The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic - (French Politics, Society and Culture) by D Bell & J Gaffney (Paperback)

About the Book

"This volume brings together French and British scholars of France to analyse one of French politics' most intellectually compelling phenomena, the presidency of the republic. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of that leadership as well as the way that executive power has been established in the Fifth Republic; how presidential power and the subsequent full scale development of "personality politics" developed within an essentially party-driven, democratic and, most importantly, republican system. Hence the authors in this volume examine the phenomenon of a strong presidency in the French republican framework. The individual chapters focus on the presidency and upon the individual presidents and the way in which they have addressed their own relation to the presidencies they presided over on top of a range of other factors informing their terms of office. A conclusion sums up and appraises the contemporary role of the French presidency within the party system and the republic. The project has generated a great deal of interest in the French political studies community"--

Book Synopsis

In the French Republic political leadership is normally provided by the presidency, albeit from a very narrow constitutional base. This volume examines the strengths and weaknesses of that leadership as well as the way that executive power has been established in the republican context.

Review Quotes

With The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic, Bell and Gaffney have produced an extremely valuable book that combines a sophisticated analysis of individual Presidents with reflection on political leadership that is historically sensitive and contextually rich, yet which also provides valuable generic analysis. I strongly recommend this book.

Alistair Cole, Cardiff School of European Languages, Translation and Politics, Cardiff University, UK

About the Author

DAVID BELL is Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds, UK.
JOHN GAFFNEY is Professor of Politics at Aston University, UK.