The demise of the British Empire triggered a loosening of the traditional bonds between the founding nations of the Kingdom. This seminar will first examine such a process overall, before investigating the present dividing lines. This examination will start with the two Irelands: how what has become the present Republic of Ireland managed to severe all links with its neighbour, and how Northern Ireland became some entity of its own, whose displays of loyalism and unionism are first and foremost aimed at stabilizing a very un-British statu quo. Moving into Britain proper next, we shall investigate the present state of things for Scotland, whose wide-ranging devolution fails short of complete independence, then the bizarre hatred between the English and the Welsh. Last but not least, we will question the Great Divide between the tow Englands of the time.
After a first part which studies the British Isles from the angle of its geography, the second half of this seminar focuses on the politics of contemporary Britain. Two sessions are dedicated to a presentation of British political institutions (and the debates which they give rise to) and of British political parties and party systems. Questions such as the decline of the two-party system, the resilience of the monarchy or the debate over Lords reform are considered. The final three sessions examine the latest major political trends in the UK, such as the rise of Euroscepticism and the Scottish independence debate.
The current political regime of France, the Fifth Republic, was established by the 1958 Constitution. After two centuries of political and constitutional instability, the Fifth Republic is often presented by its numerous supporters as the expression of a political maturity and equilibrium between the principles of liberty and authority. Even if this judgement has to be balanced, it is undeniable that the political regime of today’s France, which is neither a "presidential regime" like the USA nor a classic "parliamentary regime" following the Westminster model, is a quite original and peculiar combination of presidentialism, democracy and rule of law. Its various components and its balance of powers will be presented and discussed in this course
In spite of (or possibly, because of) a number of common characteristics (e.g. former colonial and world powers ; great immigration countries ;comparable populations etc. ) Britain and France come across as eternal 'friendly enemies' in Europe. They are commonly described as being at odds with each other in many ways, notably as regards their handling of social issues. Their approaches to migration and, above all, integration illustrate that apparent, blatant opposition. On the one hand, Universalism, which is in keeping with the spirit of the French Revolution seems- at least, superficially- to be at odds with British differentialism. The French Republic, which arose in 1792 following the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789 was built by the people, for the people. France's republican history is thereofre primarily a political construct of a community of citizens who are equal, regardless of their social, ethnic, religious or other backgrounds. During the French Revolution, Article I of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen targeted the division of the population into antagonistic social categories. So as to transcend those categories, the representatives of the French people decided to ignore specific affiliations in order to favour universal citizenship (Article 1 « Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. » After several returns to monarchy and the shift to the Empire under Napoleon Ist and Napoleon IIIrd in the 19th century, universalism was revived under the Third Republic (from 1870 onward), an era of democratisation and progress .The same values were to prompt the adoption of the 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State. Article I of the 1958 Constitution reasserts that universalism: France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. » One may therefore easily understand the reluctance of France towards any form of quantitative ethnic monitoring (a reluctance compounded by the experience of Nazi occupation and of the Vichy Régime) or to put in place positive discrimination measures based on ethnic criteria (cf. Veil Committee's recommendation, December 2008) like those gradually introduced across the Channel from the mid 1960s onward.
The French Republic perceives itself as a universal model and proclaims that it is 'one and indivisible'. As a result, the national community is supposed to be made up of equal citizens, not separate communities, the only acceptable dichotomy being between nationals and non-nationals (i.e. citizens and non-citizens).
Differentialism, on the other hand, is an anthropological concept, whereby the existence of groups and the differences between them (whether gender, social, racial, ethnic or religious differences) are on the whole taken for granted and are not really questioned. A common characteristic of differentialism is that an individual's perceived belonging to a group tends to take precedence over his / her personal, objective characteristics .Differentialism proved a great influence in the colonial context. Indeed, the British saw themselves as fundamentally different from other nations, let alone other 'races', making assimilation pointless and useless. Unlike the French and the Spanish, the British focused on the mercantile motive and were hardly interested in converting 'pagans' to Christianity or in attempting to assimilate them along 'British lines'. This partly explains why they were so quick in conquering huge territories. Indeed religious officials in India e.g. did not perceive British colonisation as a threat, because of Britain's reliance on indirect rule, which proved terribly efficient and came in sharp contrast with the so-called direct rule system used by the French, notably in Algeria.
