Beginning with a look at continuity and change in French policy since de Gaulle, this book presents the evolution of French security policy in the 1970s and 1980s. Dr. Laird pays special attention to the French nuclear modernization process and to the trend in the last two decades toward a greater emphasis on security interdependence within the Western alliance at the expense of the classic Gaullist stance of independence. He examines the major dimensions of French security policy, particularly French nuclear employment policy and doctrine, the Franco-German relationship, and France's role in Europe and in East-West relations. The book features the first-time translation of some of the most significant recent papers by leading French analysts of security affairs.

This book provides an analysis of the effects of recent historical events on the future of French security policy. The end of the Cold War division of Europe, the rebirth of Germany, the growing pressures for major defense cuts, the calls for France to review its nuclear doctrine, abandon its independent policies and rejoin NATO's integrated military structure, and finally, the lessons of the recent Gulf War, are issues that threaten to divide France in a way that has not occurred in several decades The fundamental question for the decade of the 1990s is how to, or perhaps whether to, preserve the legacy of national independence and grandeur handed down by former President Charles de Gaulle. This work concludes that the Gaullist myth of grandeur and independence can no longer be sustained. French security must now be achieved by strengthening ties with NATO, and building a stronger West European defense posture centered around close Franco-German relations.

This analysis of France's role in Europe's new security order adds a new perspective to a post-Cold War security dialogue that has focused on the superpowers and Germany. Theodore Posner provides a historical framework for his comprehensive study of current French security policy, and he links broad themes to changes in operations. Written in a lively manner, this overview of current European politics, security issues, and modern-day French political life is intended for a broad audience of students, teachers, and policymakers in military studies, political science, and world history. The study takes as its point of departure the 1960s, when Charles de Gaulle offered Western Europe a model of cooperative security that challenged the U.S. model. Since Europe's political transformation and the end of the Cold War has altered the earlier security framework, the time is now ripe for a new model. The study defines how a French model might look institutionally today and how France could provide new leadership, but concludes that the strong initiative for doing so is probably lacking. This study is important also in analyzing events from a historical perspective and in viewing policies made at the highest level and at the operational level as well.

Since 1989, French defense and security policy has been undercut by changes in the external environment and domestic pressures to deal with the challenge of economic modernization. The Soviet revolution of 1989, the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the experience of coalition warfare during the Gulf War-all have challenged the assumptions and realities underlying the Gaullist synthesis. Above all, the French position on security independence has been put into question. The main hope has been for a European Alliance to supplant the American one over time in the face of a gradual process of change within Europe but change has not been gradual within Europe. The European Union is challenged by discontent within Western Europe. A new Central Europe has emerged that has yet to find its place in European or global politics. A new Russia is emergent in which nationalism is defining an assertive role for the Russians within Europe, but at the same time the economic weakness of Russia limits its ability to play such a role.

This book provides an analysis of the effects of recent historical events on the future of French security policy. The end of the Cold War division of Europe, the rebirth of Germany, the growing pressures for major defense cuts, the calls for France to review its nuclear doctrine, abandon its independent policies and rejoin NATO's integrated military structure, and finally, the lessons of the recent Gulf War, are issues that threaten to divide France in a way that has not occurred in several decades The fundamental question for the decade of the 1990s is how to, or perhaps whether to, preserve the legacy of national independence and grandeur handed down by former President Charles de Gaulle. This work concludes that the Gaullist myth of grandeur and independence can no longer be sustained. French security must now be achieved by strengthening ties with NATO, and building a stronger West European defense posture centered around close Franco-German relations.

This thesis provides an analysis of the effects of recent historical events on the future of French security policy. The end of the Cold War division of Europe, the rebirth of Germany, the growing pressures for major defense cuts, the calls for France to review its nuclear doctrine, abandon its independent policies and rejoin NATO's integrated military structure, and finally, the lessons of the recent Gulf War, are issues that threaten to divide France in a way that has not occurred in several decades. The fundamental question for the decade of the 1990s is how to, or perhaps whether to, preserve the legacy of national independence and grandeur handed down by former President Charles de Gaulle. The thesis concludes that the Gaullist myth of grandeur and independence can no longer be sustained. French security must now be achieved by strengthening ties with NATO, and building a stronger West European defense posture centered around close Franco-German relations.

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.