Book Review: France-Algérie: Les Passions Douloureuses
| Author | Leland Conley Barrows |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00207020221125198 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
dynamic three-way interaction between decision makers themselves, discourses of
British identity into which decision makers are socialized and within (or against) which
foreign policy is made, and broader processes—generational, cultural and
international—that confront decision makers with different challenges within this
nexus”(24). I would argue that rather than being influenced by the public and cultural
norms, influential politicians and decision-makers create the framework of “acceptable
behaviour”which the public then use to frame their views. While undoubtedly
influenced by specific protests or incidents, the political class mould public opinion far
more than they are influenced by it. Perhaps that is because the study of British foreign
policy has made me cynical of the promises which politicians make of “listening to the
public”or “reflecting their concerns.”A cynic would argue that this is only done when
it suits the purposes of those in power. However, Vucetic makes a compelling counter
argument, using some excellent cultural examples. I would certainly recommend this
book to anyone writing on, or studying, British foreign policy. They may not always
entirely agree with Vucetic’s conclusions—although I am sure many will—but even
those who question his conclusions will recognize the value and strengths of his
arguments and this book. It makes a valuable contribution to the field.
Benjamin Stora
France-Alg´
erie: les passions douloureuses
Paris: Editions Albin-Michel, 2021. 381 pp. €18.90 (paper), €12.99 (e-book), [digitization of the
text by Nord Compo]
ISBN: 978-2-226-46177-3
Reviewed by: Leland Conley Barrows (lbarrows@voorhees.edu), Voorhees University,
Denmark, SC, USA
DOI: 10.1177/00207020221125198
Professor Benjamin Stora’s lifetime of reflection on the course and consequences of
French rule in Algeria, and a major policy option of French president Emmanuel
Macron to initiate a lasting reconciliation between France and Algeria, converged in
July 2020 when Stora submitted his Report on Memorial Questions Regarding Col-
onization and the Algerian War to President Macron (who had commissioned it) in
January 2021. The title of the published version, Les passions douleureuses,isa
reminder to specialists on French politics and history that the controversies and the
suffering provoked by the Algerian War are still ongoing and are having political
repercussions in France.
Stora, who has published some thirty books on Algerian-French and colonial
subjects, is himself of Algerian Jewish origin, born in Constantine in 1950. Concerned
that the official silence and the conflicting memories that had followed the end of the
Algerian War had stimulated political malaise in France, he published La gangrène et
Book Reviews 381
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