Government through culture in contemporary France /

Culture, understood broadly, lay at the heart of contrasting right-wing strategies for government in France during the pivotal decade of 2002-2012. Looking at issues of political secularism, educational reform, televisual performance, public memory and nation-branding, Ahearne analyses how President...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ahearne, Jeremy
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Series:French politics, society, and culture series.
Subjects:
Description
Summary:Culture, understood broadly, lay at the heart of contrasting right-wing strategies for government in France during the pivotal decade of 2002-2012. Looking at issues of political secularism, educational reform, televisual performance, public memory and nation-branding, Ahearne analyses how Presidents Chirac and Sarkozy sought to redefine contemporary French identity. The study extends prevailing conceptions of 'cultural policy', and shows how this constitutes a core dimension, alongside economic and social policies, of modern right-wing government. It traces, over the course of the decade in question, a dramatic hardening of the attitudes and values informing these programmes for cultural hegemony. These reflect enduring transformations in the political and symbolic landscape of contemporary France.
Physical Description:187 pages ; 23 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9781137290984 (hardback)
1137290986 (hardback)