Amaury GIRAUD

Career History

• 2026–2028: Postdoctoral Researcher, Illiberalism Studies Program (ILLSP), George Washington University (GWU).
• 2024–2025: Reporter, Institut Montaigne.
• 2022–2024: Assistant Professor (ATER) in Political Science, University of Montpellier.
• 2016–2021: PhD Political Science under the supervision of Eric Savarese (advisor) and Alexandre Viala (co-advisor): “Reflecting on Conservatism on the Left: Genesis, History, Current Relevance, and Paradigmatic Continuities of a Unique Political Philosophy.” Thesis defended on December 14, 2021; jury members: Professor Patrick Troude-Chastenet (rapporteur), Professor Eric Desmons (rapporteur), Professor Bruno Daugeron (jury chair), and Assistant Professor Alexandre Dézé (examiner).
• Since 2017: Writing articles for “Figaro Culture” and “Usbek & Rica”
• 2014: Internship at *Le Monde des livres* (writing articles and participating in editorial meetings).
• 2013: Internship at the “Rencontres de Pétrarque” in partnership with the University of Montpellier and France Culture (interviews with Joseph Zimet, Bernard Kouchner, Anne Nivat, and Olivier Christen; co-authoring of thematic features published on the France Culture website: “History(ies) of Terrorism” and “Book Review of Grégoire Chamayou’s*Theory of the Drone*”).

Lessons

• 2022–2024: First semester—Seminars in Introduction to Political Science (L1) and Political Communication (L2) / University of Montpellier
• Second Semester – Lecture Course in the History of Sociology with Seminar Sessions (L3) / University of Montpellier / Syllabus: Marcel Mauss, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Louis Dumont, Cornelius Castoriadis, Claude Lefort, Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Jean Baudrillard, Zygmunt Bauman, Alain Caillé, Serge Latouche, MarcelGauchet…etc.
• Second Semester – Lecture Course in General Culture: “Literature and Politics” (L2) / University of Montpellier / Syllabus: *The Gods Are Thirsty* by Anatole France (1912), *The Conversation* by Jean d’Ormesson (2011), *Eat Him If You Want* by Jean Teulé (2009), *Cannibal* by Didier Daeninckx (1998), *L’ordre du jour* by Éric Vuillard (2017), *Les grands cimetières sous la lune* by Georges Bernanos (1938), *Homage to Catalonia* by George Orwell (1938), *1984* by George Orwell (1949), *Limonov* by Emmanuel Carrère (2011)…etc.
• 2021–2022: Teaching Assistant in the History of Political Ideas in the 20th Century (Course Director: Marie Goupy) / Catholic Institute of Paris / Curriculum: Georg Simmel, Carl Schmitt, Hannah Arendt, Claude Lefort, Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Charles Taylor, Edward Said, Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, PhilippeDescola…etc.
• 2018–2019: Teaching Assistant for Constitutional Law of the Fifth Republic (Instructor: Eric Sales) and Sociology of Journalism (Instructor: Antoine Guiral) / University of Montpellier

Thesis Abstract

In recent years, a new form of critical thinking seems to be emerging among the intellectual left in France, Europe, and even the United States. Drawing primarily on a Marxist-style analytical framework, a number of essayists and public figures are attempting, work after work and speech after speech, to develop an interpretation of the world that, in many respects, embodies the characteristics of a conservative ideology. In an effort to understand and explain the mechanisms driving this hypothetical “movement,” as well as to trace its historical and philosophical trajectory, we will draw on numerous authors such as Charles Péguy, Simone Weil, George Orwell, Michel Clouscard, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Régis Debray, Jaime Semprun, Christopher Lasch, Jean-Claude Michéa, Paul Ariès, Michel Onfray, Denis Collin, Alain Finkielkraut, and many others. Although the question of the existence of a conservative left will serve as the central theme of our study, we will also undertake an analysis of conservative anti-liberalism, which we will contrast here with progressive anti-liberalism.

