Originally published in 1989, this book analyses France’s distinctive role in international affairs and examines the characteristics of French foreign policy in the Fifth Republic. The introduction provides an overview of France’s role in international relations, then specific chapters look at topics such as French military strategy and relations with the superpowers of the late 20th Century; France and the European Community; immigrant workers and their impact on France’s international presence and France & Africa, among others. The final chapter discusses the evolution and formulation of French foreign policy in historical perspective. The contributors were historians, geographers and specialists in French civilization, all with experience in France. Each chapter includes notes and references to work in both English and French, making the book an important source, especially for students of politics, international relations, modern history and French studies.
1.Beyond the Hexagon: France in World Politics Robert Aldrich and John Connell 2. Consensus and Mythology: Security Alternatives in Post-Gaullist France Jolyon Howorth 3. France and European Unity Mark Wise 4. Travailleurs immigrés and International Relations Max Silverman 5. France and Africa Guy Martin 6. France and the Third World: Co-Operation or Dependence? Howard Evans 7. Remnants of Empire: France’s Overseas Departments and Territories John Connell and Robert Aldrich 8. Francophonie: Language, Culture or Politics? Robert Aldrich and John Connell 9 The Quai d’Orsay and the Formation of French Foreign Policy in Historical Context Mark B. Hayne
Biography
Robert Aldrich is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Sydney and specialises in the history of European colonialism and its legacy. Among his publications are Vestiges of the Colonial Empire in France: Monuments, Museums and Colonial Memories (2005), Banished Potentates: Dethroning and Exiling Indigenous Monarchs under British and French Colonial Rule, 1815-1955 (2018) and The Colonial World: A History of European Empires, 1780s to the Present (with Andreas Stucki, 2023). With John Connell, he has co-authored The Ends of Empire: The Last Colonies Revisited (2020). His current research projects focus on relations between France and Asia in the long nineteenth century and on the global history of modern monarchy. Forthcoming works include co-edited volumes on Global Royal Families: Cultures of Transnational Monarchy in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century and a volume on the cultural history of monarchy in the twentieth century and beyond.
John Connell
Original reviews of France in World Politics:
‘…the introduction … [which] is a useful summary of France's main foreign-policy problems; the treatment of France and the chapters on francophonie offer intelligent insights.’ Choice
‘What it does do extremely well is to look in depth at wider webs of French interests and influence - interventionism in Africa,' co-operation' versus 'dependence' in relations with the Third World in general, the 'remnants of empire' (Overseas Departments and Territories),and 'francophonie' (cultural ties with a much wider range of countries). Philip G. Cerny, West European Politics, 13: 4 (1990).
