Professor Andrew Knapp
Contact
Responsibilities
I retired from the University and became an Emeritus Professor on 1 September 2015. I remain active in academic research and writing.
Areas of Interest
My research interests include French government and politics, especially political parties, and contemporary French history, especially the wartime and postwar periods.
I have worked and published extensively in English and French on the Allied bombing of France between 1940 and 1945 (see the website at https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/france-under-allied-air-attack/?tag=prof-andrew-knapp). France took the equivalent (in tonnage of bombs) of nearly eight Blitzes from British and American bombers, and suffered over 57,000 dead in this period; my primary interest has been to find out why the Allies undertook these raids and how the French, the Vichy state and the Resistance responded. As well as publications in print, this work has fed into five French TV documentaries, on the bombing of France as a whole and of four selected cities – Nantes, Le Havre, Rouen and Royan. In addition, my interest in the varied national and regional memories of Europe’s bombing war has led to two substantial articles, one of which was published in 2017.
Most recently, I have completed a medium-length biography of General de Gaulle, published by Routledge in November 2020, just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the General’s death (https://www.routledge.com/Charles-de-Gaulle/Knapp/p/book/9781138839199).
Research groups / Centres
Before retiring I took part in a major AHRC-funded joint research project on Bombing, States and Peoples in Western Europe, 1940-45, covering the effects of Allied bombing on French civilians and the reactions of the Vichy state and the Free French. I was also part of the Reading-based 'Liberal Way of War' programme, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and co-edited, with Professor Hilary Footitt, a study of Liberal Democracies at War and how they represent conflict to their citizens (2013).
I have recently with Professor Pavel Kolář of the European University Institute, Florence, on patterns of Consolidation of Power in Post-1945 Europe.
Academic availability
I have supervised four students to successful Ph.Ds, and am available for informal consultations (at a distance) from Ph.D. students, and to invitations to act as an external examiner in my areas of interest. I am equally open to invitations to talk and write.
Publications
2020
- Knapp, A. F. (2020) Charles de Gaulle. Routledge Historical Biographies. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781138839182
2018
- Knapp, A. (2018) Structure versus accident in the defeat of France’s mainstream Right, April–June 2017. Parliamentary Affairs, 71 (3). pp. 558-577. ISSN 1460-2482 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx044
2017
- Knapp, A. (2017) Les bombardements en Grande-Bretagne, en France et en Italie: expériences comparées, mémoires contrastées. In: Bérenger, C. and Agostini-Ouafi, V. (eds.) Sous la Glace et les Débris du Temps. Front de l'Est et Bombardements en Europe. Indigo, Paris, pp. 281-294. ISBN 9782352601418
2016
- Knapp, A. (2016) The horror and the glory: Bomber Command in British memories since 1945. Mass Violence and Resistance. ISSN 1961-9898
- Barzman, J., Bouillot, C. and Knapp, A., eds. (2016) Bombardements 1944: Le Havre, Normandie, France, Europe. Histoire et Patrimoines. Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, Rouen, pp488. ISBN 9791024006116
- Knapp, A. (2016) Des bombardements sur les champs de bataille normands: du débarquement au siège du Havre. In: Barzman, J., Bouillot, C. and Knapp, A. (eds.) Bombardements 1944: Le Havre, Normandie, France, Europe. Histoire et Patrimoines. Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, Rouen, pp. 137-188. ISBN 9791024006116
- Knapp, A. and Barot, S. (2016) Du « 16th port » aux « camps cigarette »: une présence massive de l’armée américaine au Havre (1944-1946). In: Barzman, J., Bouillot, C. and Knapp, A. (eds.) Bombardements 1944: Le Havre, Normandie, France, Europe. Histoire et Patrimoines. Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, Rouen, pp. 283-305. ISBN 9791024006116
- Knapp, A. (2016) Une arme nouvelle au centre de la guerre: les bombardements dans la stratégie des Alliés. In: Barzman, J., Bouillot, C. and Knapp, A. (eds.) Bombardements 1944: Le Havre, Normandie, France, Europe. Histoire et Patrimoines. Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, Rouen, pp. 73-90. ISBN 9791024006116
2014
- Knapp, A. (2014) En attendant Sarko? France’s mainstream Right and Centre, 2012-2014. Modern and Contemporary France, 22 (4). pp. 473-489. ISSN 0963-9489 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09639489.2014.957963
- Knapp, A. (2014) Les Français sous les bombes alliées, 1940-1945. Tallandier, Paris, pp592. ISBN 9791021004610
2013
- Knapp, A. and Footitt, H. (2013) Liberal democracies at war: conflict and representation. Bloomsbury, London, pp264. ISBN 9781441156051
