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Political Science in France
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2014
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AT FIRST SIGHT ONE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT THE REPORT ON THE teaching of social sciences in the world prepared in 1951 by William Robson, at the invitation of UNESCO for the International Political Science Association, is still valid today in what it says about the situation in France. In fact, because of the strong traditions in the French universities, the teaching of and research in political science in France have not made the progress which had been hoped for, in spite of the continuing efforts of successive governments. Nevertheless, since the mid-1960s a major effort has been made. Some 40 chairs and nearly three times as many lectureships and assistant lectureships have been created and several large research centres have been set up, particularly in Paris where, alongside the venerable Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, many teams have been established, notably at Paris I, Paris II and Paris X, comprising lawyears, sociologists and historians.
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References
1 Robson, W. A., Les sciences sociales dans I'enseignement supérieur, Paris, Unesco, Science Politique, 1955.Google Scholar
2 The teaching of social sciences is divided between the following sections: civil law, public law, history of law, political science, economic sciences, management, sociology and anthropology, philosophy, history, geography, psychology, communications.
3 These are the Universities of Bordeaux, Lyons II, Strasbourg III, Toulouse I (Public Law with Political Studies), Paris I, II, VIII and X.
4 The DEA of political studies can be prepared for in the following universities: Aix, Marseille III, Bordeaux I, Grenoble II, Montpellier I (two diplomas), Nancy II, Paris IX, IEP, Paris. There is also a DEA of political sociology at Paris I. Lastly, a thesis in political studies can be presented by the holders of a DEA (obtained in one of the above mentioned universities) to the following universities: Clermont‐Ferrand, Dijon, Lyons III, Nantes, Nice, Poitiers. There is also a DEA in African studies which can be linked with political science at Bordeaux I
5 The extreme is reached when in a university such as Montpellier I there are two DEAs. However this dispersal is not recent. It is absurd that in the 1950s two DEPs were created in the south‐west and two in the region of the Rhone Alpes, and none in the west or the north.
6 See Marcel Prelot, Institutions politiques et droit constitutionnel and Histoire des Idées politiques, both in the Dalloz Précis.
7 Pierre Avril, Le régime politique de la Ve République, LGDJ, 1st edition 1963, which has been republished many times.
8 Louis Favoreu and Loic Philip, Le Conseil Constitutionnel, PUF, 1978.
9 Stephan Rials, Les idées politiques du Président Pompidou, PUF, 1974 and Le Premier Ministre, PUF, 1981.
10 François Goguel, Géographie des élections françaises sous les IIIe and IVe Républiques, Cahier de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (referred to in future as Cahier), 1st edition, 1951, 2nd revised edition 1970 and Modernisation économique et comportement politique, Cahier, 1961.
11 George Dupeux, Le Front Populaire et les Elections de 1936, Cahier, 1959.
12 Alain Lancelot, L'Abstentionnisme électoral en France, Cahier, 1971.
13 Philippe Braude, Le suffrage universel contre la démocratie, PUF, 1980.
14 Kriegel, Annie, Aux origines du communisme français, 2 vols, Mouton, 1964 Google Scholar, and Les Communistes français, Le Seuil, 1970.
15 , René Rémond, , La droite en France, 2 vols, Aubier, 1968 Google Scholar and La vie politique en France depuis 1789, 2 vols, Colin, 1970. But it must not be forgotten that there is still need for a good study on the IIIrd Republic and that the best book on the IVth Republic is that of Philip Williams, La vie politique sous la IVe République, Colin, 1971, translated from English.
16 François Goguel, La politique des partis sous la Ve République, Le Seuil, 1948 and with Alfred Grosser, La politique en France, Le Seuil, reprinted many times since 1965.
17 Lavau, Georges, A quoi sert le parti communiste français?, Fayard, 1981.Google Scholar
18 Jean‐Louis Quermonne, Le gouvernment de la France sous la Ve République, Dalloz, 1980 to be compared with Dimitri‐Georges Lavroff, Le systeme politique français, Dalloz, 1979, a much more institutional work, in which politics takes an almost secondary place, in a way very characteristic of political science as practised by French publicists.
19 Jean Charlot, I'UNB, Cahier, 1967, and especially Le phénomène gaulliste, Fayard, 1970, and also Chapsal, Jacques and Lancelot, Alain, La vie politique en France depuis 1940, PUF, 1979.Google Scholar
20 Oliver Duhamel, La gauche et la Ve République, PUF, 1980, a very remarkable synthesis, Marc Sadoun, Le parti socialiste de Munich à la Libération, thesis Paris I 1979 and Jean Baudoin, Le PCF ou le communisme aux couleurs de la France, thesis Rennes 1980. But, with the exception of Gaullisme there is no comparable work on the Right.