With the beginning of mass, post-war, non-European immigration, it became obvious that Britain's attitude to colonial immigrants and their descent was still influenced by differentialism, although there emerged a 'liberal' (i.e. progressive) form of differentialism in the 1960s, characterised by the adoption of a specific race relations legislation. New Commonwealth immigrants were no longer deemed inferior, but fundamentally different from the rest of the population, which explains why British integration policies were so different from French ones.
However, 'Liberal differentialism', to quote French historian and demographer Emmanuel Todd co-existed with its traditional colonial version, epitomised by Tory frontbencher Enoch Powell, whose notorious anti-immigration 'Rivers of Blood' speech (1968) - a strong indictment of New Commonwealth immigration and of anti-discriminatory legislation - gained him considerable public support, including among the traditionally Labour-voting working classes.
Although the opposition between both integration models is relevant to a vast extent, it can prove sterile and should certainly by nuanced, as will be shown in this course, which shall investigate immigration and integration policies in a trans-Channel perspective from 1930 to present. It shall be established that despite seemingly diverging routes the integration of 'minorities' or 'populations d'origine immigrée' - the use of different terms is by itself probably revealing and will have to be addressed - has produced rather similar results across the Channel, especially in recent decades.
The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge and insight into the complex relationship between Britain and the European Union, generally portrayed as a “wait and see” attitude on the part of the UK. After a brief reminder of the history of the EU, the focus will be on the British position regarding European policies (CAP, Euro, expansion v. integration), on its legal system, and on its political landscape.
Course Outline
Introduction: A brief history of the institutions of the EU/ a brief history of the 1973 membership
- The changing attitudes of political parties regarding the EU
- Britain and the Common Agricultural Policy
- Britain and the Euro
- The impact of membership on the English legal system
- The impact of membership on governing the UK: parliament, regional government, local government.
Conclusion: The debate on intergovernmentalism and supranationalism . Is Britain still an “awkward” partner?
Course materials
The official websites of the EU are to be visited, in particular europa.eu
The advantages of membership for the UK are described interactively on the website www.the-eu-and-me.org.uk/
A syllabus will be handed out on the first class.
Entrepreneurship, innovation, institution, norm, public policy, social field, socialization; valuation studies; socioeconomics, sociology of profession, sciences and technologies studies, socio-legal studies.
Through classical sociological theories, we will first review a panel of concepts which deal with socialization. This last concept explains both the conformity of an individual to a society, and its creativity. If social structures, institutions, collective representations, and norms are factors of conformity, they are also infused by uncertainty, and produce new configurations (for example through innovation describes formerly as a deviance, but which finally “disrupts” structures). As both stability and change characterize society, the challenge is to explain each of them, and to understand their combination. How do individuals, society and nature interact to both reproduce and produce configurations in a more or less dynamic process?
In this perspective, the course will then present analyses developed by the sociology of sciences (the acronym “STS”, coined for “Science and Technology and Society”, now means “Science and Technology Studies”). Connected to other disciplines (history, philosophy, anthropology, political sciences, economics), this field focuses on interlinks between scientific entities (instrumentation and technical objects, theories, knowledge, mode of production, etc.) and societies (sociability, power relations, commercial standards, rules and social norms, daily way of life, ethic, what is normal, good, rational, worth, etc.). Are these links the result of a technical determinism, or a social determinism, or do knowledge and social order interact and co-evolve? For example, what lies at the heart of scientific controversies or crisis (global warming, GMO, new epidemic, nanotechnologies, etc.)? Another broad question is whether science is a specific activity (with its own law), or a political one? Throughout the course, various facets of these interlinks will be studied (from social and historic conditions which value and legitimate the “scientific” activity, to the development of scientists collective and their communication modalities, to the daily practice of science, to social and cultural influence on scientific contents, to the diffusion and expansion of science in the public sphere). Rather than definitive answers to dichotomous questions, the course studies these facets as many processes and mechanisms which explain the dynamics at work.
