Between Justice and Politics

William D. Irvine is Professor of History at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is author of French Conservatism in Crisis: The Republican Federation of France in the 1930s (1979) and The Boulanger Affair Reconsidered: Royalism, Boulangism and the Origins of the Radical Right in France (1989).

• @fmct:Contents @toc4:Acknowledgmentsiii @toc2:Introduction1 1.Origins, Organization and Structure 2.Ici On Ne Fait Pas de la Politique 3.Politics, Yes, But Not Electoral Politics 4.Liberty With All Its Risks 5.The League From Below 6.War and Peace - 1914-1934 7.From The Popular Front To The Fall Of France 8.Vichy Epilogue @toc4:Notes000 Bibliography000 Index000

"[Alfred Dreyfus's] vindication permitted the League [of the Rights of Man/Ligue des Droits de l'Homme] to portray itself during the succeeding four decades as the Third Republic's bastion of defense for human and civil rights, indeed as the 'conscience of democracy.' Most historians have concurred in this vainglorious description. William D. Irvine does not, and skillfully dissects—one is tempted to write 'eviscerates'—this legend... His telling of this sorry story is a superb model of monographic history." - American Historical Review "In this pleasing clothbound volume, William D. Irvine demonstrates his encyclopedic knowledge of this important institution... This is, after all, apparently the first full-length book study of the Ligue in any language. So as a resource for instructors of twentieth-century French civilization, it is a welcome treasure. As a reference for students, researchers, and historians, it opens brand new avenues of inquiry. As a book, it offers a rich and satisfying read." - French Review "Between Justice and Politics is a profoundly insightful and revisionist re-reading of one of the sacred cows of the Third Republic, the Ligue des droits de l'homme. Irvine knows the political milieu of the Ligue better than anyone, and he draws on his vast knowledge of French political history to provide a narrative that is provocatively analytical, as well as, quite simply, an excellent read. The importance of this book goes well beyond the history of the Ligue. . . . Irvine has produced a book which is rich in comment on the wider question of the nature of the Third Republic, the reasons for its downfall, the contested legacy of Vichy, and the impact of the Great War on French society." - Norman Ingram, Concordia University (Montreal)