Britain, France and the Saint‐Malo declaration: Tactical rapprochement or strategic entente?

The December 1998 Anglo‐French summit in Saint‐Malo marked the sudden convergence of British and French policy towards European security institutions and laid the basis for EU leaders’ agreement a year later at the Helsinki summit to develop the capability to deploy a European military force. This essay argues that the Saint‐Malo Declaration represents a radical shift in British and French defence identities in response to challenges to British and French national identities and the legitimacy of both states in the post‐Cold War era. It points to the changed international security dynamic as a result of the end of the Cold War and the gradual emergence of a European security community, relative economic decline, and generational change in British and French policy élites as critical factors.

Notes

This article is based on a dissertation submitted in July 2000 in partial fulfilment of a master's degree in International Relations at the University of Cambridge. The views expressed here in no way reflect the views of the Australian Government.