Two Strategies for Europe ─ De Gaulle, the United States, and the Atlantic Alliance

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. Retracing the different phases of de Gaulle’s policies, Frédéric Bozo provides valuable insights 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, its new role within a reformed NATO, and relations with the United States.

Frederic Bozo is professor of contemporary history, University of Nantes, and senior research associate, French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), Paris, France.