The Jacobin Republic and language rights. Ethnolinguistic mobilizations in France

France is usually considered as the symbol of cultural unification and homogeneity. It is commonly (and, in part, correctly) assumed that the process of political centralization in France profoundly shaped the language preferences of citizens. Nevertheless, sociological surveys reveal a tension between the Jacobin Republican drive for uniformity and a more fine-grained empirical reality in the field of the governance of regional languages. Through the comparison of three case studies (Corsica, Brittany and Picardy), this paper reveals that the defence of lesser-used languages and regional dialects has produced an asymmetrical form of ethnolinguistic mobilization by social movements and political parties, which has been more or less credible depending on processes of institutionalization, actor-accommodation and the official recognition of the lesser-used language in question. Through focusing on the specific case of regional languages, the article leads us to examine not only the recent transformations of the French language policy model, but also to reconsider the nature of the contemporary French state

Towards a territorial political capacity approach for studying European regions

International audienceThis article proposes a framework for studying the territorial political capacity of regions in Europe. The proposed framework identifies three main dimensions of territorial political capacity. Mainly material indicators include institutions and institutional resources. Mixed material and constructed indicators centre on causal mechanisms of party and leadership capacity. Mainly constructed indicators are drawn from territorial praxis. Understanding a region requires combining different levels of analysis and distinctive ways of knowing; broad-based (quasi-statistical) variables facilitate comparison, while the focus on resilience and capacity requires primary data collection, drilling down into the practices of comparable panels of actors. This article discusses this framework in relation to four European regions that were the object of empirical investigation in 2012–2014: namely Brittany (France), Andalusia (Spain), Wallonia (Belgium) and Wales (United Kingdom). It contributes to the conceptualization of comparative territorial capacity, in a manner distinct from, but largely consistent with the Regional Authority Index

Towards a territorial political capacity approach for studying European regions

This article proposes a framework for studying the territorial political capacity of regions in Europe. The proposed framework identifies three main dimensions of territorial political capacity. Mainly material indicators include institutions and institutional resources. Mixed material and constructed indicators centre on causal mechanisms of party and leadership capacity. Mainly constructed indicators are drawn from territorial praxis. Understanding a region requires combining different levels of analysis and distinctive ways of knowing; broad-based (quasi-statistical) variables facilitate comparison, while the focus on resilience and capacity requires primary data collection, drilling down into the practices of comparable panels of actors. This article discusses this framework in relation to four European regions that were the object of empirical investigation in 2012–2014: namely Brittany (France), Andalusia (Spain), Wallonia (Belgium) and Wales (United Kingdom). It contributes to the conceptualization of comparative territorial capacity, in a manner distinct from, but largely consistent with the Regional Authority Index