<p>In C# I could easily write the following:</p>

<pre><code>string stringValue = string.IsNullOrEmpty( otherString ) ? defaultString : otherString;
</code></pre>

<p>Is there a quick way of doing the same thing in Python or am I stuck with an 'if' statement?</p>

In Python 2.5, there is
```
```
A if C else B
```
```
which behaves a lot like ?: in C. However, it's frowned upon for two reasons: readability, and the fact that there's usually a simpler way to approach the problem. For instance, in your case:
```
```
stringValue = otherString or defaultString
```
```