Books & ideas

Algorithms and the female silhouette

Hélène Bourdeloie & Solenne Carof — 2026-02-17T06:30:00Z

The female silhouette – understood as the body's visible form and socially perceived appearance – has long been shaped by social norms. In the age of social media, these norms are intensifying, prompting, in response, the rise of so-called “body-positive” movements.

Macron and the sex thieves

Julien Bonhomme — 2025-06-10T07:00:00Z

A rumour is circulating in some African countries: the French state is organising penis thefts to offset declining fertility. The rumour, spread by Russian propaganda, has become fake news.

Harrison White, the Pioneer of Network Analysis

Alain Degenne & Frédéric Godart & Michel Grossetti — 2025-03-18T08:30:00Z

The American sociologist Harrison White made a vital contribution to the development of social network analysis. Besides his work in this field, his theoretical synthesis and his understanding of social formations have influenced a variety of fields such as the sociology of art and economic sociology.

Water in the War in Ukraine: between mobilization and collapse

Sophie Lambroschini — 2025-02-11T08:56:08Z

Ukraine's water networks have been mobilized since the start of the war in 2014. Infrastructure workers are some of the last to leave settlements attacked by the Russian army. Water systems and people are resisting but are reaching the limits of their capacity to adapt to violence and disruptions.

Michel Crozier: Constraint and Freedom

Christine Musselin — 2024-11-12T09:30:00Z

Michel Crozier's work was shaped by the conviction that organizational phenomena create society. He helped pioneer the tools for analyzing groups established to carry out a common project according to a specific system of action and rules of the game.

Private Means for Public Ends

Ingo Venzke — 2024-09-24T04:30:00Z

The EU aims for net climate neutrality by 2050, utilizing the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) as its main tool. But the climate crisis demands more than market mechanisms. It requires comprehensive planning and legal frameworks that prioritize public over private interests.

Jane Mansbridge, Political Science between Facts and Norms

Samuel Hayat & Julien Talpin & Audric Vitiello — 2023-11-28T10:00:00Z

Jane Mansbridge has made a major contribution to political theory. She has spent her life combining empirical research with a theoretical approach, and has played a vital role in developing the critique of rational choice and the study of democracy as a permanent process continually in flux.

Richard Rorty the Multi-Pragmatist

Stéphane Madelrieux — 2023-01-04T08:22:12Z

Rorty made conversation a philosophical genre in its own right, which led him to reject any distinctions he considered futile: between analytic and continental philosophy, between the Enlightenment and postmodernity, between philosophy and literature.

Serving our great imperial family

Timothy Gibbs — 2022-12-13T08:30:00Z

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth promised to serve ‘the great imperial family', as part of the attempt to remake post-war Britain as a global power. The British Empire collapsed; but this language of service and Commonwealth allowed the Queen to take up the postcolonial concerns of the 21^st century.

Interest groups in election campaigns

Guillaume Courty — 2022-11-02T08:55:33Z

Among the less visible actors in election campaigns, interest groups are the subject of numerous fantasies. Although they invest considerable resources, they in fact have little influence on the political agenda.