The concept of the armed people, France, 1870-1871

Tyner, Richard J. (1974) The concept of the armed people, France, 1870-1871. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to define the concept of the armed people and to illustrate the various applications of the concept in France, 1870-71. The nine months of French history from 4 September, 1870 (the overthrow of the Second Empire) to 28 May (the defeat of the Paris Commune) reveal a variety of incidences of the concept, from the francs-tireurs and the militia armies during the Franco-Prussian War to the revolutionary Communard movement of Paris and the provinces which emerged out of the frustration of defeat. That these manifestations of the concept came at the particular point in history which serves as the prelude to the modern era underscores the importance of the study to the discipline of International Relations. The Franco-Prussian War, together with the American Civil War, represents the first instance of modern war characterised by rapid technological innovation, the employment of mass armies, and the mobilisation of the resources of the entire state for the war effort. Similarly, the Paris Commune ranks as the 'dawn' of modern or proletarian revolution characterised by the organisation of the International, the formulation of revolutionary theory, and the accretion of proletarian power directed at the capture or destruction of the bourgeois state. The thesis attempts to abstract the modes of military and revolutionary organisation from their political-historical context and to place within the more specialised theory of the armed people. It is the contention of this paper that the concept of the 'armed people' is distinct from that of the 'nation-in-arms', that while the former is inherently revolutionary in nature due to the emphasis it places on the citizen and his spontaneous, politicised reaction to the advent of war and /or revolution, the latter more readily connotes the more conservative or traditional idea of the citizen encadred in the apolitical structure of the nation's regular forces. The distinction is supported by an analysis of the contending concepts of military organisations in France, 1879-1780, and by an analysis of the successes and failures of the armed people during 1870-1871. Finally, the concept is briefly traced in socialist thought and revolutionary practice, through the Great War and the Russian Civil War, to the present day.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 1974 Richard J. Tyner
Library of Congress subject classification:	D History General and Old World > DC France J Political Science > JZ International relations
Sets:	Departments > International Relations
Supervisor:	Roberts, Adam
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4831

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