密特朗時期東西方關係之發展(1981-1988)

Abstract

In 1958, de Galle founded the Fifth Republic that expanded political powers of the President. Presidential powers were further strengthened because the approval of a referendum on the direct election of the President in October 1962 had made the President gain substantial powers. De Galle dominated foreign affairs and defense during his term that established a constitutional convention, called “domaine reserve”, which was followed by successive presidents and agreed by the French. The standard of “domaine reserve” was challenged during Cohabitation since 1986, for the Prime Minister intended to control foreign affairs and defense but eventually in vain, showing that the President was still a dominator of them. When Mitterrand was elected in 1981, East-West relations had become a tense situation due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Furthermore, the Soviet Union had broken a past balance of nuclear forces by deploying the SS-20 missiles in Eastern Europe that endangered the security of Western Europe. Therefore, a primary target of Mitterrand’s diplomacy was to regain a balance of power. As the Bundestag adopted a resolution to deploy American Pershing II missiles in the end of 1983 to restore European military equilibrium progressively, Mitterrand turned to look for a dialogue and reconciliation between the United States and the Soviet Union in order to resolve the Euromissile crisis. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to eliminate intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles globally was signed by President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev in 1987, hence the Euromisslie crisis ended and French security interest was ultimately assured.