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In the past several years, colonial studies have reemerged as an important focus for the social sciences on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet there has been little exchange or communication between scholars in France and the United States. Moreover, the apparent commonality of the subject matter often masks important differences in approach, as well as differences in the political and scholarly agendas that support such research. The editors of this special issue of French Politics, Culture & Society believe that the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Georges Balandier's classic article, "La situation coloniale, approche théorique" (Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie 11 [1951]: 44-79), presents a valuable opportunity to promote Franco-American dialogue on the colonial question. This special issue publishes some of the works presented at a conference organized in April 2001 by the Institute of French Studies of New York University and entitled "1951-2001: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Colonial Situation." Balandier's article has contributed greatly to these new analyses-though in different ways in France and the United States. For this reason, reflection on Balandier's colonial situation permits us to confront these differences, delineate shared problematics and perhaps indicate new directions for research. Far from being a commemorative gesture, this publication is intended to start a dialogue about the conceptual tools that can be used in the analysis of the (post)colonial situation by historians, sociologists and anthropologists. Balandier's 1951 article had two principal objectives: a critique of the functionalism then dominant in Anglo-American political anthropology and an analysis of the current crisis of the colonial world. But it also developed a range of analytical and epistemological insights that have been elaborated in

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Sous le Second Empire colonial français, les « sujets » ont été considérés comme des nationaux privés des droits du citoyen. Cette spécificité coloniale est un élément essentiel de l’histoire de la nationalité et de la citoyenneté dans le contexte français : non seulement elle révèle les tensions profondes entre tendances inclusives et exclusives, mais aussi, à travers le concept d’assimilation qu’elle a généré, elle a profondément influencé les définitions de l’appartenance nationale.