The French Communist Party in the Fifth Republic
David S. Bell (Author), Byron Criddle
This up-to-date new analysis of the French Communist Party reveals it as an entirely unconventional political force: not a normal party vying for office, but a Leninist bureaucracy armed with an apocalyptic mission to deliver humanity from capitalism. Its interests have been defined as part of an outpost of a world revolutionary movement; and whilst its strategies may have varied, they have done so in order to serve Soviet foreign policy purposes. D.S. Bell and Byron Criddle trace the history of the Communist Party in France from its origins. They focus in particular on the period since 1958 and explore the Party's unique organizational structures and international loyalties. They examine structure and ideology, relations with the Socialist Party, electoral performance, and the 1980s decline in the Party's fortunes. This study will be essential reading for all students of contemporary French history and politics
Print Book, English, 1994
Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 1994
History
xii, 294 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
9780198219903, 0198219903
29478618
1. Introduction
2. Party Organization
3. Ideology, Doctrine, and Policy
4. Origins of the Party
5. Dependence: 1920-1956
6. Looking for Alliance: 1956-1972
7. The Struggle to Survive: 1972-1993
8. The CGT: The Transmission Belt
9. French Communism and the USSR
10. Communists and Socialists
11. Voters, Members, and Leaders
12. Decline