Democracy and Modern France

This book explores theories of democracy within a framework of references to French politics and political theory. It takes a close look at aspects of political history and contemporary political life, strongly emphasizing the importance of a theoretical framework.

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This book explores theories of democracy within a framework of references to French politics and political theory. It is unusual in that it takes a close look at aspects of political history and contemporary political life, but strongly emphasizes the importance of a theoretical framework; it looks at some of the traditional areas of interest of "political science" but does so from a more radical point of view than is usually the case. Hewlett's starting point is a critical analysis of the concept of democracy and a belief in the need for deeper, more participative forms of democracy. He explores French traditions of democracy, especially the Enlightenment and 1789; republicanism and the Third Republic; and the labour movement and the influence of Marxism. He goes on to look at the implications for democracy of social and political conflict in France, to examine electoral trends and to discuss the political philosophy of "new liberals" such as Luc Ferry and Marcel Gauchet. He concludes with an assessment of the realistic prospects for deeper democracy, and the extent to which the considerations raised by the French case are common to all advanced capitalist countries.