Georges Pompidou

This study provides an original introduction to modern French politics and history, focusing specifically on the five presidents spanning from 1959 to the present; de Gaulle, Pompidou, Giscard d'Estaing, Mitterand and Chirac.

The negotiations for economic and monetary union in the European Union represented a massive change for Europe and for the world. This book identifies why the historical agreement at Maastricht in December 1991 was possible and how the agreement was made. It examines the motives that inspired EC political leaders, the strategies that they pursued, and the institutions of the EC which were used to achieve monetary union.

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.

The rapprochment between France and the Federal Republic of Germany five years after the end of World War II was the cornerstone of all subsequent Western European history. Their previous hostility was a basis for arms races and wars--their friendship, the foundation for continually widening European economic and now political community. The unexpected reunification of Germany in 1990 sent shock waves through the French political class. Friend explains the present French-German relationship, first investigating the recent past, then laying out the problems of the present and foreseeable future.

Cross Channel Currents explores the understandings and misunderstandings that make up the Entente Cordiale - the hundred-year relationship between Britain and France, as well as the everyday common interests and shared pleasures that give it substance. Contributors include the late Roy Jenkins, in a witty and personal view of Winston Churchill's relationship with France; Pierre Messmer, a companion of Charles de Gaulle during World War II and later his prime minister; former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, who remembers the historic meeting of Edward Heath and Georges Pompidou; Hubert Vedrine, a former French foreign minister, on the difficulties of cross-Channel relations; and their successors Dominique de Villepin and Jack Straw.

France granted independence to its former colonies in West and Central Africa in the early 1960s. Nevertheless, thanks to a network of formal and informal agreements with these countries, France continues to wield considerable power and influence over them politically, economically, socially, and culturally. Through the various successive governments of the French Fifth Republic, the African policy of France has been exceptionally constant and stable. This study analyzes how the persistent situation of dominance/dependency and the continuity in foreign policy developed. Important changes that have developed recently in the relationship are analyzed, and suggestions for the future are given.

The Government and Politics of France 4th Edition continues to provide students with a comprehensive and incisive introduction to the intricacies of French politics and government. Written by two leading authorities on the subject, this widely used textbook has been fully revised and up-dated to take into account the many changes that have occurred since the last edition was published. Coverage includes: * French political traditions * constitution and the Fifth Republic * the executive * the Parliament * parties and the party system * the Administration * interest groups * local politics * the impact of the EU.

Offering a revisionist-style look at the French-American relationship, Charles G. Cogan presents a series of case studies dating from the "great misunderstanding" between the Roosevelt administration and the Free French movement in World War II to the formation of the Euro-Corps in the early 1990s. In struggling to regain France's leading position in Europe, the French leadership under Charles de Gaulle sought on the one hand an independent nuclear force, and, on the other, a strengthening of Europe with a Franco-German alliance at its core. Both of these policies provoked friction with the United States; both will now have to be revised, the author asserts, after the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a powerful, reunited Germany. The overall prospect, however, is that of continuing differences between France and the United States, as the antagonisms of the past, which date primarily from the World War II era, will not easily die out. Written by a former senior intelligence officer with a background of extensive French government and academic relationships, Oldest Allies, Guarded Friends will be invaluable to all students of contemporary European history and U.S. foreign relations.

More than 700 alphabetically organized entries by an international team of contributors provide a fascinating survey of French culture post 1945.Entries include:* advertising * Beur cinema * Coco Chanel * decolonization * eacute;criture feminine * football * francophone press * gay activism * Seuil * youth cultureEntries range from short factual/biographical pieces to longer overview articles. All are extensively cross-referenced and longer entries are 'facts-fronted' so important information is clear at a glance. It includes a thematic contents list, extensive index and suggestions for further reading.The Encyclopedia will provide hours of enjoyable browsing for all francophiles, and essential cultural context for students of French, Modern History, Comparative European Studies and Cultural Studies.

From Churchill, Stalin, and Kennedy, to Blair, Clinton and Mandela, A Dictionary of Political Biography covers all the major figures in world politics of the twentieth century. Compiled by an expert team of contributors under the editorship of Dennis Kavanagh, this new dictionary contains over 1,000 entries which describe and assess the lives of the men and women who have shaped political events across the world. Each entry includes an account of the background, career, and achievements of the individual concerned, balancing fact with critical appraisal. Including entries on Idi Amin, Yasser Arafat, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Slobadan Milosevic, Francois Mitterrand, Mary Robinson, and Mao Zedong, A Dictionary of Political Biography is an indispensable and authoritative reference for anyone interested in twentieth-century history and politics.