A Certain Idea of France: French Security Policy and Gaullist Legacy : French Security Policy and Gaullist Legacy

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 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 1950s and 1960s 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 NEWEUROPE Chapter Seven. The Gaullist Legacy Today: French Security Policy in the 1990s Chapter Eight. Epilogue: The Gaullist Legacy and the Post–Cold War World Notes Glossary of French Terms Used Selected Bibliography Index This study describes how French security policies have evolved since the 1960s, demonstrating that the Gaullist model has lived on, although its inconsistencies have grown more acute due to European unification and the budgetary strains imposed on the French military.