CAS PO 240 Paris Politique - French politics: foundations and

CAS PO 240 Paris Politique - French politics: foundations and current issues
Credits:
4
Professor:
Schedule:
Olivier Rozenberg ( [email protected] )
16 two-and-a-half-hour sessions over 7.5 weeks
(Monday & Wednesday – 9:30 to 12pm + 2 additional sessions)
Monday 12-12:30, and by appointment
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Office hours:
Course visits:
- Walking tour of Parisian political sites and institutions
- Visit to the musée du Quai Branly
Course material:
- On-line academic and news’ papers to be read by the student.
- Websites to read regularly:
o www.vie-publique.fr
o www.ladocfrancaise.fr
I. COURSE PRESENTATION AND OUTCOMES
This course allows students to discover and deepen their understanding of the primary elements of
institutional and political life in contemporary France, with a special focus on the state of French
democracy today. Specifically, we will examine the notion of a much-cited “crisis of democracy.” To
what extent are French political institutions dysfunctional? Is there a growing divide between the
French government and the French people? In this context, how do we understand the great
difficulties experienced by the last two Presidents, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande? Special
emphasis will also be placed on the preparation of the 2017 Presidential election in France,
particularly on the primaries within the right.
The course, including seminars and visits, is conducted entirely in French.
Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will have developed:
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a thorough knowledge of the French political system: the major stages of constitutional
history since 1789, the specificities of a constitutional system, certain striking aspects of
political life (parties, elections, voters) and contemporary issues (women, police,
xenophobia);
an understanding of French political current events and their implications and familiarity
with French political press, through regular oral press reviews discussed in class.
the ability to analyze the advantages and limitations of French democracy and to evaluate
the state of democracy through a comparative approach;
a multidisciplinary insight of political science, combining history, constitutional law, electoral
sociology, political elite sociology and political anthropology; the ability to compare
American, European and French systems in their political function and in the ideals of
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democracy they promote, thus the capacity to view the American political system under a
new light;
the ability to read, understand and critically analyze political science academic texts written
in French and in English;
the ability to formally present a thorough critical and structured analysis of a political issue,
be it written or oral, based on sources and concepts requiring basic research.
II. ASSESSMENT AND GRADING
Oral presentation: 20%
Each student will prepare a 10-15 minute presentation responding to a given question on a current
political reality of contemporary France. This assignment aims to relate the theoretical themes of the
class to current events.
Essay: 20%
2 Midterm exams: 20% (10 + 10)
Final exam: 30%
Participation and preparedness: 10%
Included in this grade is weekly homework, which involves following current news and events in Paris
and France and participating in discussions on current events in each class session. This grade also
takes into account the quality of a student’s presence in class, energy, relevance of comments, effort
and progress in language proficiency, and attendance and punctuality.
Attendance Policy
1 absence (class session or activity) = -1 point on the overall grade
4 or more unexcused absences = grade of F for the course
Missed assignment or test = grade of 0 for the assignment
Plagiarism on an assignment = grade of 0 for the assignment
NB: Excused absences must be justified by a doctor’s note or a scheduled internship interview.
Plagiarism (BU Policy)
All students are responsible for having read the Boston University statement on plagiarism, which is
available in the Academic Conduct Code. Students are advised that the penalty against students on a
Boston University program for cheating on the examinations or for plagiarism may be ‘expulsion
from the program or the University or such other penalty as may be recommended by the
Committee on Student Academic Conduct, subject to approval by the dean.’ Read the full Academic
Conduct Code online at http://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code/ .
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III. CALENDAR
(visit dates can be subject to change and oral presentations will be adapted according to the final
number of students)
Topics and Readings
PART ONE
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Assignments and Activities
DEMOCRACY AND REPUBLIC IN FRANCE
Visit: Guided walking tour of Parisian political institutions and important
sites
What is democracy?
- Varying definitions
- Democracy in France
- Constitutional history of France
Values of the French Republic
- Does a republican model exist?
- Republic and nation
- Liberté, égalité, fraternité
- Group activity: analysis
of the Constitution
- Current events (group 1)
Required reading:
Charles Waline, « Qu’est-ce que la Révolution française a apporté à nos
institutions ? », dans Charles Waline, Marc Thoumelou, Samir Hammal
(dir.), Les institutions de la France en questions, Paris, La documentation
française, 2013, pp. 55-66.
