The Reshaping of French Democracy

Originally published in 1950, this book is a narrative and analytical account of the making of the new French Constitution and views that process in its historical setting. Although the book’s central theme is the constitutional problem, it is in a broader sense concerned with the political forces at work in France since liberation. The 2 years of provisional government from August 1944 to December 1946 brought French politics to a new pitch of complexity. Economic stress, international tension, colonial unrest and personal rivalries sharpened the conflicts among the men who made the constitution. All of these elements went into the formation of the Fourth French Republic and are discussed in the book.