Discretionary Power in the Hands of an Authoritarian State

A Study of Denaturalizations under the Vichy Regime (1940-1944)

Bibliographic Data

ID3444366
AuthorsClaire Zalc (0000-0003-4264-1458, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume92
Issue4
Pages817-858
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Modern History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2801 • E-ISSN: 1537-5358
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/711477
OpenAlexW3104039232
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

During its first days of existence, the Vichy regime ordered a review of recent naturalizations. In accordance with a law passed on July 22, 1940, denaturalization decisions were made on a case-by-case basis by a commission tasked with reviewing all naturalizations granted since 1927. Examining these cases collectively by quantifying a thousand denaturalization files takes into account any individual variations in decision making. Denaturalization procedures are an excellent field of investigation for observing the relation between an ideological project and its administrative implementation. This article opens a field of investigation that questions the boundary between discretionary and absolute power. It explores the consequences of leaving a degree of freedom to administrations in authoritarian regimes

Authoritarianism · Boundary (topology · Commission · Democracy · Field (mathematics · Ideology · Law and economics · Physics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Relation (database · Sociology · State (computer science · Computer Science · European Political History Analysis · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Law · Political and Social Issues