Searching for the New France / Edition 1

by James F. Hollifield

Overview

The face of today's France does not resemble its forebear of a quarter century ago; it is more like its European neighbors. Searching for the New France provides an in-depth, historical account of the changes that have swept France over the past three decades and explores the political challenges that confront the country today.

An array of distinguished international scholars examine changes in French politics, society, and the economy. The compilation is both comprehensive and topical in its coverage, and is unique in the broad-based, historical, and interpretive nature of its essays. The study will be invaluable to a wide range of scholars and students in the social sciences

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415902502
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/23/1991
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

James Hollifield is in the Department of Political Science, and George Ross is in the Department of Sociology at Brandeis University.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations, Preface, Introduction: Janus and Marianne, Chapter One: Governing the Economy in the Face of International Challenge: From National Developmentalism to National Crisis, Chapter Two: The Institutions of the Fifth Republic, Chapter Three: Towards a Centrist Democracy? The Fate of the French Right, Chapter Four: The French Left: A Tale of Three Beginnings, Chapter Five: Immigration and Modernization, Chapter Six: In Search of the Etat Providence, Chapter Seven: Trade Unions, Unemployment, and Regulation: 1962-1989, Chapter Eight: Educational Pluralism in the French Fifth Republic, Chapter Nine: Where Have All the Sartres Gone? The French Intelligentsia Born Again, Chapter Ten: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth Republic: Between the Nation and the World, Conclusion: Still Searching for the New France, Bibliography, Index, Contributors

Editorial Reviews

This volume is both an homage to and an update of a classic work, In Search of France , edited by Stanley Hoffmann ( LJ 3/15/63). The ten contributors trace 30 years of changes in various aspects of French politics and society, concentrating on such issues as immigration, the intelligentsia, and foreign policy. Replacing the original idea of the ``stalemate society'' with an anthropomorphically unhelpful focus on France's ``identity crisis,'' the writers offer conclusions that range from Alain Lipietz's pessimism to Stanley Hoffmann's optimism and a set of analytical disagreements (particularly concerning the role of political parties and the power of the Parliament), which the editors do not adequately acknowledge. An undue emphasis on France's uniqueness (with the notable exception of Douglas Ashford's comparative discussion of the French welfare state) reduces the book's value to outside scholars. But the book is usefully informative about France in the 1990s. For academic libraries.--Timothy Christenfeld, Columbia Univ.

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