Contemporary France has witnessed a rise of new forms of social movement, mobilising around new causes and articulating changing demands. Sarah Waters examines the new generation of movements in the last decade, from anti-racism and the movement of the unemployed to solidarity or the associations of the 'Sans' . She argues that emerging movements share a profoundly civic dimension: these are movements about rights and are concerned with who has rights and what those rights are. They manifest a desire to reinvent citizenship in the present day in relation to a new set of social struggles and conflicts.

Autorentext

SARAH WATERS is Lecturer in French at The University of Leeds, UK.

Zusammenfassung
The last decade of French politics has been marked by a rise of social movements that articulated new struggles and expressed changing demands. The new movements gave voice and representation to groups that had been marginalised by political institutions and excluded from mainstream society. Sarah Waters explores a 'new generation of movements' within French political life and seeks to examine their meaning and significance. Challenging recent theoretical assumptions and particularly 'new social movement theory', this book argues that it fails to take account of the fundamental logic and purpose of contemporary French movements. The outstanding feature of these movements is that they share a strong civic dimension, affirming and defending the rights of different groups in society. These are movements about citizenship and about the rights that this notion entails. Far from being new, French movements reveal ongoing civic processes whereby marginalised groups at particular points in history mobilise collectively to affirm their rights. The role of contemporary French movements is to redefine the nature and parameters of citizenship so that it reflects the changing social realities of France today.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Social Protest in France Today Citizenship and Social Change Antiracism: Theory and Practice From 'Silence to Revolt': The Unemployed Acting for Others: The Solidarity Movement Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography of French Texts Index