Génération et histoire politique
Authors: Sirinelli Jean-François 
Published: July 2010

Generations and political history, Jean-Francois Sirinelli.

The interest which political history has shown in the notion of generation is recent. Because history has renewed itself by exploring new areas which include cultures, ideas and mentalities, generations have become both topics and analytical tools. The concept can no longer be assimilated simply to age classes or age effects or even of youth ABSTRACTS

Couple and génération, a history of hâte and love, Jessica Scale

The couple changes over a long time-span which présents more continuity than rupture between générations. This reality sets it apart in two ways from the idea of génération : 1) the concept of génération is supported by a fascination with the dialectic in which the social dynamic émerges from the inter-generational conflict 2) the idea of génération. But the generational approach can not be founded on the principle of crystallization at a certain âge, of behavior and orientations which in fact are not fixed for ever. Nevertheless, while everything in the couple is opposed to the generational conflict, the heuristic power of the notion of génération is not reduced.

Three marriage âges in a single century,

Martine Sau^ay

During the 20th century there may hâve been three patterns ; establishment-marriage, in which émotions can enter in conflict with the institution ; merger-marriage after 1945, which is very demanding of the couple ; post-1968 association-marriage, which unités more autonomous individuals. Feminist de-mands seem to hâve played a major rôle in this history of the couple.

Générations and political history, Jean-François Sirinelli

The interest which political history has shown in the notion of génération is récent. Because history has renewed itself by ex-ploring new areas which include cultures, ideas and mentalities, générations hâve be-come both topics and analytical tools. The concept can no longer be assimilated simply to âge classes or âge effects or even of youth

or cohort. Because they produce cleavages, within the various structures of politics, because they are exacerbated at times of crisis, and because they call into play phe-nomena of social memory, generational me-chanisms hâve become indispensable in the analysis of politics.

Communist générations, Philippe Buton

The concept of génération, understood as cohort of affiliations, with singularities marked by références to différent founding events and social profiles, whose specificity is experienced as such, does help understand the development of the French Communist Party. " Génération of the war ", " party of métal workers ", " party of those executed " during the war, party of " Maurice Thorez ", then of the Union of the Left, successive strata illustrate the changes of the Party within the Bolchevik mold, which remained unchanged since the graft of the 1920s.

Socialist générations ? Alain Bergounioux

From the SFIO of the Congress of Tours and the Popular Front to the Socialist Party of the Epinay Congress and the 1980s, can the history of French socialists be analysed in terms of générations ? The hypothesis is often tempting, considering, for example movements such as the neo-socialism of the 1930s or the minorities revolting against the SFIO of Guy Mollet during the Algerian war and in the 1960s. A more elaborate analysis reveals however, if not the inap-propriateness, at least the limits of such an approach. The development of party socia-lism seems to hâve resulted more from strictly political parameters than from possible generational cleavages.

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