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Government and politics of France / Anne Stevens.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Stevens, Anne, 1942-
- Series:
- Comparative government and politics
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- France--Politics and government--1789-.
- France.
- Politics and government.
- Physical Description:
- xvi, 300 pages : maps ; 24 cm.
- Edition:
- Third edition, fully revised and updated.
- Place of Publication:
- Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
- Summary:
- The fully revised and largely rewritten third edition of this popular and widely-used text has been updated throughout to cover the period of Chirac/Jospin cohabitation and the implications of Chirac's success in the dramatic 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections.
- Government and Politics of France provides a clear and comprehensible account of the contemporary French political system. Anne Stevens explains the historical continuities -- and discontinuities -- which have shaped the pattern of French politics, and describes the network of French institutions, at national and local level, with a lively sense of how political action happens, where power is located, and how, and within what constraints, it is used. Special attention is given to the very particular role of pressure groups and direct action in French society, France's place and role within the European Union and such current issues as immigration and economic policy.
- Contents:
- 1 France: An Introduction 1
- Geographical Diversity 2
- The Impact of the French Revolution 5
- Church and State 6
- The Legacy of Napoleon 9
- The Evolution of the Republic 10
- The Rise of Socialism 11
- Occupation, Resistance, Liberation 12
- Division and Instability 14
- Reconstruction and Modernization 17
- State, Society and Economy under the Fifth Republic 18
- Social Changes 26
- 2 The Constitutional Framework 31
- The Constitutions of the Third and Fourth Republics 32
- The Demand for a New Constitution in 1958 33
- The Objectives of the Authors of the Constitution 35
- The Letter of the Constitution 38
- Amending the Constitution 42
- The Constitutional Balance: What Type of Regime? 48
- The Development of the Regime 50
- The Constitutional Council 55
- 3 President and Prime Minister: Executive Leadership 63
- The Nature of the Fifth Republican Presidency 64
- The Head of Government: The Prime Minister 66
- The Prime Minister and the President 67
- The Formal Resources of the Presidency 71
- The Position of the Prime Minister 78
- 4 President and Prime Minister: Political Roles and Evolving Relationships 83
- Presidential Practice 83
- The Political Role of the Prime Minister 91
- Cohabitation 94
- Limitations and Constraints 97
- 5 The Governmental Machine: Ministers and Civil Servants 106
- The Machinery of Government 106
- The Characteristics of Ministers 110
- The Pathology of the Ministerial Role: Corruption and Scandal 113
- The Coordination of the Work of the Government 117
- The French Administrative Tradition 121
- Control of the Administration 131
- The Nature of Policy-Making: Image and Reality 134
- 6 Local Government 141
- The Units of Local Government 141
- The Electoral and Administrative Structures of Local Government 150
- The Resources of Local Authorities 158
- Continuity and Change: Patterns of Local
- Central Relationships 159
- 7 Parliament 165
- The Structure of Parliament 165
- The Members of Parliament: Characteristics and Conditions 169
- The Organization of Parliamentary Work 171
- The Functions of Parliament: Opportunities and Constraints 175
- 8 Party Politics in France 190
- The Shadow of the Past: Cleavages and Party Organization 194
- Personalities, Power Bases, Fission, Fusion 195
- Electoral Systems and the Survival of Multipartyism 196
- Party Development and Change 201
- 9 The State and Civil Society: Pressure and Interest Groups 227
- The Nature of the Interest Groups 230
- The Role of the Groups: Context, Tactics and Responses 241
- 10 Policy Making and Politics: Issues and Approaches 252
- France and the European Union 253
- Economic Policy 262
- Services Publics 266
- Immigration and Race Relations 269.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-289) and index.
- ISBN:
- 033399440X
- 0333994418
- OCLC:
- 52159950
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