Research Framework: A Legitimist representative under the Second Republic (1848-1852), Paul de Dieuleveult (1799-1867) embodied the traditional Western notable in the mid-19th century. His privileged social position marks the culmination of a social ascent begun by his father, François-Marie, in Tréguier, Côtes-du-Nord.

Objectives: To examine the importance of family heritage in the Legitimist commitment of Paul de Dieuleveult and his fellow Legislative deputies.

Methodology: To achieve this, we will draw on the work of our thesis (Stefanelly, 2013) and on the biographical notes of parliamentarians.

Results: Paul de Dieuleveult’s commitment to the Legitimist cause was determined by his family background. His father rose socially through his medical activities, his two successive marriages, his attainment of a noble title and the exercise of local responsibilities under the Restoration. Paul belongs to this lineage. Thanks to him, he has considerable material and land assets. His marriage enables him to complete alliances with the region’s prominent families. His entry into politics in the final years of the Restoration period gave concrete expression to his legitimist commitment. The July Monarchy marked a political break, but he returned to the forefront of local political life in 1848 and became a member of parliament. During his term of office, he endeavored to build on his political base by preserving community unanimity.

Conclusion: Many of his fellow Legitimists in the West, birthplace of Legitimism, are part of a family heritage. A minority of them have less marked family antecedents and have emerged socially thanks to their abilities.

Contributions: The family dimension is essential to understanding the political commitment of a legitimist representative under the Second Republic, even if this is not true in all cases, and the individual psychological dimension is a factor to be taken into account.

Research Framework: In contemporary China, the ultra-competitive education system leads middle-class parents to invest time, money and energy to obtain the best educational resources and ensure their child’s success.

Objectives : In an authoritarian context where the middle class is often seen as a supporter of the ruling party-state, I show that defending the children’s interests leads middle-class parents to take an interest in education policies in particular, and to denounce decisions that seem unfair to them.

Methodology: I carried out an empirical investigation for over eight months in Nanjing (PRC) in 2018, during which I conducted 37 formal interviews with parents. I also observed interactions between parents and educational establishments (public and private). This empirical investigation is complemented by online monitoring of legislative developments, opinion debates and the parenting blogosphere.

Results: I observed how participation in online discussion groups, following educational news, and monitoring their child’s educational activities lead to the emergence of a political consciousness among middle-class parents. This phenomenon encourages some parents to take action to defend their interests.

Conclusions : The emergence of class consciousness among some parents transforms their relationship to politics, redefining the notion of justice, equality and conflict.

Contribution : This research calls into question the passivity of the Chinese middle classes and the impact of parenthood on the political socialization of individuals.

Reseach framework: In France’s Pas-de-Calais coalfield, the Communist Party structured itself by politicizing local communities. By investing in families, it made possible “native” political socialization.

Objectives: This article focuses on the role of family ties in shaping and transforming political involvements.

Methodology: Thanks to a biographical interview with a former French Communist Party (FCP) activist in specific site and historical context, the aim is to reconstruct a trajectory which sheds light on the mechanisms of partisan attachment and then detachment.

Results: Irène Delvaux, born in 1936 in the Pas-de-Calais coalfield, where the FCP was strengthening its influence at the time, is a “native” communist: born into a committed family, her militant socialization began with her primary socialization. Daughter of a mineworker who became a trade union leader, a Communist executive and leader, then a member of parliament and mayor, she inherited a “red” politicization. Although she describes the context of her youth as “stalinist” and “sectarian” in retrospect, her story is marked by boundless admiration for her father, whom she describes as a devoted self-taught man and exemplary activist. Having become a municipal employee, she got involved with the party’s “base” and adopted its “openness” policies. In the 1990s, this position put her at odds with federal political direction. While this disagreement contributed to her break with the FCP in 1996, the feeling of non-recognition of her father by local activists precipitated her exit.

Conlusion: This trajectory of a Communist woman, which is inextricably bound up with socio-historical and affective logics (formation of a working-class political staff, strategic developments and partisan divisions, loyalty to a father who embodied domestic as well as political authority, succession of generations in Communist dynasties, inheritance management), sheds light on the ways in which family ties affect the partisan bond, and vice versa.

Contribution: As part of an oral history project, this text is a contribution to the sociology of socialization.