The Nation and the State in Charles de Gaulle’s Political Thought

Abstract

In De Gaulle’s thought, the nation and the state are inextricably linked, and while exercising power as President of the Fifth Republic, he almost obsessively strived for national unity. He fully accepted the Republican system of France and recognized revolutions as an indelible element of the national heritage. De Gaulle was convinced of the country’s potential to influence the fate of the world, to firmly defend its national interests, but also to be an advocate of universal values. The essential element of the new system for France proposed by De Gaulle in 1946 was the strengthening of the executive power and the key political position of the president of the Republic. The 1958 Constitution introduced a significant change regarding the election of the president by the electoral college, and de Gaulle’s concept of general election of the president was soon implemented.