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

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.