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This article explores the role of empire and internationalism in French revolutionary socialist thought at the beginning of the Third Republic. Whilst French revolutionary socialists frequently employed colonial examples and operated within wider traditions of either imperialism or anti-colonialism, the concept of ‘empire’ itself remained vague and undefined in their thought. Previous literature on the subject has focused overwhelmingly on the writings of Communards deported to New Caledonia in the 1870s; however, this article argues that the deportees in fact remained theoretically unconcerned with imperial and international questions. Rather, it was those who remained in Europe that produced more clearly elaborated theories on empire and international engagement. Such ideas subsequently served to demarcate the limits and possibilities of universal equality and solidarity, which were central to revolutionary socialist thought during this period. Consequently, it will be suggested that despite their recent rise in popularity, empire, and colonialism are not the best categories of analysis for approaching such themes, for they cannot be isolated from broader concerns with international and transnational thought. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the fiscal policies instituted by France's Third Republic in the late nineteenth century. Taxation was increased to pay for public programs such as education and transportation. Topics considered include the historiography of taxation and the theories of sociologist Max Weber, state-building and war, French President Adolphe Thiers, nineteenth-century taxation and theories on income tax. A comparison of the tax systems of France, Great Britain, and the U.S. is presented.

The seize mai crisis of 1877 was the occasion for last of the three war scares that punctuated Franco–German relations in the 1870s. However, it has not been given the detailed scrutiny it deserves. It was not only important for the amount of influence that Bismarck exerted during a six month period to influence the course of French domestic politics at a critical juncture. This crisis also provides a cipher for understanding the earlier crises of 1873–1874 and 1875 since the German Chancellor pursued his key objective of supporting the establishment of a republic much more openly in 1877 and his tactics are much better documented than in the earlier scares. A closer look at the events of 1877 reveals more continuity in both the means and ends used by Bismarck in his dealings with France during the mid-1870s than was previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While the French feminist movements campaigning to obtain the right to vote between the 1870s and the 1930s are well known, the struggles for women's access to higher education and professional work have not yet been studied in depth. Although the French Third Republic (1871-1940) claimed to adhere to the principles of equality, meritocracy and the 'free competition of talents', which translated concretely into the creation of a system of scholarships, competitions and professional degrees which provided access to many of the professional careers, these doors remained largely closed to the first women attempting to enter them. The controversies that this situation provoked are the subject of this article, which draws from professional, parliamentary, press and activist sources. More broadly, through examining this particular series of controversies, the article aims to give an account of the mechanisms and arguments that are generally used to make such discriminations publicly acceptable within institutional spaces that are formally governed by the principle of equal access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the juridical concepts and notions of political unity and legality in the late Third Republic in France. Definition of the political doctrine, jurisprudence of crisis, that emphasized the importance of decision, order, and national unity over constitutional norms and parliamentary practice; Significance of the constitution in the legitimacy of the administrative state; Law and jurisprudence in the Great War; Political authority of coalition governments; Reaction to the Nazi revolution; End of political unity.

Focuses on the political career of Frederic Joseph Caillaux and his association with Alliance Republicaine Democratique (ARD) of the Third Republic of France for the period 1901-1912. Reasons for the creation of ARD; Caillaux's objective to join ARD; Fall of the Caillaux government; Shift of the Alliance from cosmopolitanism to jingo nationalism.