A certain idea of France : French security policy and the 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 1960s. 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 1960s To The 1990s, 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. Pt. 1. The Gaullist Years. Ch. 1. Perspectives On De Gaulle. Why Start With De Gaulle? De Gaulle And Change: The Provisory And The Permanent. De Gaulle And The Nation-state In Europe. De Gaulle's Idea Of France Independence And Grandeur As Goals And Means. Gaullist Ideas And Gaullist Policies. Ch. 2. The Missing Pillar: France's Role In The Defense Of Europe In The 1950s And 1960s. The Missing Pillar During The Fourth Republic. The Missing Pillar During The Gaullist Years. Explaining The Missing Pillar Under De Gaulle. France's Nuclear Force And Europe. The International Context And The French Contribution. Ch. 3. Manipulating Ambiguity: Military Doctrines Under De Gaulle And Pompidou. Conventional Doctrine Through The Mid-1960s. Early Nuclear Doctrines. The Direct Legacy: The Fourquet Doctrine. Pompidou's Initial Challenge. Codified Ambiguity: The White Paper On National Defense. French Military Doctrine In Retrospect --^ Pt. 2. Struggling To Adapt. Ch. 4. Giscard's Balancing Act, 1974-1981. The Post-gaullist Period. Revising France's Military Doctrines. Reorganizing The Army, 1975-1977. Nuclear Cooperation With The United States. Opposition To Change And Its Lessons. Defense Policy And The Economic Constraint. Conclusions On The Giscardian Experience. Ch. 5. Mitterrand's Adaptations, 1981-1986. The Socialists' Turnaround And Its Explanations. Security Policy Under The Socialists: Adapting To De Gaulle. Mitterrand's Atlantic Rapprochement: Adapting To Nato. The German Role: Adapting To Europe. Defense Policy And The Economic Constraint Revisited. The Socialists In Retrospect. Ch. 6. Tensions In The Consensus, 1986-1989. A Changing Military Context And Its Impact On France. Cohabitation And The French Defense Debate. The Debates Of Cohabitation. Cohabitation In Retrospect. Putting Off The Choices: May 1988-may 1989 --^ Pt. 3. France In The New Europe. Ch. 7. The Gaullist Legacy Today: French Security Policy In The 1990s. A Look Back: Continuity Since De Gaulle. France And Nato In The 1990s. France And The European Security Identity. The Lessons Of The Persian Gulf War: The View From Paris. Conclusions: Continuities Amid Change. Ch. 8. Epilogue: The Gaullist Legacy And The Post-cold War World. De Gaulle's Post-cold War World. Gaullist Military Logic And The New Europe. Reconciling De Gaulle With Europe. Philip H. Gordon. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [237]-250) And Index. 000_FrontMatter......Page 1 001_Chapter 1......Page 29 002_Chapter 2......Page 51 003_Chapter 3......Page 81 004_Chapter 4......Page 107 005_Chapter 5......Page 134 006_Chapter 6......Page 167 007_Chapter 7......Page 189 008_Chapter 8......Page 214 009_BackMatter......Page 231 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.