PSA French Politics and Policy Group
The French Politics, Policy and Society Specialist Group
The French Politics, Policy and society Group is an official Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association of the UK (PSA).
The Group is Co-convened by Alistair Cole and Helen Drake. The Treasurer is Helen Drake, and Ben Clift, previous convenor, has kindly stayed on to advise the new co-convenors.
Our most recent (November 2010) newsletter (jointly published with the APSA french Politics Group) can be downloaded here.
About the Group
The Group was founded by Robert Elgie and Stephen Griggs in the 1990s. Thanks to their efforts, the group has become a successful and vibrant space for academics interested in French politics to come together, share ideas, and disseminate their research. Ben Clift took over from Robert Elgie as convenor of the Group in 2006, and Jocelyn Evans took over from Stephen Griggs as Treasurer in 2005. Since September 2010, the Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association on French politics is under new leadership, and has a (slightly) new name. The co-convenors of the French Politics, Policy and Society Group are Alistair Cole and Helen Drake who extend their sincere thanks to Ben Clift and Jocelyn Evans for their work in running the group up to now. Ben has stayed on to advise the new co-convenors (all contact details follow below).
The aim of the group remains the promotion of the study of French politics. Membership of the Group is open to all those engaged in teaching, research or related activities and to post-graduate students. It has also become a conduit facilitating links between French Politics Scholars in the UK and those in the US and, of course, France. The group encourages placing the study of French politics in the context of broader comparative analytical frameworks.
Activities
The Group holds and sponsors research conferences, seminars and workshops on a regular basis. The Group also sponsors panels at the Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association of the UK, and regularly invites international (and in particular French- and US-based) speakers to join its panels. If anyone would like to propose a panel, or has an idea for a workshop, seminar or conference, then please contact Alistair Cole Helen Drake at the addresses below.
The Group has close links with American Political Science Association French Politics Group, convened by Amy Mazur of Washington State University, Mazur@mail.wsu.edu. Their website is: http://www.wsu.edu/~frg/
Joining the Group
If you would like to join the group, then please contact either Alistair Cole or Helen Drake at one of the addresses below. Membership is currently free. You can download a membership form by clicking here.
Professor Aliststair Cole
Professor of Politics
School of European Studies
Cardiff University
65-68 Park Place
Cardiff
CF10 3AS
Email: ColeA@cardiff.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)29 2087 5068
Fax: +44(0)29 2087 4946
Dr. Helen Drake
Senior Lecturer in French and European Studies
Dept. of Politics, History and International Relations
Loughborough University
Loughborough
Leics. UK
LE11 3TU
Email H.P.Drake@lboro.ac.uk
Tel. Secretary: +44 (0)1509 222991
Tel. Direct: +44 (0)1509 222989
Fax: +44 (0)1509 223917
The previous convenor of the group, Ben Clift, has stayed on to advise the new co-convenors, and can be contacted as follows:
Dr. Ben Clift
Senior Lecturer in Political Economy,
Department of Politics and International Studies,
University of Warwick,
CV4 7AL,
UK.
Email: B.M.Clift@Warwick.ac.uk
Tel: 44 (0) 24 765 24547
Fax: 44 (0) 24 765 24221
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/staff/clift
Group News, 2011 (in review) and 2012 (forthcoming)
PSA Annual Conference 19-21 April, 2011 (London). The Group ran four panels at PSA in London in April 2011, as follows. They were all well-attended, and generated discussion that ran over the whole day.