- Knapp, A. (2013) The allied bombing offensive in the British media, 1942-45. In: Knapp, A. and Footitt, H. (eds.) Liberal democracies at war: conflict and representation. Bloomsbury, London, pp264. ISBN 9781441156051
- Knapp, A. (2013) Surviving without leading: Jacques Chirac. In: Bell, D. S. and Gaffney, J. (eds.) The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic. French politics society and culture . Palgrave, Basingstoke, pp. 159-180. ISBN 9780230285224
- Knapp, A. (2013) A paradoxical presidency: Nicolas Sarkozy, 2007-2012. Parliamentary Affairs, 66 (1). pp. 33-51. ISSN 1460-2482 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss070
2012
- Knapp, A. (2012) The President above parties: a founding illusion of the Fifth Republic. E-France (3). pp. 55-74. ISSN 1756-0535
- Baldoli, C. and Knapp, A. (2012) Forgotten blitzes: France and Italy under Allied air attack, 1940-1945. Continuum, London, pp312. ISBN 9781441131096
- Knapp, A. (2012) La Francia sotto le bombe degli Alleati 1940-1945. In: Labanca, N. (ed.) I Bombardimenti Aerei Sull’Italia. Il Mulino, Bologna, pp. 37-56. ISBN 9788815238160
2011
- Knapp, A. (2011) Des bombardements alliés sur la France en général et Le Havre en particulier. Cahiers Havrais de Recherche Historique, R69. pp. 121-154. ISSN 1250-5560
- Baldoli, C., Overy, R. and Knapp, A., eds. (2011) Bombing, states and peoples in Western Europe, 1940-45. Continuum, London, pp376. ISBN 9781441185686
2008
- Dodd, L. A. and Knapp, A. (2008) How many Frenchmen did you kill? British bombing policy towards France (1940-1945). French History, 22 (4). pp. 469-492. ISSN 1477-4542 doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/fh/crn042
- Knapp, A. (2008) La présidence au-dessus des partis: chronique d’une illusion. In: Dargent, R. (ed.) Vie et mort de la Ve République: 1958-2008. Libres (5). François-Xavier de Guibert, Paris, pp. 48-60. ISBN 9782755402858
- Knapp, A. (2008) Le président au-dessus des partis: chronique d'une illusion. In: Vie et mort de la Ve république. François-Xavier de Guibert, Paris, pp. 47-60. ISBN 9782755402858
- Knapp, A. and Sawicki, F. (2008) Political parties and the party system. In: Cole, A., le Galès, P. and Levy, J. (eds.) Developments in French Politics 4. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 42-59. ISBN 9780230537002
2007
- Knapp, A. (2007) The destruction and liberation of Le Havre in modern memory. War in History, 14 (4). pp. 476-498. ISSN 1477-0385 doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0968344507081551
- Knapp, A. (2007) Introduction: France's "long" liberation, 1944-1947. In: Knapp, A. (ed.) The uncertain foundation: France at the liberation 1944-47. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 1-22. ISBN 9780230521216
- Knapp, A. and Cogan, C. (2007) Washington at the liberation, 1944-1947. In: Knapp, A. (ed.) The uncertain foundation: France at the liberation 1944-47. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 183-206. ISBN 9780230521216
- Knapp, A. (2007) The half-open window: France and Britain, 1944-1947. In: Knapp, A. (ed.) The uncertain foundation: France at the liberation 1944-47. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 207-233. ISBN 9780230521216
2006
- Knapp, A. (2006) France: recent history. In: Western Europe 2007. 9th ed. The Europa regional surveys of the world. Routledge, London, pp. 210-216. ISBN 9781857433975
- Knapp, A. and Wright, V., eds. (2006) The government and politcs of France. 5th edition. Routledge, London, pp535. ISBN 9780415357326
2005
- Knapp, A. (2005) Prometheus (re)bound? The fifth republic and checks on executive power. In: Cole, A., le Galès , P. and Levy, J. (eds.) Developments in French politics 3. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 88-104. ISBN 9781403941800
2004
- Knapp, A. (2004) Parties and the party system in France: a disconnected democracy? French politics, society and culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp440. ISBN 9780333920831
- Knapp, A. (2004) Ephemeral victories? France's governing parties, the ecologists, and the far right. In: Mair, P., Müller , W. and Plasser, F. (eds.) Political parties and electoral change: party responses to electoral markets. Sage, London, pp. 49-85. ISBN 9780761947196
2003
- Knapp, A. (2003) From the Gaullist movement to the president's party. In: Evans, J. (ed.) The French party system. Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp. 121-136. ISBN 9780719061202
Qualifications:
- BA in History (Cambridge, 1976)
- D.Phil in Politics (Oxford, 1984)
- Officier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (2010)
I have taught in Isfahan, Iran, at the Le Havre Business School, and at two different universities in Paris, as well as working for Oxford University Press, before being appointed to the Department of French Studies (now part of the Department of Languages and Cultures) at Reading in 1990.
I served as a member of the Franco-British Council from 2006 to 2012 and on the Council of the Centre d'études sur la vie politique française (CEVIPOF) from 2008 to 2012. I became an Officier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 2010.
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