Robert Elgie (1965-2019) was Paddy Moriarty Professor of Government and International Studies at Dublin City University. He published numerous books, including The Study of Political Leadership: Foundations and Contending Accounts (Palgrave 2015), Semi-Presidentialism: Sub-types and Democratic Performance (Oxford University Press, 2011), and Political Institutions in Contemporary France (Oxford University Press, 2003). He published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, and Journal of Democracy. He was the Editor of the journal French Politics and the Review Editor for Government and Opposition.

Emiliano Grossman is an Associate Professor at Sciences Po in Paris, working at the Centre d'études européennes. He teaches Comparative Politics and Public Policy and is the co-convenor of the Master of European Affairs at Sciences Po. He specializes in political institutions and agenda-setting processes. He is currently heading the French Agendas Project and is involved in several related research projects, ranging from the influence of media on policymaking to questions relating to partisan effects in policymaking. He has published widely on these issues, most recently in journals like Governance, Comparative Political Studies, and Journal of Legislative Studies.

Amy G. Mazur is the C.O. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Washington State University. She is also an Associate Researcher at the Centre d'Études Européennes, Sciences Po, Paris. Her recent books include Politics, Gender, and Concepts (editor with Gary Goertz, Cambridge University Press 2008), The French Fifth Republic at Fifty: Beyond Stereoytpes (editor with Sylvain Brouard and Andrew Appleton, Palgrave, 2009), and The Politics of State Feminism: Innovation in Comparative Research (with Dorothy McBride, Temple University Press, 2010). Most recently she has published in Comparative European Politics, Revue Française de Science Politique, and Politics and Gender. She is currently co convening the Gender Equality Policy in Practice Project (GEPP) and is Associate Editor of French Politics.

• 1: Robert Elgie, Emiliano Grossman, and Amy G. Mazur: A Framework for a Comparative Politics of France


• Part I. Conceptual Foundations


• 2: Yves Mény: Republicanism: A Transatlantic Misunderstanding


• 3: Jack Hayward: The State Imperative


• 4: Patrick Hassenteufel and Bruno Palier: The French Welfare System


• Part II. Large-Scale Processes


• 5: Riva Kastoryano and Angéline Escafré-Dublet: Identity, Culture and Politics: The Other and the Self in France


• 6: Gilles Pinson: The French Way to Multi-Level Governance: Governance with Government


• 7: Sabine Saurugger: The Europeanization of Public Policy in France: Actor-Centred Approaches


• 8: Michel Goyer and Miguel Glatzer: Globalization: French Ambivalence as a Critical Case


• Part III. Institutions


• 9: Robert Elgie and Emiliano Grossman: Executive Politics in France: From Leader to Laggard?


• 10: Olivier Costa: Legislative Politics: Going International, While Staying Native


• 11: Sylvain Brouard: Constitutional Politics: The French Case and Theory-Building


• 12: Philippe Bezes: Challenges to French Public Administration: Mapping the Vitality of its Knowledge Sources


• 13: Romain Pasquier: Regional and Local Government: Interpreting Territorial Politics


• Part IV. Parties, Elections and Voters


• 14: Nicolas Sauger: Political Representation: Bringing Elections Back In


• 15: Nonna Mayer and Vincent Tiberj: How to Study Political Culture Without Naming It


• 16: Richard Nadeau and Michael S. Lewis-Beck: Explaining French Elections: The Need to Meet in the Middle


• 17: Florence Haegel: Parties and Party Systems: Making the French Socio-Cultural Approach Matter


• 18: Jacques Gerstlé: Political Communication: From International Institutionalization to National Conquest of Scientific Legitimacy


• Part V. Civil Society


• 19: Darren McCauley: Interest Groups: Moving Beyond State-Centric Models


• 20: Olivier Fillieule: The Study of Social Movements in France: The French Touch and a Comparative Contribution


• 21: Laure Bereni: Women's Movements and Feminism: French Political Sociology Meets a Comparative Feminist Approach


• 22: Sophie Duchesne: National Identity in France: A Blind Spot


• Part VI. Public Policy and Policy-making


• A. The Domestic Arena


• 23: Ben Clift: French Economic Policy: Theory Development and the Three 'I's


• 24: Charlotte Halpern: Environmental and Energy Policy in France: A Critical Case for Comparative Political Research?


• 25: Amy G. Mazur and Anne Revillard: Gender Policy Studies: Distinct, but Making the Comparative Connection


• B. The International Arena


• 26: Craig Parsons: France and the Evolution of European Integration: The Exemplary and Pivotal Case for Broader Theories


• 27: Vivien A. Schmidt: Varieties Of Capitalism: A Distinct French Model?


• 28: Bastien Irondelle, Jean Joana, and Frédéric Mérand: Defense and Security Policy: Beyond French Exceptionalism


• 29: Gordon D. Cumming: French Aid Through the Comparative Looking Glass: A Representative, Deviant, or Agenda-Setting Case?


• Conclusion


• 30: Robert Elgie, Emiliano Grossman, and Amy G. Mazur: Towards a Comparaitve Politics of France