1. RETHINKING THE FRENCH SOCIALIST PARTY (organised by Alistair Cole)
The panel reviews and renews the study of French Socialism, in the context of a potential reversal in electoral fortunes after three successive defeats in decisive‘ presidential elections. The panel proposal invites papers on two types: first the state of the contemporary PS in the light of the forthcoming presidential election of 2012; second, comparative and conceptual perspectives on the state of the study of the PS. The panel brings together papers that envisage the object of the Socialist Party at differing levels of analysis; from whole stories‘ of the party‘s history and genetic code‘; to middle level analysis of organizational or policy dynamics, to the individual level of electors and activists. The panel aspires not only to take stock of the PS in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, but also to revive interest in a party that occupies an original position on the European left. Participants include Philippe Marlière, Rainbow Murray and Robert Ladrech
2. FRANCE AND ITS MIGRANTS (organised by Helen Drake)
Via a case-study of France this panel explores a number of the many dimensions of contemporary migration and immigration in Europe. We investigate the terminological and statistical complexities involved, and focus on the consequences of legal distinctions drawn between EU and non-EU migrants for migrants‘ lives, with particular reference to their political and civic rights. We consider the specifically French context to the difficulties and opportunities for integration by migrants into the host society and by way of contrast, compare this with the United Kingdom. Our papers allow us to question evidence of convergence towards EU policy norms in this field, as well as consider the enduring national specificities that plague policy-making in the domain of migration and immigration in the present day. We also consider the implication of France‘s migrants for notions of French national identity and ‘Frenchness‘. Participants include Helen Drake (Loughborough University) Sue Collard (Sussex University), and Kursheed Wadia (Warwick University).
3. POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE NEW RADICAL AGENDA IN FRANCE
(organised by James Shields)
For the past 25 years, political radicalism in France has been consigned to the margins. As center-right and center-left grew closer in their policies and in power-sharing, and as the French Communist Party sank into deeper decline, the far-right Front National was alone among the major parties in trumpeting its radicalism. Two major events occurred recently to change this: the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President in 2007 and the global financial crisis. Political radicalism is back on the agenda in France. Sarkozy was elected on a promise of ‘rupture’ and a markedly right-wing program of economic and social reform. The polarizing effects of his presidency in a context of economic crisis have been felt across the French left, where the new Socialist leader, Martine Aubry, has called for her party to reinvent itself as a true party of ‘the Left’, while on the far left. Olivier Besancenot cultivates support for his anti-capitalist, anti-system, anti-Sarkozy platform. This panel will bring together leading French and British scholars to discuss the prospects for radical political renewal in France, considering a number of questions that span the political spectrum. Participants include James Shields, Alistair Cole, and Jocelyn Evans.
SARKOZY’S STATE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (organised by Helen Drake and Alistair Cole). Speakers included Alistair Cole, Helen Drake and Jean-Michel Eymeri-Douzans.
European Union Studies Association (EUSA) Twelfth Biennial International Conference 2011 (Boston, Massachusetts, March 3-5)
On behalf of the group, Helen Drake organised two panels for this conference. The first included US colleagues Sophie Meunier and Jonah Levy and was entitled ‘France at the EU, G8 and G20: International Governance in Question?’; the same line-up also presented at the 2011
APSA Annual Meeting in Seattle, USA (30 August - 4 September), where links with the APSA French Politics Group were consolidated. The second EUSA panel was on the subject of ‘France and its Migrants’. Both EUSA panels were chaired by Martin Schain (New York).
Joint workshop with the PSA Comparative European Politics Specialist Group, November 2011, Glasgow Caledonian University: The Politics of Migration: Citizenship, Inclusion and Discourse in Europe (organiser Umut Korkut). Helen Drake’s paper entitled ‘France, its Immigrants and the Agenda of l’insecurité.
PSA 2012 Annual Conference, 3-5 April 2012, Belfast. The Group has again had four panels accepted, as follows:
- Voters, parties and leaders: the 2012 French Presidential Election
- Exporting the Hexagon; policy transfer, institutional design and international influence beyond France
- Issues and Challenges in the 2012 French Presidential Election
- France and its 'Others': Representing the Republic
One-day Conference, 24th May 2012: The French Presidential Election. This conference is being organised by Group members Raymond Kuhn and Rainbow Murray (both from Queen Mary, University of London), with Group convenors Helen and Alistair. The conference is to take place at Queen Mary and will cover The Legacy of President Sarkozy, 2007-12; The 2012 Campaign; The Results and their Analysis; and The Future.
APSA Annual Meeting (30 August - 2 September 2012, New Orleans)Group convenor Alistair Cole will attend this year’s APSA meeting, and will be maintaining our links with the APSA French Politics Group, and our sister organisation in France (AFSP - Association française de science politique).
Page Contact: Helen Drake