This interdisciplinary research programme organises collaborations on several subjects and themes:

War, Occupation, Resistance (Laurent Douzou (MFO), Robert Gildea (Worcester College, Oxford))

This project looks at the transnational history of WW II, with a strong focus on resistance and opposition to Nazism. The unexpected dimensions of resistance, the tensions and contradictions of resistance, intelligence, warfare history, are central to the team’s activities. Intellectuals, writers and scientists in the war.

Politics and policies (Daniel Benamouzig, MFO)

This project involves scholars from the fields of sociology, politics, history, and law. It considers the developments and the history of political phenomena, elections, institutions, parties, public services (health, education, research, justice)

Social and political cultures (Sudhir Hazareesingh (Balliol College, Oxford), Luc Borot, MFO)

This programme has looked at the sociology of elite distinction in such areas as artistic taste, political and scientific elite-formation, home building. The intellectual and cultural dimension of politics are a welcome addition to the more current study of political ideas. Political mythologies are close kindred to ideologies, but the study of such a field involves the consideration of more approaches and sources. Mentalities, opinion, political theory. Anthropological studies of politics or justice: political rituals, alternative forms of justice.

Themes: Europe, European institutions, the Middle East

“Nation and Globalisation” also hosts seminars on the practices and theories of the humanities and social sciences. It also provides a home for comparative studies. In recent years, we have hosted comparative conferences on constitutional development, public broadcasting, the news press, the practice of oral history, innovation policies, forms of suffrage and electoral redistricting. The comparisons mainly involve France and the UK, but other European countries and the USA are also taken into consideration.

Collaboration is encouraged with other programmes of the MFO, such as Digital Humanities, History of Science, and French Literature from the Modern to the Post-modern.

Open democracies, eds. Luc Foisneau, Christian Hiebaum et Juan Carlos Velasco Arroyo, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2007 (600p) 

Jean-Pascal Daloz (guest editor), Historical Reflections: special issue on "Elites", forthcoming 2010.

Jean-Pascal Daloz (guest editor) Comparative Sociology: special issue on "The Distinction of Social and Political Elites", forthcoming 2010. 

Jean-Pascal Daloz, The Sociology of Elite Distinction: From Theoretical to Comparative Perpectives. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2010.

Jean-Pascal Daloz, "How Political Representatives Gain Legitimacy: Symbolic Perspectives", International Social Science Journal, 196 (special issue on Legitimacy, 2009).

Jean-Pascal Daloz, "Towards the Cultural Contextualisation of Social Distinction", Journal of Cultural Economy, Vol. 1/3 (November 2008), pp 305-320.

Jean-Pascal Daloz,"Between Majesty and Proximity: The Enduring Ambiguities of Political Representation in France", French Politics, Vol. 6/3 (2008), pp. 302-320. 

 Jean-Pascal Daloz, "Ostentation et simplicité ostensible chez les élites politiques : analyses comparatives", in T. Berthet et al. (eds). 2008.  Les espaces changeants de la régulation politique, Paris: L'Harmattan, pp. 145-72.

Past and present resident MFO researchers who worked in this programme

Daniel Benamouzig (sociology) and Laurent Douzou (modern history) are the current fellows. For parts of the current academic year (2011-12), they are joined by sociologist Corine Eyraud (Michaelmas and Hilary Terms) and law-historian Soazick Kerneis (Hilary Term). The current post-doctoral fellow is Sébastien Pradella.

Before them, Frédéric Audren (law), Jean-Pascal Daloz (politics and sociology), Luc Foisneau (philosophy), Marie-Claire Lavabre (politics), Anne Simonin (history), held MFO fellowships. Post-doctoral fellows have included Hélène Thiollet (politics) and Aurélie Daher (politics).

Partners

In Oxford: History Faculty, Department of Sociology, Department of Politics and International Relations, European Studies Centre and Middle-East Centre (St Antony’s College), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Institute for European and Comparative Law

In France: Institut d’Études Politiques, Paris; Aix-Marseille Université; EHESS; Paris X.

A collaboration between MFO, Sociology dept, DPIR and IEP under the OXPO agreement organises exchanges of fellows, graduates and post-docs between Oxford and IEP.