DETERMINANTS OF FRENCH FOREIGN POLICY: 1990 1994
This research examines the determinants of French foreign policy during the 1990 1994 period. Each factor that has had an important impact on the character of French foreign policy during the period of interest is addressed in separate discussions.
The prime minister in France is head of government, as opposed to the president who is head of state. Political power in the Fifth Republic is, thus, effectively split between the president and the prime minister. French President Francois Mitterrand is head of the nation's Socialist Party, and until 1993 had exercised the decisive role in the establishment of French foreign policy ("Change at last..." 1994, pp. 57-58). The right of center Gaulist Party, however, captured parliamentary power in 1993, and President Mitterrand made a decision to share the responsibility for the development of foreign policy with the new Prime Minister, Edouard Balladur. Since that time, French foreign policy has shifted somewhat to the right as Prime Minister Balladur has exercised a greater role in policy development related to foreign affairs.
One characterization of French foreign policy toward Africa is opportunistic. French foreign policy with respect to Africa, however, is more than opportunistic. It is alternatively competitive, reactive, self interested, economically driven, and disinterested (Chafer, 1992, pp. 37-51). Above all, French foreign policy toward Africa has not been consistent over time, or consistent with respect to the several countries of Africa.
All of the events occurring in Africa are related, and to a great extent are interdependent. Beyond the region, these events have become intertwined with the interests, real or perceived, of the world's developed countries (French, 1994, p. 1:9). The political developments in each of the countries of Africa are, thus, significant beyond the national borders within which ...