Two Strategies for Europe: de Gaulle, the United States, and the Atlantic Alliance

by Frédéric Bozo, Frédéric Bozo

This timely book explores the often stormy French-U.S. relationship and the evolution of the Atlantic Alliance under the presidency of Charles de Gaulle (1958–1969). The first work on this subject to draw on previously inaccessible material from U.S. and French archives, the study offers a comprehensive analysis of Gaullist policies toward NATO and the United States during the 1960s, a period that reached its apogee with de Gaulle’s dramatic decision in 1966 to withdraw from NATO’s integrated military arm. This launched the French policy of autonomy within NATO, which has since been adapted without having been abandoned.

De Gaulle’s policy often has been caricatured by admirers and detractors alike as an expression of nationalism or anti-Americanism. Yet Frederic Bozo argues that although it did reflect the General’s quest for grandeur, it also, and perhaps more important, stemmed from a genuine strategy designed to build an independent Europe and to help overcome the system of blocs. Indeed, the author contends, de Gaulle’s actions forced NATO to adapt to new strategic realities.

Retracing the different phases of de Gaulle’s policies, Bozo provides valuable insight into current French approaches to foreign and security policy, including the recent attempt by President Chirac to redefine and normalize the France-NATO relationship. As the author shows, de Gaulle’s legacy remains vigorous as France grapples with European integration, a new role within a reformed NATO, and relations with the United States.

Genres: History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

A French account of the NATO disputes of the 1960s. Bozo argues that de Gaulle's strategy to the 1960s was based on far more than nationalism alone, and that he deeply valued NATO, but that his actions were motivated by a fear of Soviet power eclipsing American power. He also highlights how American responses to de Gaulle became steadily more flexible, and that French withdrawal from NATO actually strengthened the alliance long term. Overall the most important contribution of the book is in displaying de Gaulle's Europeanism moving him away from a blind nationalist portrayal.