1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910809364103321

Autore

Gordon Philip H. <1962->

Titolo

A certain idea of France : French security policy and the Gaullist legacy / / Philip H. Gordon

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, N.J., : Princeton University Press, c1993

ISBN

1-282-75169-7

9786612751691

1-4008-2091-X

1-4008-1180-5

Edizione

[Course Book]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (284 pages)

Collana

Princeton studies in international history and politics

Disciplina

944.083/6

Soggetti

Cold War

France Foreign relations 1945-

France Military policy

France Relations Europe

Europe Relations France

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-250) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- PART ONE: THE GAULLIST YEARS -- Chapter One. Perspectives on de Gaulle -- Chapter Two. The Missing Pillar: France's Role in the Defense of Europe in the 1950's and 1960's -- Chapter Three. Manipulating Ambiguity: Military Doctrines under de Gaulle and Pompidou -- PART TWO: STRUGGLING TO ADAPT -- Chapter Four. Giscard's Balancing Act, 1974-1981 -- Chapter Five. Mitterrand's Adaptations, 1981-1986 -- Chapter Six. Tensions in the Consensus, 1986-1989 -- PART THREE: FRANCE IN THE NEW EUROPE -- Chapter Seven. The Gaullist Legacy Today: French Security Policy in the 1990's -- Chapter Eight. Epilogue: The Gaullist Legacy and the Post-Cold War World -- Notes -- Glossary of French Terms Used -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

As France begins to confront the new challenges of the post-Cold War era, the time has come to examine how French security policy has evolved since Charles de Gaulle set it on an independent course in the



1960's. Philip Gordon shows that the Gaullist model, contrary to widely held beliefs, has lived on--but that its inherent inconsistencies have grown more acute with increasing European unification, the diminishing American military role in Europe, and related strains on French military budgets. The question today is whether the Gaullist legacy will enable a strong and confident France to play a full role in Europe's new security arrangements or whether France, because of its will to independence, is destined to play an isolated, national role.Gordon analyzes military doctrines, strategies, and budgets from the 1960's to the 1990's, and also the evolution of French policy from the early debates about NATO and the European Community to the Persian Gulf War. He reveals how and why Gaullist ideas have for so long influenced French security policy and examines possible new directions for France in an increasingly united but potentially unstable Europe.