Books & ideas

The Political Scientist, the President and his Post

Christophe Le Digol — 2024-06-13T08:38:00Z

How do citizens view the power of the President of the Republic? An analysis of letters sent to the Élysée Palace reveals the relationship between French citizens and their head of state, as well as the role played by an invisible service: the presidential post office.

French MPs on the Fringes

Rémi Lefebvre — 2022-11-09T09:00:00Z

The 2017 legislative election, which resulted in a landslide victory for La République en Marche, brought up the question of change in the political profession. Étienne Ollion shows that the National Assembly under Macron has done little to renew political practices, often sidelining newly elected members.

Money Is the Gatekeeper of Politics

Raymond La Raja — 2020-10-21T09:33:58Z

One is mistaken to think that corporations dominate the electoral process in the United States is misplaced. The problem is actually deeper: money structures the field of ideas and sets the terms of the debate.

The Oligarchs' Charter

Timothy Kuhner — 2020-10-20T07:00:00Z

With taxpayer suffrage abolished and universal suffrage achieved, political participation in our democratic societies should no longer be conditioned on property ownership. However, as Timothy Kuhner shows, politics remain subservient to capital.

The Limits of Transparency

Eric Phélippeau — 2020-10-13T07:00:00Z

In France as in the United States, transparency has become a core democratic requirement, and is the cornerstone of all the laws that claim to regulate the funding of political life. But this art of disclosing information often coexists with the ability to conceal it.

Elections. Nothing More, Nothing Less

Antoine Verret-Hamelin — 2020-03-26T07:30:00Z

What can we expect from elections? A. Przeworski urges us to be minimalist: elections provide only imperfect control over the actions of those in power and are not enough to counteract the political effects of inequalities, but they are still the best way to resolve conflicts without taking up arms.

White Evangelicals for Trump

Jessamin Birdsall — 2016-11-03T08:00:00Z

How have Evangelicals come to put their faith in Trump? Interviewing the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town, Jessamin Birdsall shows that their support for the Republican nominee is the product of an ideological compromise that has its roots in their fear of two different groups: Muslims and LGBT activists.

Election in the Ancien Régime

Yves Sintomer — 2016-02-29T08:00:00Z

The history of the vote reveals that election was not born with modern representative government, but that elections were held in the Middle Ages. It also reveals that designation by election is not the end of history in our democracies but that other methods may be considered.

The Long and Winding Road of the Front National

Ismaïl Ferhat — 2015-12-03T08:00:00Z

The Front National has been an established player in French political life for thirty years now. Nevertheless, behind the figure of its historical leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the development of the party itself has had its fair share of vicissitudes.

Ukraine's Many Voices

Lucie Campos — 2014-05-23T12:01:09Z

In the run-up to Ukraine's presidential election, political scientist Tatiana Zhurzhenko reflects on the conditions for political representation in a situation of civil conflict. The present state of public opinion is difficult to assess, both inside and outside the country, while an ongoing information war fuels fears and rumours in the regions of Eastern and Southern Ukraine.