which they laid claim to certain civic and political spaces. It employs diverse oral, archival and audio-visual sources to demonstrate how postcolonial minorities have gained important concessions from local authorities and how identity politics has developed under the Fifth Republic, despite France's strong republican tradition. Cet article explore les rapports entre acteurs de la politique locale et minorités postcoloniales depuis la fin de la guerre d’Algérie, et plus particulièrement les pieds-noirs, les harkis, les Marocains et les juifs de la ville de Montpellier. Y est analysé le discours retenu pour recevoir l’allégeance politique de ces groupes et les multiples façons dont ils ont occupé l’espace civique et politique. Sur la base de différentes sources orales, écrites et audiovisuelles, il démontre comment les minorités postcoloniales ont su obtenir d’importantes concessions de la part des autorités locales et comment s’est développée la politique identitaire sous la cinquième République, en dépit d’une forte tradition républicaine en France. Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet anhand der Fallstudie Montpellier die Beziehungen zwischen politischen Akteuren und postkolonialen Minderheiten auf lokaler Ebene im Anschluss an den Algerienkrieg. Dabei konzentriert er sich insbesondere auf die Pieds-Noirs, die Harkis, die Marrokaner und auf die jüdische Bevölkerungsgruppe in der Stadt. Der Autor analysiert die Themen und Aussagen, die zur Sicherung der Wählerstimmen dieser Gruppen eingesetzt wurden, sowie die vielfältigen Arten, in der diese bestimmte bürgerliche und politische Räume für sich beanspruchten. Anhand unterschiedlicher mündlicher, archivalischer und audiovisueller Quellen zeigt der Beitrag, wie postkoloniale Minderheiten den Kommunalbehörden erhebliche Zugeständnisse abrangen und wie sich trotz der starken republikanischen Tradition in Frankreich während der Fünften Republik eine Identitätspolitik entwickelte.