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France’s strategic culture:
de Gaulle’s legacy in Macron’s foreign policy

Kalugina P.P.,

MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia, kalugina_p_p@my.mgimo.ru

elibrary_id: 1158799 | ORCID: 0000-0003-4044-4856 |

Article received: 2025.01.20 10:41. Accepted: 2025.07.23 10:42


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2025.06.08
EDN: HHNUZT

Rubric: Orbis terrarum

For citation:

Kalugina P.P. France’s strategic culture: de Gaulle’s legacy in Macron’s foreign policy. – Polis. Political Studies. 2025. No. 6. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2025.06.08. EDN: HHNUZT (In Russ.)

The research could not have taken shape without the support of Andrey A. Sushentsov. For helpful comments on the earlier draft, the author is indebted to Igor A. Istomin and Daria P. Abdeeva.

Abstract

France’s foreign policy today is a multilayered and dynamic system that combines two key vectors: the aspiration to maintain and enhance its own agency in international relations (as a grande puissance), and the necessity to account for Europe’s critical security dependence on the United States within NATO.
The study tests the hypothesis that France’s foreign policy behavior allows us to identify a set of four invariants (adherence to the category of sovereignty; aversion to participation in NATO on American terms; global presence; pragmatic multilateralism) that make up the French strategic culture. The methodological foundation of the study is the concept of strategic culture, which enables an analysis of the determinants of foreign policy behavior within a spatial and temporary continuum. The novelty of the research lies in addressing an overlooked aspect of France’s foreign policy within the Euro-Atlantic community, which tends to focus on differences in the strategies of various leaders rather than on the enduring determinants that shape France’s foreign policy behavior over time. Macron’s foreign policy ambitions align with the country’s strategic culture; however, these imperatives face challenges stemming from the shifting international balance of power and France’s own resource constraints, necessitating their adaptation to the evolving geopolitical landscape.

Keywords

French Fifth Republic, France, strategic culture, de Gaulle, Macron, foreign policy behavior, European integration, NATO, Franco-Russian relations, sovereignty.

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