Foreign Statesmen and Their Statecraft: The Statecraft of Charles de Gaulle
Abstract
Charles de Gaulle's foreign and security policy pained and annoyed his American counterparts. Some observers, including his less-than-sympathetic biographer, Don Cook, attribute de Gaulle's actions primarily to the French President's "prejudices, suspicions, and resentments" of his past treatment at the hands of the United States and Great Britain, and a nostalgia for the European system of states of his youth. While there was an element of revenge for past Anglo-Saxon inattentions to the majesty of France and her President, de Gaulle's objective was clear: the revival of an independent France following a series of reversals in her colonial empire and in Europe. French grand strategy drew on a variety of diplomatic and public diplomacy tools as well as the creation of an independent nuclear deterrent. Certain of de Gaulle's more obstructionist efforts have not survived, but other aspects are still instructive. Three actions encapsulate de Gaulle's foreign policy: (1) France's withdrawal from the military structure of NATO, (2) development of an independent nuclear deterrent, and (3) exclusion of the United Kingdom from the European Common Market.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 08, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA436947
Entities
People
- Joseph M. Dethomas
Organizations
- National War College