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1 French and US Approaches to Foreign Policy skillfully weaves together structural and ideological factors that account for similarities and differences in national orientation to foreign policy. These are vividly shown in interview data with political elites in both countries. Edward Tiryakian, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Duke University, USA This book is a welcome addition to the literature about the evolution of foreign policy and transatlantic affairs in recent decades, in this case US French relations. Professor Menéndez Alarcón (Butler University) avoids the stale debates of (neo)realists versus (neo)institutionalists and constructionist. Instead, grounded on interviews of foreign policy makers and document analysis, he proposes a new integrative paradigm that includes the role of political cultures and differences in the interpretation, meaning, and implementing of supposedly shared universals, world views, memories, ethical principles, and values that undergird political decisionmaking and public sentiment. His sweeping review illustrates the origins, reasons, and spread as well as shortfalls of exceptionalist ideologies and how they affect bilateral and global foreign affairs. This publication will most certain enrich and stimulate the international relations discourse. The reader-friendly size, crisp style, and authenticity make this volume a valuable resource not only for practitioners and experts in the field but also for students in the social sciences. Hermann Kurthen, Associate Professor of Sociology, Grand Valley State University, USA Menéndez s book, drawing on interviews with political elites in France and the US, clarifies in a unique way the important but often troubled relationship between these two countries. Differences in political culture and elite belief systems, more than strict national interest, explain much of the foreign policy conflicts between the two. Menéndez s insights would prove valuable to citizens and leaders in both countries in coping with and transcending these issues. Dave Mason, author of The End of the American Century and A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity This book compares two universalisms, both born from revolutions, the French and American, based on interviews with policymakers, parliamentarians and think tanks in both countries. The outcome is a fascinating account of different views on both domestic and foreign policy in the two countries. Similar origins yield totally divergent outcomes. This sheds a stark light on American exceptionalism and providentialism, which is all the more striking as it comes from the horse s mouth. This is a brilliant and engaging study. Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Mellichamp Professor of Global Studies and Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón s French and US approaches to Foreign Policy is not only a timely but also a superbly written comparative analysis of French and US foreign policy. It is impossible to reduce the complex and changing character of both countries historical-philosophical and geo-political approach to foreign policy and international relations to an essentialist argument. And yet, Menéndez Alarcón s razor-sharp analysis masterfully takes the reader deep into both countries political culture and in so doing he provides the reader with a set of key variables that go a very long way in capturing crucial factors responsible for the particular outcomes he describes. This is great reading for faculty and students alike. Volker Frank, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina-Asheville

2 Other Palgrave Pivot titles Gray Read: Modern Architecture in Theater: The Experiments of Art et Action Robert Frodeman: Sustainable Knowledge: A Theory of Interdisciplinarity Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón: French and US Approaches to Foreign Policy Stephen Turner: American Sociology: From Pre-Disciplinary to Post- Normal Ekaterina Dorodnykh: Stock Market Integration: An International Perspective Bill Lucarelli: Endgame for the Euro: A Critical History Mercedes Bunz: The Silent Revolution: How Digitalization Transforms Knowledge, Work, Journalism and Politics without Making Too Much Noise Kishan S. Rana: The Contemporary Embassy: Paths to Diplomatic Excellence Mark Bracher: Educating for Cosmopolitanism: Lessons from Cognitive Science and Literature Carroll P. Kakel, III: The Holocaust as Colonial Genocide: Hitler s Indian Wars in the Wild East Laura Linker: Lucretian Thought in Late Stuart England: Debates about the Nature of the Soul Nicholas Birns: Barbarian Memory: The Legacy of Early Medieval History in Early Modern Literature Adam Graycar and Tim Prenzler: Understanding and Preventing Corruption Michael J. Pisani: Consumption, Informal Markets, and the Underground Economy: Hispanic Consumption in South Texas Joan Marques: Courage in the Twenty-First Century Samuel Tobin: Portable Play in Everyday Life: The Nintendo DS George P. Smith: Palliative Care and End-of-Life Decisions Majia Holmer Nadesan: Fukushima and the Privatization of Risk Ian I. Mitroff, Lindan B. Hill, and Can M. Alpaslan: Rethinking the Education Mess: A Systems Approach to Education Reform G. Douglas Atkins: T.S. Eliot, Lancelot Andrewes, and the Word: Intersections of Literature and Christianity Emmeline Taylor: Surveillance Schools: Security, Discipline and Control in Contemporary Education Daniel J. Hill and Daniel Whistler: The Right to Wear Religious Symbols Donald Kirk: Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent Sara Hsu: Lessons in Sustainable Development from China & Taiwan

3 French and US Approaches to Foreign Policy Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón Department of Sociology/International Studies, Butler University

4 french and us approaches to foreign policy Copyright Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón, Foreword Godfrey Hodgson, Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 ISBN All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: PDF ISBN: doi: / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. First edition:

5 Contents Foreword Acknowledgments vi viii 1 Introduction 1 2 Continuity and Variation of French Foreign Policy since The Dynamics of US Foreign Policy: Exceptionalism and Providentialism 41 4 Two Models of Universalism: Contrasting Findings 72 Bibliography 107 Index 122 v

6 Foreword Twelve years ago, largely as a result of misinterpretations, ignorant or willful, of the response of Jacques Chirac to the atrocities of September 11, relations between the United States and France, traditionally excellent, passed through a valley of the shadow. Today, with Britain side-lined from the Syria crisis by the House of Commons, and France playing what had become the traditional British role as America s most dependable ally, it is timely to examine and elucidate the relationship between the United States and an ally both awkward and potentially far more important than is generally recognized on the western shore of the Atlantic. Professor Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón s book is more than timely, it is most useful. He supplies a well-informed and judicious account of the course of Franco-American relations. He emphasizes that the policy established by Charles de Gaulle, whose chief theme was to vindicate the claims of France to be numbered among the world s great powers, has dominated, though not unchallenged, through all the changes and chances of diplomatic contacts, right up to the present time. The most original and useful element of his work, however, is his exhaustive interviewing of members of both French and American elites about their reciprocal relationship. He has interviewed elected politicians, officials, and commentators in great detail and with sophisticated insight into their understanding and misunderstanding of the pictures each side has in its head. The misunderstandings, in particular, are striking, like the conviction of one vi

7 Foreword vii American parliamentarian that everyone in the world wants to become an American. Menéndez Alarcón has trodden his path through the minefields of his subject with skill and fairness. His book should be read both in universities and in the capitals of both these great and sometimes perversely impassioned nations. If it is, unnecessary and potentially dangerous misunderstandings can be avoided. Godfrey Hodgson Rothermere American Institute, Oxford University Acclaimed journalist and author.

8 Acknowledgments The research for this book was funded in large part by the Holcomb Research Institute at Butler University, Indianapolis. I benefited also from a Research Fellowship by the CERI at the Institut des Sciences Politiques (Sciences Po), Paris, France. I wish to express my profound gratitude to all the political leaders who accepted to be interviewed and shared with me their views on foreign policy and international relations. Listening to them has been enlightening and made this book possible. Thank you also to John Muggle for his in-depth reading of the book and helpful suggestions. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Vidhya Jayaprakash and her team of Newgen Knowledge Works for an excellent work in the edition of the book. viii