Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Leadership and style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in historical and cultural perspective

  • Research Article
  • Published:
French Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

This article contributes to the body of the developing theoretical research in leadership and presidential studies by adding analysis of what I have termed ‘comportmental style’ as a factor in leader/follower relations. Within institutionalism and the wider structure/agency debate in political science, one of the challenges as regards the study of leadership is to identify factors that offer scope to or else militate against leaders’ performance. The comportmental style of Nicolas Sarkozy (President of the French Republic 2007–2012), deployed in the context of the – changing – institution of the presidency, was a major factor in his extreme unpopularity, and contributed to his defeat in 2012. What this tells us about the nature of the changing French presidency and the role of style will be discussed in the conclusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. De Gaulle's memoirs begin: ‘All of my life, I have had in my mind a very particular idea of France. It is shaped as much by feeling as by rational thought. The emotional part of me imagines France quite simply like a fairy tale princess or the Madonna in a painting, and fated to have an unusual and glorious destiny. Instinctively, I feel that providence created France in order that she achieve great triumphs or else undergo great misfortunes’ (my translation) (C. de Gaulle, 1954, p. 1).

References

  • Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ariès, P. (2005) Misère du Sarkozysme. Mesnil-sur-l’Estrée: Parangon/Vs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle (1991) The Art of Rhetoric. London: Penguin Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Austin, J.L. (1975) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Badiou, A. (2008) The Meaning of Sarkozy. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, J. (ed.) (2006) Speaking Out: The Female Voice in Public Context. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, D.S. (2000) Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France. Oxford: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berstein, S. (2002) Histoire du gaullisme. Sarthe, France: Perrin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerny, P. (1980) The Politics of Grandeur. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahuc, P. and Zylberberg, A. (2010) Les réformes ratées du Président Sarkozy. Paris: Champsactuel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, A. (2012) Sarkozy's political leadership and the institutions of the Fifth Republic. In: G. Raymond (ed.) The Sarkozy Presidency. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Gaulle, C. (1954) Mémoires. Paris: Plon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duhamel, A. (2009) La Marche Consulaire. Paris: Plon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duhamel, O. (2003) Le Pouvoir Politique en France. Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duverger, M. (1963) La Cinquième République. Paris: PUF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (1995) Political Leadership in Liberal Democracies. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2011) Semi-presidentialism: Sub-types and Democratic Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F. and Pfetsch, B. (2004) Comparing Political Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gaffney, J. (2001) Imagined relationships: Political leadership in contemporary democracies. Parliamentary Affairs 54 (1): 120–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaffney, J. (2003) The French fifth republic as an opportunity structure: A neo-institutional and cultural approach to the study of leadership politics. Political Studies 51 (4): 686–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaffney, J. (2012) Political Leadership in France: from Charles de Gaulle to Nicolas Sarkozy. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaffney, J. and Holmes, D. (eds.) (2011) Stardom in Post-war France. Oxford: Berghahn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrigues, J. (2012) Les Hommes Providentiels: Histoire d’une fascination française. Paris: Seuil.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (1980) Negara. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerstlé, J. and Abel, F. (2011) Mediatisation de l’économie et fabrication de la popularité du président Français (2007-2010). Revue Francaise de Science Politique 61 (2): 249–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, B.D. (1993) Representation and Party Politics: A Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grint, K. (2010) Leadership: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hall Jamieson, K. (1988) Eloquence in an Electronic Age: The Transformation of Political Speechmaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanley, D. (2013) Political leadership from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic. In: D. Bell and J. Gaffney (eds.) The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafez, S. (2008) La Sarkose obsessionelle. Paris: Hachette.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S., Reicher, S. and Platow, M. (2011) The New Psychology of Leadership. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C. (2008) Constructivist institutionalism. In: R.A.W. Rhodes, S. Binder and B.A. Rockman (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 56–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helms, L. (2005) Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors: Executive Leadership in Western Democracies. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Helms, L. (ed.) (2012) Poor Leadership and Bad Governance. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hewlett, N. (2011) The Sarkozy Phenomenon. Exeter, UK: Societas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, J. (2012) ‘Hyperpresidentialism’ and the Fifth Republic state imperative. In: D. Bell and J. Gaffney (eds.) The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohrs Campbell, K. and Hall Jamieson, K. (2010) Presidents Creating the Presidency: Deeds Done in Words. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacouture, J. (1985) De Gaulle, (3 vols). Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambron, M. (2006) Mignonne allons voir. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambron, M. (2008) Eh bien, dansez maintenant. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maigret, R. (2008) L’Hyperprésident. Paris: Colin.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, J.G and Olsen, J.P. (1984) The new institutionalism: Organizational factors in political life. Americal Political Science Review 78 (3): 734–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nay, C. (2007) Un Pouvoir Nommé Désir. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, L. (2012) Les dessous de la campagne. Paris: Fayard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottenheimer, G. (2007) Le Sacré de Nicolas. Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, R. (1995) Choosing the Chief: Presidential Elections in France and the United States. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Portelli, S. (2009) Le Sarkozysme sans Sarkozy. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pouvoirs 99. (2001) La nouvelle Ve République. Paris: Seuil.

  • Rayski, B. (2010) L’Homme que vous aimez hair. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rémond, R. (1983) Le Retour du Général. Brussels: Editions Complexe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Revel, J-F. (1988) Le Style du Général (1959). Brussels: Editions Complexe.

    Google Scholar 

  • t'Hart, P. and Rhodes, R. (2013) The Oxford Handbook of Political Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tenzer, N. (1998) La face cachée du gaullisme. Paris: Hachette.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theakston, K. (2012) Winston Churchill. Colchester: Shire Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, M., Ellis, R. and Wildavsky, A. (1990) Cultural Theory. Boulder, CO: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Touchard, J. (1978) Le Gaullisme 1940-1969. Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Windt, T. and Ingold, B. (1992) Essays in Presidential Rhetoric. Dubuque, IA: Kendall.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Politics and International Relations, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK

    John Gaffney

Authors
  1. John Gaffney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gaffney, J. Leadership and style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in historical and cultural perspective. Fr Polit 10, 345–363 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2012.18

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2012.18

Keywords

Search

Navigation