French Fifth Republic at Fifty (Hardcover) | Released: 14 Jan 2014

The French Fifth Republic at Fifty addresses essential questions about the determinants and dynamics of the French political system. The fiftieth anniversary of the Fifth Republic provides a unique opportunity to study systematically and with the tools of comparative politics the different dimensions of what has often been identified as French exceptionalism over the long haul. This long term perspective allows for the mapping of the key institutions of the Fifth Republic both in terms of their evolution and the complex interplay between institutions and politics. The book not only focuses on the classic institutions of government, but also on the more complex story of structures in a broader sociological sense, as sets of established rules and practices that shape politics. The international team of authors assembled here, from a fruitful collaboration within the French Politics Groups of the American Political Science Association, are some of the leading scholars of French Politics from a variety of countries representing a broad range of subfields in political science, including public policy, comparative politics, international relations, political behaviour, political institutions, and gender and politics.

About the Author

SYLVAIN BROUARD is Senior Research Fellow FNSP at SPIRIT, Sciences Po Bordeaux, France, having worked previously at the Center of Political Research of Sciences-Po (CEVIPOF). His research focuses on lawmaking in Western democracies and on minority politics. He published a breakthrough book on French citizens from Africa and Turkey in 2005, and his most recent book is about the French referendum on the ECT (2007). He is currently co-directing in the French Agendas Project.

ANDREW APPLETON is Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington State University, USA, and the Director of the Global Studies Program. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from New York University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a B.Soc.Sci. from the University of Birmingham. He is the editor (with Daniel S. Ward) of State Party Profiles, and the author of numerous articles and book chapters. He co-edits, with Robert Elgie, the Palgrave journal French Politics.

AMY G. MAZUR is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Washington State University, USA. Her most recent books include: Theorizing Feminist Policy (2002); and Politics, Gender and Concepts (editor with Gary Goertz, 2008). She is co editor of Political Research Quarterly and co-convener of the Research Network on Gender Politics and the State and of the French Politics Group of the APSA.