De Gaulle's legacy
Subtitle: the art of power in France's Fifth Republic
By: by William R. Nester
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2014
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
ISBN-13: 9781137483935
Subjects: Influence; Political and social views; Presidents; History; Biography; Power (Social sciences); Executive power; Politics and government; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Leadership; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / Executive Branch
Description: "Few nations have experienced a more violent and unstable political history than France. From 1789 to 1958, the leaders of four republics, two absolute monarchies, two constitutional monarchies, two imperiums, and a fascist regime all struggled and ultimately failed to rule France. Although a myriad of reasons explain the emergence and collapse of each political system before 1958, one underlines all--the French failed to master the art of power. As a master of power, Charles de Gaulle appears to have broken France's bloody cycle of the rise and fall of regimes. He did so largely through the system he created in 1958 and the policies that he asserted as president until he resigned in 1969. De Gaulle's legacy is the Fifth Republic, which has flourished for over five decades and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. This book asks: What is the art of power? What is the art of French power? How did Charles de Gaulle understand and assert power in his lifetime? How well or poorly have his successors wielded the art of French power in asserting national interests as they defined them? "--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-275) and index.
Table of contents: title: De Gaulle and Gaullism; title: President De Gaulle; title: President Pompidou; title: President Giscard d'Estaing; title: President Mitterrand; title: President Chirac; title: President Sarkozy; title: President Hollande; title: The Legacy.