Overview

This work on the decline of French radicalism was conceived after the fall of the Berlin Wall as an essay on the decay of the revolutionary idea in European politics. The theme provided an organizing principle for articles on the evolution of the French left in the wake of events for which it was politically and intellectually unprepared. This background provided the grounds for the volume on a French socialist regime in power, but more uncertain of its mission than at any other time in its history. The paradox of French radicalism is that when it was out of office, it was quite certain about its mission, when it attained power, it lost its sense of mission, and hence the proper uses of power.

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9780765801609

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Reviews

Roger Kaplan is one of our keenest observers of French politics and deserves to be better known. His book is a meticulous study of the French left during the Mitterrand years, but it is also a contribution to our understanding of how Europeans in general are coping--ideologically and practically--with the post-Cold War world. Though a work of history, this is a vital and timely book for anyone concerned with contemporary politics. </p> --Mark Lilla, University of Chicago</p> Roger Kaplan's book, <em>Conservative Socialism</em> is one of the best analysis I ever read about the evolution of the French left and even the European Left since 1980. </p> --Jean-Francois Revel</p> Roger Kaplan offers a penetrating, incisive, and extremely well informed look into the arcane complexities of French Socialism, which has been struggling to unite an ideology rooted in the French revolutionary tradition with the issues posed by guiding a country with a large-scale capitalist economy. Kaplan knows France from the inside, and his book is a fascinating read for anyone concerned with the social-political history of the last half-century. </p> --Joseph Frank</p>

Roger Kaplan is one of our keenest observers of French politics and deserves to be better known. His book is a meticulous study of the French left during the Mitterrand years, but it is also a contribution to our understanding of how Europeans in general are coping--ideologically and practically--with the post-Cold War world. Though a work of history, this is a vital and timely book for anyone concerned with contemporary politics. --Mark Lilla, University of Chicago Roger Kaplan's book, Conservative Socialism is one of the best analysis I ever read about the evolution of the French left and even the European Left since 1980. --Jean-Francois Revel Roger Kaplan offers a penetrating, incisive, and extremely well informed look into the arcane complexities of French Socialism, which has been struggling to unite an ideology rooted in the French revolutionary tradition with the issues posed by guiding a country with a large-scale capitalist economy. Kaplan knows France from the inside, and his book is a fascinating read for anyone concerned with the social-political history of the last half-century. --Joseph Frank

Author Information

Roger F.S. Kaplan is a journalist and magazine editor currently writing on political and literary subjects for a variety of publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and Commentary. He has served in the policy office of the Board of International Broadcasting (the editorial writing bureau attached to the Voice of America, 1999-2000) as director of publications for Freedom House (1992-1997) where he edited Freedom Review and as a consultant for the International Council for Human Rights Policy in Geneva.

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