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Session 4
Visit in the Eastern popular & revolutionary Paris
PART TWO
Session 5
DEMOCRACY, AN INSTITUTIONALIZED REGIME
The Fifth Republic
- Major phases of the Fifth Republic
- Presidential power
- The five-year term
Required reading:
Guy Carcassonne, La Constitution, Paris, Seuil, 9ème éd., 2009, «Introduction»,
pp. 17-34
- Group activity: analysis
of regional campaign
posters and official
presidential portraits
- Current events (group 2)
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Session 6
Weakness of opposing powers
- Parliament: weakness and resurrection
- Judicial nomination
- Europe: limits and opportunities
- Current events (group 1)
Required reading:
Marc Abélès, Un ethnologue à l’Assemblée, Paris, Odile Jacob, 2001, extrait du
chapitre 1, « Les députés au pluriel », pp. 19-44.
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Session 7
The law in France
- Legal domain
- Current events (group 2)
MIDTERM EXAM 1
Required reading:
Pierre Avril, « De l’hyperprésidence à la présidence normale », dans Pascal
Perrineau (dir.), Le vote normal. Les élections présidentielle et législatives
d’avril-mai-juin 2012, Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2013, pp. 283-295.
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PART THREE
ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL LIFE
Session 8
Political notions of the left and right in France
Session 9
The party system
- Introduction to political parties in France
- Party politics in the Fifth Republic
- From polarization to bipartisanship?
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Session 10
-simulation of political
debate
- Oral presentation #1: Is
Le Front national
becoming normalized?
- Current events (group 1)
Required reading:
Christian Le Bart, « Les partis politiques : quelle capacité programmatique ? »,
Les Cahiers français, n° 364, 2011, pp. 38-42.
The French vote
- Voting and abstention in France
- Voting and social groups
- Electoral geography
Required reading:
Jérôme Jaffré, « La victoire étroite de François Hollande », dans Pascal Perrineau
(dir.), Le vote normal. Les élections présidentielle et législatives d’avril-maijuin 2012, Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2013, pp. 133-160.
- Oral presentation #2:
Why did François Hollande
win the 2012 presidential
election?
- Current events (group 2)
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Session 11
New forms of political participation
- The referendum and participatory democracy
- Electronic democracy
- The crisis of representative democracy
Required reading:
Philippe Teillet, Jours de la Cinquième République, Grenoble, Presses
Universitaires de Grenoble, 2011, chapitre 8.
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PART FOUR
MID TERM EXAM 2
- Oral presentation #3:
How do French people
reacted to the 2015 &
2016 terrorist attacks?
- Current events (group 1)
PUBLIC DEBATE IN FRANCE
Session 12
Visit to the Musée du Quai Branly
Session 13
Internal security
Session 14
Guest lecturer : Cédric Moreau de Bellaing, PhD, Lecturer at the Ecole
Normale Supérieure, will speak about the rule of law in France after the
2015 & 2016 terrorist attacks
Women in French democracy
- Women’s suffrage: a belated right to vote
- Difficulties in accessing power
- Parity and republican universalism
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Required reading:
Janine Mossuz-Lavau, « Genre et politique » dans Pascal Perrineau et Luc
Rouban (dir.), La politique en France et en Europe, Paris, Presses de Sciences
Po, 2007, pp. 95-122.
- Oral presentation #4:
Was the transition of
power in 2012 beneficial
to women in France?
- Current events (group 1)
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Session 15
- ESSAY: final deadline
- Current events (group 2)
French values
- Resistance to globalization
- Decline in authoritarian values
- The crisis of confidence
Required reading:
Nonna Mayer et Vincent Tiberj, “Ancienne et nouvelle forme de racisme », dans
L’état de l’opinion, Paris, Seuil, 2014, pp. 151-172, particulièrement à partir
de 161.
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Session 16
Conclusion
- Synthesis and review for Final Exam
FINAL EXAM
Last Friday
IV. ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Textbook
Les institutions de la France, Paris, La Documentation française, 4 ème éd., 2013.
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Websites
www.vie-publique.fr
www.ladocfrancaise.fr
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Additional readings
CARCASSONNE, Guy, La Constitution. Paris: Seuil, 9 ème éd., 2009.
DUHAMEL, Olivier, Le pouvoir politique en France. Paris : Seuil, 5 ème éd., 2003.
GUNTHEN (de), B. MARTIN, A. NIOGRET, M. Les Institutions de la France. Paris : Nathan coll. Repères
Pratiques, 2007.
HASTINGS, Michel, Aborder la science politique. Paris : Seuil, 1996.
HAUDEGAND, Nelly, LEFÉBURE, Pierre (dir.), Dictionnaire des questions politiques.
60 enjeux de la France contemporaine. Paris : Editions de l’Atelier, 2000.
LAMBERT F., LEFRANC S., 50 fiches pour comprendre la science politique. Paris : Bréal, 2003.
Les Cahiers français, numéro consacré à : « La V e République, évolutions et débats », n° 332, mai-juin
2006.
MENY Y., Le système politique français, Paris, Montchrestien, 5 ème éd., 2006.
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