The Cult of the Modern revolves around an innovative research question: How did the obsession with modernity evolve into a political strategy during the Second Empire in both metropolitan France and French Algeria? The book demonstrates that similar concerns shaped debates on both sides of the Mediterranean, and that the theme of modernity lay at the heart of political debate. Murray-Miller argues that “modernization” and “colonization” were interconnected processes, and that “modernity remained an imaginary construction that carried a variety of meanings and associations” (12). Napoleon III’s regime is known for its modernization efforts, particularly massive urban development projects in Paris. In glorifying the modern, the emperor and his supporters depicted the regime as improving life in France by bringing order, stability, and progress. Murray-Miller’s book reveals that those who opposed the Second Empire similarly used modernity as a political tool, as a strategy to combat authoritarian strains within the...

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