Against the broad historical background of economic globalisation and dwindling nation-state resources, this book examines the impact of the end of the Cold War and of the geo-political transformation of Europe on a wide range of issues, from changing perceptions of France's future world role to the internal ramifications of a new ideological and strategic environment. Multi disciplinary in focus, it draws on the expertise of historians, political scientists, sociologists and economists working in the field of French studies.

Notes on the Contributors - Introduction; B.Jenkins & T.Chafer - SECTION 1: FOREIGN RELATIONS - France and European Security 1944-94: Re-reading the Gaullist Consensus; J.Howorth - The Search for a New Security Strategy in a Shifting International Arena; D.David - The Franco-German Axis since Unification; J-M.Trouille - French Intellectuals, Neutralism and the Search for Peace in the Cold War; M.Cornick - SECTION 2: DEFENCE AND SECURITY - Changing Circumstances, Changing Policies? The 1994 Defence White Paper and Beyond; J.Bryant -Conscription Revisited; P.Chicken - France, the Nuclear Weapons Test Moratorium and the NPT and CTBT Processes; S.Gregory - SECTION 3: THE ECONOMY AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER - The French Economy and the End of the Cold War; C.Gulvin - French Aid to Africa: a Changing Agenda?; G.Cumming - France and GATT: the Real Politics of Trade Negotiations; D.Hanley - SECTION 4: POLITICS - The 'Consensus' on Defence Policy and the End of the Cold War: Political Parties and the Limits of Adaptation; A.Menon - From the Cold War to the Present Day: Labour Unions and the Crisis of 'Models'; G.Groux - Gaullism and the New World Order; P.Fysh - The Front National and the New World Order; P.Hainsworth - SECTION 5: FRANCE, IMMIGRATION AND RELATIONS WITH THE MAGHREB - Immigration, Ethnicity and Political Orientations in France; A.G.Hargreaves - Franco-Algerian Relations in the Post-Cold War World; M.Evans - Index