Strategies and Calculations inside the Socialist Group

The Parliamentary “Fronde” through Schelling’s Prism

Abstract

Legislative studies can analyze parliamentarians’ behavior through interactionist approaches: Schelling’s work can be usefully mobilized to understand actors’ coordination in the parliamentary arena and how they exchange political moves. The “fronde” within the Socialist Group during the 14th term (2012-2017) of the French National Assembly particularly lends itself to this type of approach. In a situation of relative crisis, of weakening of the reference points of party discipline and of uncertainty about the actions of their peers, deputies calculate the political costs of their potential dissent thanks to the positions of highly visible personalities who contribute to converging expectations. Conflict between government and a “rebellious” majority is a “limited conflict” between interdependent actors that can harm each other.