Degrees

• 2021: PhD Political Science / University of Montpellier
• 2015: Master II in “Philosophy of Law and Political Law” / Paris-II Panthéon-Assas University (Thesis: “On the Views of Certain Intellectuals Regarding the Identity of Europe, or the Multitude of Opinions”).
• 2014: Master’s Degree (Year 1) in “Political Science” / Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Thesis: “Jean-Claude Michéa or Anti-Liberal Intransigence: Inspirations, Arguments, and Controversies”).
• 2013: Bachelor's degree in political science / University of Montpellier-I.
• 2012: DEUG in Law / University of Montpellier-I.

Published Works

• Amaury GIRAUD, Thinking About Conservatism on the Left—Between Anti-Modern Socialism, Democratic Populism, and Criticism of Progress, Bordeaux, Editions Le Bord de L’eau, 2024.

Articles published in academic journals

• Amaury GIRAUD, “On ‘Sharp Power’ in the Transcaucasus—Baku and the French Overseas Possessions, or the Prototypical Case of Overt Interference,” *L’Année des relations internationales* ( AFRI, University of Paris II – Panthéon-Assas), July 2025 
• GIRAUD, Amaury,“From the Hope of an Idealized Social Republic to Its Constitutional Realization,” *Constitutional Issues*(Proceedings of the symposium “The Social Constitution,” November 22, 2024, University of Montpellier), March 9, 2025
• Amaury GIRAUD, “The Second Birth of Christopher Lasch in France: Roots and Mechanisms of a Postmortem Success,” Journal of Illiberalism Studies ( George Washington University), 4, no. 2 (Summer 2024), pp. 21–31
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “The Apparent Legal Formalism in SimoneWeil’s *L’enracinement*(London, 1943),”*Droits*, 2022/2 (No. 76), pp. 183–197.

Other Publications

• Bruno CAUTRÈS, Blanche LERIDON (eds.), Amaury GIRAUD (Rapporteur), “Democracy: New Paths to Civic Engagement,” Institut Montaigne, January 28, 2026
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “From Socialism to ‘Societalism’—Genealogy, Trajectories, and Implications of a Doctrinal Shift on the Western Left,” in “ The ‘Third Left’: An Investigation into the Post-Societal Turn of the European Left,” Jean Jaurès Foundation, June 26, 2025
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “With the Death of Pierre Legendre, a Light Goes Out in the Modern Night,” Le Figaro, 2023.
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “War and Ecology: How the French and U.S. Military Are Addressing the Climate Emergency,” Usbek & Rica, 2022.
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “The Intellectual Origins and Historical Milestones of an Informal School of Political Thought,” AFSP Conference, 2019.
• Amaury GIRAUD,“The idea of a connection between the upper classes and minorities is an illusion,” Interview with Christophe Guilluy, Usbek & Rica, October 28, 2018.
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “Modernity According to Yves Michaud,” Book Review of*Narcisse et ses avatars* (Yves Michaud, Grasset, 2014, 208 pp.), *Le Monde*, July 2, 2014.
• Amaury GIRAUD, “Napoleon’s Contemporaries,” Review of the book*Napoleon by Those Who Knew Him* (Arthur Chevallier, Grasset, 2014, 352 pp.), *Le Monde des livres*, June 20, 2014.
• GIRAUD, Amaury, “Anarchic Law,” Review ofthe book*L’unité du droit* (Rainer Maria Kiesow, Editions de l’EHESS, 2014, 238 pp.), *Le Monde des livres*, June 13, 2014.
• CALLIS, Alexandra, and GIRAUD, Amaury, “History(ies) of Terrorism,” France Culture, July 8, 2013.
• CALLIS, Alexandra, and GIRAUD, Amaury, “Book Review of *The Theory of the Drone* by Grégoire Chamayou,” France Culture, July 8, 2013.

Attendance at conferences

“Is there such a thing as left-wing conservatism? ” Session ST26 at the AFSP Conference in July 2019 at Sciences Po Bordeaux.