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Sarkozy and the ‘American Mirage’ or Why Gaullist Continuity will Overshadow Transcendence

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Abstract

This article argues that the continuity in French approaches to the transatlantic relationship and to the North Atlantic Alliance is structured by deep historical forces and is relatively unaffected by the personal preferences of individual Presidents or other political actors. Nicolas Sarkozy's much discussed ‘return to NATO’ will not affect French foreign policy in any significant way. Indeed, having France inside the tent is likely to generate even greater European-American tension within the Alliance.

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Notes

  1. Operation Anaconda (March 2005) was designed to eliminate a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold dug deep into the Shah-i-Kot mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The operation saw the heaviest and bloodiest fighting of the Afghan campaign. It was a French Helios observation satellite that first spotted abnormal al-Qaeda and Taliban activity near Gardez, thus sparking the US response.

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Howorth, J. Sarkozy and the ‘American Mirage’ or Why Gaullist Continuity will Overshadow Transcendence. Eur Polit Sci 9, 199–212 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2010.3

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