Militantism is generally only thought of as a subset of the study of partisanship & unions, contexts where political participation is understood as something conventional. In the 1990s, however, there has been more focus on militant approaches, & articles in current issue of the Revue Francaise de Science Politique all center on the issue of social agency. Militant organizations are less an object of study in these papers & more a place for observing a collection of individual actions, with the organization seen merely as the result of a punctual equilibrium resulting from the coexistence of individuals whose presence there stems from different backgrounds & different contexts. Contributions are introduced. D. Weibel
This thesis analyses the structuring of green political parties from a comparative perspective and at a regional (sub-national) scale, from 1974 to 1995. We study five dimensions of this process: organisational structuring, evolution of cleavages with other political parties, electoral and strategic evolutions, careers of activists, and media coverage (including a study of green media). Our research highlights several processes taking place at regional and local levels which have a decisive influence on the national scale (e. g. the crucial part played by regional federations in the unification of LesVerts in 1984 and early strategic evolutions at a local level) as well as the regional impact of dynamics developing at the European level, above all after the formation of a Green group in the European Parliament in 1984. In both regions, the Green parties are shaped first of all by the cleavages opposing (or relating) them to other parties and by the careers of their activists, two factors from which also stem serious internal conflicts. In Brittany, the impact of May 1968 followed by a successful movement against nuclear power have contributed to the transformation of the green movement into apolitical force but Les Verts have then remained very fragile as an organisation, despite significant electoral gains from 1989 onwards. In Wales, the green movement as a specific force is weakened by the strength of the regionalist movement, the opposition to nuclear weapons from many Labour Party activists and the fact that many Green Party activists in Wales are newcomers from England. The Wales Green Party thus obtains low electoral results but nevertheless succeeds in making its campaigns and activism durable. ; Nous analysons dans cette thèse le processus de structuration d'organisations politiques écologistes, le Green Party et les Verts, de manière comparative et à l'échelle régionale, sur la période 1974-1995. Nous étudions cinq dimensions de ce processus : structuration organisationnelle, évolution des clivages ...
This thesis analyses the structuring of green political parties from a comparative perspective and at a regional (sub-national) scale, from 1974 to 1995. We study five dimensions of this process: organisational structuring, evolution of cleavages with other political parties, electoral and strategic evolutions, careers of activists, and media coverage (including a study of green media). Our research highlights several processes taking place at regional and local levels which have a decisive influence on the national scale (e. g. the crucial part played by regional federations in the unification of LesVerts in 1984 and early strategic evolutions at a local level) as well as the regional impact of dynamics developing at the European level, above all after the formation of a Green group in the European Parliament in 1984. In both regions, the Green parties are shaped first of all by the cleavages opposing (or relating) them to other parties and by the careers of their activists, two factors from which also stem serious internal conflicts. In Brittany, the impact of May 1968 followed by a successful movement against nuclear power have contributed to the transformation of the green movement into apolitical force but Les Verts have then remained very fragile as an organisation, despite significant electoral gains from 1989 onwards. In Wales, the green movement as a specific force is weakened by the strength of the regionalist movement, the opposition to nuclear weapons from many Labour Party activists and the fact that many Green Party activists in Wales are newcomers from England. The Wales Green Party thus obtains low electoral results but nevertheless succeeds in making its campaigns and activism durable. ; Nous analysons dans cette thèse le processus de structuration d'organisations politiques écologistes, le Green Party et les Verts, de manière comparative et à l'échelle régionale, sur la période 1974-1995. Nous étudions cinq dimensions de ce processus : structuration organisationnelle, évolution des clivages avec les autres formations politiques, évolutions électorales et stratégiques, parcours militants et médiatisation des écologistes. Nous mettons en évidence plusieurs processus se jouant à l'échelle régionale et locale et leur influence décisive sur l'échelle nationale (rôle moteur des fédérations régionales dans l'unification des Verts français, évolutions stratégiques locales) mais également l'impactrécurrent à l'échelle locale de dynamiques opérant à l'échelle européenne, surtout à partir de la formation d'un groupe écologiste au Parlement européen à partir de 1984. Dans les deux régions, les caractéristiques des partis Verts sont déterminées en premier lieu par la structure des clivages qui les opposent (ou apparentent) aux autres partis politiques ainsi que les parcours militants de leurs militants, deux facteurs qui donnent également lieu à de graves conflits internes. En Bretagne, les événements de mai 1968 puis un mouvement anti-nucléaire puissant contribuent à la structuration d'une famille politique consistante mais les Verts restent très fragiles sur le plan organisationnel, malgré une implantation électorale significative surtout à partir de 1989. Au Pays de Galles, le développement d'un mouvement écologiste autonome est entravée par la puissance du mouvement régionaliste et la présence au sein du parti travailliste de nombreux opposants à l'armement nucléaire, et le fait qu'une partie significative des militants du Green Party soient des nouveaux arrivants originaires d'Angleterre. Le Wales Green Party recueille de ce fait des résultats électoraux très faibles mais parvient à pérenniser son organisation et ses activités.