Subsequently, the course explores the sociology of valuation (valuation studies), which concerns the attribution and assessment of value (and a fortiori in a changing environment). We will consider intercrossing with various disciplines, through examples coming from innovation, profession, science and technology, socio-legal, and socio-economic studies. From case studies, the course considers the complementarity of STS, socio-economics and valuation studies. If a broad range of topics will be discussed, part of the lesson will be specifically devoted to entrepreneurship. Starting from classic academical literature, we will see how entrepreneurship is now identified as a multi-dimensional event, which gives a better account of uncertainties (from various point of view: economy, law, epistemology, technologies, etc.) and dynamism occurring in the process of creation.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
- Students will gain an understanding of society evolution.
- Students will get an overview of key concepts and fundamental questions in sociology. Also, they will read quotes of seminal works in classical and contemporary academic literature.
- Students will learn how to articulate categories of thought, and will grasp the variety of research methodologies, from qualitative and quantitative ones to their intercrossing.
- Students will read and discuss a sociological text.
This course provides an introduction to the study of global migrations and their consequences for society. It deals with the following topics: categories of migration; theories of migration; migration, ethnicity and identity; the state, politics and migration; the evolution and effectiveness of migration policies; new ethnic minorities and society; migration and development of origin societies, etc. The main textbook of this course is "The Age of Migration. International Population Movements in the Modern World" (de Haas, Castles, Miller, 6th edition).
Ongoing developments in the technological landscape have led to profound changes in the way the news industry, politicians and their constituents interact. In the digital age, the influence of the media on American politics has evolved significantly and today mainstream news organizations are facing new challenges in their attempt to cover political campaigns and policy issues. Meanwhile, the techniques used by politicians to win elections, maintain power and accomplish policy objectives are also shifting. With a specific focus on contemporary presidential elections up to and including 2016, this course looks at the nature of modern American political campaigns and takes into consideration the complex relationships between major actors such as politicians, journalists and voters. The switch from party-centered politics to candidate-centered politics, reforms in campaign finance, changes in media ownership and the decline of adversarial journalism will be among some of the issues covered.
The course offers an overview of structural and political changes in post-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus. It aims to analyse the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the three republics of the Caucasus - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
Although the majority of the countries were the largest recipients of Soviet aid, 25 years on from independence the Caucasus and Central Asia offer mixed economic and political stories. Therefore, the first part of the course will address contemporary challenges of economic transition, nation-building and political structure of the countries.
Historically considered under the framework of the “Great Game” - the struggle for domination in Central Asia and the Caucasus between the Russian empire and others (British, Ottoman), the region has revived geopolitical interests again in the XXI century. Therefore, the second part of the course provides an analysis of the rationale of powers such as Russia, China, the USA and the EU with appropriate examples of foreign-policy approaches developed towards all eight countries located in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
It will also be stressed that both Central Asian and Caucasus countries have gained significant experience and are not mere subordinates of external powers. Furthemore, the course will also question region-building and regionalization attempts within Central Asia and the Caucasus by examining organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and other political and economic initiatives (Great Silk Road, Connect Central Asia) developed by emerging powers.
The course is designed to introduce and examine U.S.-Latin American relations from an interdisciplinary perspective. By associating the discussion of scholarly articles in the fields of history, sociology, international relations and anthropology to the analysis of material from the media and the arts, this course will attempt to provide a multifaceted overview of inter-American exchanges since the 19th century and to highlight the contemporary outcomes of these relations.
To be in a position to write a successful introduction to an essay or to a report with adequate conceptualization of a thesis statement and plan and sufficient academic backing and academic referencing to respond to the requirements of writing techniques in France and in particular at Sciences Po Toulouse. This course is essential for all those who are not knowledgeable of the requirements of the style of writing in France and at Sciences Po in particular. The objective is to enable students to successfully complete the methodological writing requirements that will be needed for all other classes in written assignments. All material shall be provided in the form of photocopies and there is no extra reading except what will be provided. The course will start with theoretical background information to writing and will be followed by sample answers and examples to follow. Discussion in small groups will enable the students to have a hands-on approach.
The course objectives in the English-speaking University Diploma are to pass along language tools that will allow students to communicate as quickly as possible in an everyday environment.
The course is in French-language medium using basic grammar as well as role-play for communicative competency, both of which are used in a progressive manner.
Diverse audio and visual aids will be used.