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Jaurès’s The New Army (1911): the organisation of democratic institutions as war prevention

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  • Parent, Marcel
  • Parent, Antoine
  • Pradier, Pierre-Charles
  • Gauthier, Laurent

Abstract

The canonical reading of Jaurès’s L’Armée nouvelle presents this work as an outdated reflection on the establishment of a socialist society supervised by intermediary bodies whose military training would be a major asset. Our reading goes beyond this historically situated approach to Jaurès’s book. We show that The New Army is not just a response to the General Staff, even less a ‘theorisation’ of the transition to socialism, but that its aim is to rehabilitate the founding principles of democratic institutions (ancient and modern), which rest on the constitution of an army of citizens: The ‘proletarian-soldier’ of Jaurès is none other than the ‘farmer-soldier’ of the ancient city and of Year 2 of the French Revolutionary calendar, transposed to the Industrial Age. Relying on a game-theoretical model, we highlight that this defence of democratic institutions is backed by a discourse of the economics of war prevention in terms of self-protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Parent, Marcel & Parent, Antoine & Pradier, Pierre-Charles & Gauthier, Laurent, 2025. "Jaurès’s The New Army (1911): the organisation of democratic institutions as war prevention," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21, pages 1-1, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:21:y:2025:i::p:-_23
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