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 réactionnaires: Marxism and the Republic; 3. La République 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 Libéralisme 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.
A bold interpretation of contemporary French political culture that uses current political debates to understand how the French engage with politics.
Emile Chabal was educated at the University of Cambridge, Rice University, Houston, Harvard University, Massachusetts and the École Normale Supérieure, Paris. He completed his PhD at Cambridge and his thesis was subsequently awarded the History Faculty's Prince Consort and Thirlwall Prize, and Seeley Medal for the best dissertation across all periods. Immediately after completing his doctorate, Chabal took up a position as Departmental Lecturer in Modern European History in the Faculty of History and Balliol College, Oxford. He returned to Cambridge in 2012 as a Research Fellow in French Political History at St John's College. In 2013, he moved to the University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor's Fellow in History. his research has, for the most part, touched on three main areas: the transformation of French politics since the 1970s, Franco-British relations in the twentieth century and the legacy of postcolonialism in France. This has resulted in a number of publications on subjects ranging from the 'Anglo-Saxon' in modern French thought to contemporary French conceptions of the nation, the citizen and the secular. Chabal has also worked on political counter-narratives in France, including liberal reinterpretations of modern French history, theories of multiculturalism and the politics of postcolonialism. More recently, he has turned his attention to French neo-liberalism and anti-liberalism, and he has an ongoing project that looks at identity politics, clientelism and the history of inter-community relations in Montpellier since the end of the Algerian War. All of this research has sought to elaborate imaginative new frameworks for understanding contemporary political culture in France and Europe.
'This is an outstanding and groundbreaking book. It provides a
powerful and persuasive account of the transformation of the modern
French intellectual landscape, and the emergence of new patterns of
republican and liberal thought. The analysis is rich, nuanced, and
sophisticated, and Chabal provides us with the essential keys to
understanding contemporary French political debates.' Sudhir
Hazareesingh, University of Oxford
'Emile Chabal demonstrates with great perspicacity how, since the
end of the 1970s, a newly revived French republicanism came to
prominence amidst the ruins of the grand ideologies of the 'Trente
Glorieuses'. His analysis is compelling and he successfully steers
clear of the tired confrontation between (neo-)liberal apologists
and those nostalgic for a lost France of revolutionary passion.'
Christophe Prochasson, École des Hautes Études en Sciences
Sociales
'After Marxism, what next? A Divided Republic is an outstanding
integrative study that brightly illuminates both the republican and
liberal turns of French political culture since the 1970s, with an
impressive combination of political and intellectual history. As a
guide to the territory, Emile Chabal is as insightful as he is
informed, and has achieved the best available treatment of a
complex set of developments.' Samuel Moyn, Harvard University,
Massachusetts
'Chabal's survey of contemporary French political culture is
patient and heroically comprehensive … Students of French political
thought will … remain in [his] debt for this careful and thorough
work of reconstruction and analysis.' Arthur Goldhammer, The
American Prospect
'… there is no doubt that overall Chabal succeeds in showing that
by studying the political languages of liberalism and republicanism
it is possible to gain a clearer picture of what is at stake in
contemporary French political debate than is visible through the
lens of the traditional left-right divide. Rich in suggestive
avenues for future research and sure to provoke lively debate among
students and researchers working on contemporary French history, A
Divided Republic makes a major contribution to its field.' Iain
Stewart, European Review of History
'… a detailed and well-researched examination of how the French
political sphere and political language have changed in the past
three decades following the Trente Glorieuses. More than just a
political history, Emile Chabal brings together a multitude of
sources to address how the French national narrative has changed
since the 1980s … By focusing on the two political languages -
neo-republicanism and liberalism - Chabal provides not only a
thorough examination of contemporary French politics, but also a
much-needed intervention into the role of immigration, colonialism,
and minority politics in French national identity. More than well
written, A Divided Republic is an important book.' Jean Beaman,
H-France Review (h-france.net)
'… this is a fine study. Emile Chabal's book provides a better
analysis of how theoretical discussions have unfolded in recent
French political debates than any other of which I am aware. I
learned a great deal while reading it, and I believe that anyone
interested in recent French politics and/or recent French political
theory will find A Divided Republic engaging and enlightening.' K.
Steven Vincent, The European Legacy
'Emile Chabal's A Divided Republic: Nation, State and Citizenship
in Contemporary France makes an important theoretical contribution
to our understanding of contemporary French politics. … Even
without its provocative hypothesis, A Divided Republic would be a
useful primer on the intellectuals, ideas and political tides of
post-1975 France, all the more so given that it is written in an
exceptionally clear and accessible manner. When Chabal's important
theoretical contribution is added into the equation, A Divided
Republic becomes essential reading for scholars and teachers of
contemporary French politics and ideology.' Jonah D. Levy, French
History
'This is a cogently argued and clearly written monograph that meets
the highest standards of academic scholarship. It is a book that is
demanding and rewarding in equal measure. … It will appeal
particularly to those interested in the history of ideas, but will
also prove stimulating for anyone with an informed interest in
contemporary French politics, society, and civilization.' Raymond
Kuhn, Contemporary French Civilization
'…Chabal's book is extremely successful in making 'French politics
appear a little less contradictory' … Chabal is especially great in
explaining and contextualizing expressions such as le lien social,
la fracture sociale, intégration, communautarisme, and other terms
that have spread in recent years and that have a significantly
different meaning in the Anglo-Saxon world. His book is a must-read
for anyone interested in methodological questions pertaining to
intellectual history, but also for anyone trying to make sense of
some of the most salient political and intellectual questions
haunting France today.' Camille Robcis, French Politics, Culture &
Society
'Chabal's book provides an excellent, accessible discussion of the
sources and development of neo-republican thought in France today,
as well as the emergence of a unique French version of liberalism …
This book will be truly appreciated by readers with a good
grounding in the intellectual life of postwar France.' D.
Schwam-Baird, Choice
'Emile Chabal's book provides a better analysis of how theoretical
discussions have unfolded in recent French political debates than
any other of which I am aware.' K. Steven Vincent, The European
Legacy: Toward New Paradigms
'This is a beautifully written account that draws on an eclectic
mix of sources including government reports, print and audiovisual
media, popular essays and interviews with high-profile academics
such as Jean Baubérot, Dominique Schnapper and Michel Wiewiorka.
The portraits of these intellectual figures is particularly
enlightening as is the focus on the role played by institutions
such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in
France's political and cultural life … a masterful study that is
certain to cement its place as a landmark in the field of modern
French history.' Timothy Peace, Modern and Contemporary France
'Emile Chabal's incisive and insightful book is an important
contribution to the study of contemporary French politics; above
all, it is a brilliant combination of political and intellectual
history. … This is an original and stimulating argument, and it
very much deserves to be widely discussed and applied as a
framework for examining French politics and the French polity.'
James McDougall, Journal of Religion, Politics and Ideology
'An excellent book which makes a major contribution to the study of
French politics. … an important contribution and will be essential
reading for students and scholars of French history and
contemporary politics. It offers a very thorough treatment in
English not just of (misguided and transgressive) Republicans such
as Alain Finkelkraut and Regis Debray, or towering liberals such as
Raymond Aron, but also forefronts lesser-known thinkers in the
liberal tradition such as the political philosopher Pierre
Rosanvallon and the economist Nicolas Baverez.' Alistair Cole,
English Historical Review
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