A case of reinvention: France and military intervention in the 1990s

Abstract

Military intervention has been a central feature of French foreign policy for at least two centuries. During the Fifth Republic it has been key to the fundamental strategic objectives of national grandeur and an elevated global rank. In the post‐Cold War era, it has been retained as a policy instrument serving these strategic goals but is undergoing a considerable transformation as France's leaders revise the tactical approach that, in the new geostrategic environment, has not produced sufficient benefits. Promotion of the ‘French exception’, as characterized by an almost automated ‘thunderbolt diplomacy’, is being downplayed in favour of a more selective approach and more collective, multinational responses to crises. In parallel with these political adjustments the armed forces continue to be rationalized.