21 François Chatelet and Evelyne Pisier Kouchner, Les conceptions politiques du XXe siècle, PUF, 1981.
22 Louis Dupeux, Le national bolchevisme: Stratégie communiste et dynamique conservatrice, Champion, 1979.
23 Birnbaum, Pierre with Chazel, François Sociologie politique, 2 vols., Colin, 1971;Google Scholar La fin du politique, PUF, 1975; Les sommets de I'Etat, PUF, 1977, and La classe dirigeante française, PUF, 1978.
24 Sfez, Lucien, L'administration prospective, Colin, 1971 Google Scholar, and Critique de la décision, Cahier, 1973.
25 Kesler, J. F., L'administration publique, sociologies des fonctionnaires, Suey, 1966;Google Scholar Sociologie des fonctionnaires, PUF, 1980, and J. Siwek Pouydesseau, Le corps préfectoral sous la IIIe et la IVe Républiques, Colin, 1969, and Le personnel de directions des Ministères, Colin, 1969.
27 Even the textbook of Cayrol, Roland, La presse écrite et audiovisuelle, PUF, 1973,Google Scholar ignores them: one would look in vain there for any approach to a theory of communication.
28 The quality of the researchers is reflected in important works. Among the most recent are those of Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, L'Empire eclaté, Flammarion, 1979, and Le pouvoir confisqué, Flammarion, 1980; Philippe Devillers, Guerre ou Paix, an interpretation of Soviet foreign policy, Balland, 1979; Renata Fritsch Bournazel, I'Union soviétique et les Allemagnes, FN Sc. Po., 1979; Alfred Grosser, Les Occidentaux, Fayard, 1980; Guy Hermet, Les Catholiques dans I'Espagne franquiste, FN. Sc. Po., 1980; Lily Marcou, l'Internationale après Staline, Grasset, 1979; and works by Alain Rouquie, Pouvoir militaire et societé politique en République Argentine, 1978, and Les partis militaires au Brésil, 1980, both published by the Presses de la Fondation des Sciences Politiques.
29 In this respect it is very characteristic that the works of Claude‐Albert Colliard and his textbook entitled Institutions des relations internationales completely ignores a whole religious institution the Conseil oecumenique des églises, which does, nevertheless, play a considerable role today, at the level of both East‐West and North‐South relations. The chapter devoted to the Holy See (pp. 203–214) is moreover very narrow in conception. The other textbooks are very similar, cf., for example, Reuter and Combacau, Institutions et relations internationales, PUf, 1980.
30 See Merle, Marcel, La vie internationale, Colin, 2nd ed., 1970,Google Scholar and especially Sociologie des relations internationales, Dalloz, 2nd ed., 1976, which is a work entirely new in conception and which should be the basis for French internationalists.
31 Charles Zorgbibe, particularly Les relations internationales, PUF, 1975, Introduction aux relations internationales, PUF, 1977, La Méditerranée sans les Grands?, PUF, 1980, and La risque de guerre, PUF, 1981.
32 There are three periodicals dealing with international affairs in France: Politique étrangère, published under the auspices of the IFRI which has become a periodical of very high quality; Relations internationales, dealing with the history of contemporary international relations, edited by J. B. Duroselle, a disciple of P. Renouvin and F. Freymond, Honorary Director of the Institut des Hautes études Internationales in Geneva; and lastly, Politique internationale, founded in 1977 by Patrick Wasjman, on the model of Foreign Affairs. The greatest weakness of these three periodicals is undoubtedly the inadequacy of their documentation (events, bibliography of books and periodicals).
33 We had to wait for the works of R. Aron, such as Guerre et Paix entre les Nations and Clausewitz for studies of defence policy to be rehabilitated in French universities, helped, it is true, by the efforts of the Mission des études of the General Secretariat of National Defence. But these studies are still very neglected by most political scientists. Out of more than 2000 former participants in the national or regional sessions of the Institut des Hautes études de Défense Nationale, there are fewer than 30 lawyers and political scientists, as many as historians and less than doctors. Only L. Hamon had, since 1966, in vain drawn the attention of researchers to the relations between strategy and policy, with his book La stratégie contre la guerre, Grasset. J. P. Charnay has followed his example with his Essai général de stratégie, published in 1973, as have, of course, the studies of the Centre de Défense of Paris I which is directed by P. Dabezies.