DOCSLIB.ORG

The Fifth French Republic: Presidents, Politics and Personalities

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Fifth French Republic: Presidents, Politics and Personalities The Fifth French Republic The Fifth French Republic offers an introduction to modern French politics and history which focuses on the careers and personalities of the five men elected to the Presidency since the establishment of the regime in 1958: Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. The book describes how the Fifth French Republic came into existence, and discusses the way in which it differs from previous attempts to establish a viable democratic regime in France. It compares the version of democracy represented by the Fifth French Republic with the longer established constitutional practices in the English-speaking democracies, and pays particular attention to the role of the French civil service. Other topics treated include: • decolonisation, and de Gaulle’s solution to the Algerian problem • French attitudes to the European Union • the behaviour of France during the Cold War • the experiment in socialism under François Mitterrand • attempts at decentralisation and at reducing the role of the state • anti-Americanism in France • the problems of immigration and the rise of the National Front Philip Thody is Emeritus Professor at Leeds University and the author of The Conservative Imagination, French Caesarism from Napoleon I to Charles de Gaulle and An Historical Introduction to the European Union. The Fifth French Republic Presidents, politics and personalities Philip Thody London and New York First published 1998 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1998 Philip Thody All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for ISBN 0-415-18754-0 (pbk) ISBN 0-415-18753-2 (hbk) ISBN 0-203-00502-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-21988-0 (Glassbook Format) Geography is about maps. History is about chaps. Pre-feminist and pre-postmodernist dictum Contents Acknowledgements viii Glossary ix Introduction 1 1 Charles de Gaulle: the founding father 4 2 Georges Pompidou: the conscientious uncle 37 3 Valéry Giscard d’Estaing: the ambitious nephew 64 4 François Mitterrand: the rebellious brother 90 5 Jacques Chirac: the impulsive grandson 123 6 Conclusion 150 Appendix A French régimes from 1792 to 1958 153 Appendix B Prime ministers of the Fifth Republic 154 Appendix C A note on the French civil service 156 Notes 161 Annotated bibliography 167 Index 170 Acknowledgements As in previous books, I am most grateful to my friend and colleague, Howard Evans, for all his help and advice. All mistakes are naturally my own. Glossary Institutions mentioned in the text include: La Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) a trade-union grouping sympathetic to the French Communist Party. Le Conseil d’État the highest court in France for administrative law, and the body which the government must consult before submitting a bill (projet de loi) to Parliament and a member of parliament before presenting Parliament with a proposition de loi (Private Member’s Bill). Corps de l’Éducation Nationale All teachers in the state sector of education in France are civil servants. As the Note on the French civil service in Appendix C explains, every civil servant in France belongs to a corps, which provides the basis for her or his official status. La Cour des Comptes the court of law responsible for checking the use of all public money in France. L’École Nationale d’Administration (ÉNA) the post-graduate school responsible for the training of senior civil servants. It fulfils a different role, and enjoys higher prestige, than the Civil Service College in Great Britain. L’École Normale Supérieure one of the Grandes Écoles which differ from French universities by having a competitive entry system (concours), and providing education for a specific career, in this case as teachers in secondary schools and universities. x Glossary Grands Corps de l’État a generic term used to describe Le Conseil d’État and La Cour des Comptes (see above) and l’Inspection des Finances (see below). Their members are normally recruited from the ÉNA, and constitute the élite of the French civil service. They do not normally accept the view of the members of the Corps Diplomatique that they too belong to a Grand Corps. Inspection des Finances the smallest of the Grands Corps de l’État. It is responsible both for checking the accounts of other ministries and for offering advice as to the most economically efficient way of implementing government policy. Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP) a moderately left-wing Catholic party, formed as a result of the participation of Roman Catholics in the resistance movement, and strongly in favour of a united Europe. Rassemblement du Peuple Français (RPF) a political grouping formed by Charles de Gaulle on April 8, 1947 in order to enable him to come back to power and change the constitution of the Fourth Republic. It did not succeed, and de Gaulle dissolved it in June 1953. After his return to power in 1958, a political party was formed to support him under the name of L’Union pour la Nouvelle République (UNR). In November 1967, this became L’Union des démocrates pour la Ve République (U.D. Ve Rép.), and in June 1968, L’Union pour la Défense de la République (UDR). In 1971, this became L’Union des Démocrates pour la République. On December 6, 1976, after resigning as prime minister, Jacques Chirac formed his own party, Le Rassemblement pour la République (RPR). On January l, 1978, Chirac’s opponents formed the right-wing grouping which has tended to support Giscard d’Estaing, L’Union pour la Démocratie Française (UDR). Note: In accordance with modern publishing practice, and with the recommendation in Judith Butcher’s The Cambridge Handbook for Copy-Editing for Authors, Editors and Publishers that roman type should be used for ‘proper names such as institutions and streets’, these terms are not italicised. Introduction Technically, seven men have held office as president of the Fifth French Republic: René Coty, Charles de Gaulle, Alain Poher, Georges Pompidou, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. This book deals only with the five to have been elected under the Constitution adopted by referendum on September 28, 1958. They are Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. René Coty had been elected president of the Fourth Republic on December 23, 1953. He remained in office after the referendum of September 28, 1958 had approved the proposed Constitution of the Fifth Republic, which he promulgated on October 4. Charles de Gaulle was elected president on December 21, 1958, and formally took over from René Coty on January 8, 1959. On April 27, 1969 it was announced that de Gaulle’s proposals on regionalisation and the reform of the Senate had been rejected by referendum. De Gaulle immediately resigned, and did not therefore complete the second seven-year mandate to which he had been elected on December 19, 1965. The president of the Senate, Alain Poher, acted in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution of 1958 and took over the role of president on a temporary basis. He stood as a candidate in the presidential election of June 1 and June 15, 1969, but was defeated in the second round. On June 20, he handed over the presidency to Georges Pompidou. On April 2, 1974, Pompidou died in office. Unlike the Constitution of the United States of America, the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic has no office of vice-president, one of whose responsibilities it is to take over in the event of the president’s death, and remain in office until the next scheduled presidential election takes place. Alain Poher therefore once again became president on a temporary basis, but was not a candidate in the presidential election of May 5 and May 2 Introduction 12, 1974, made necessary by Pompidou’s death. On May 27, 1974, he handed over the presidency to Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who on May 19 had defeated François Mitterrand in the second round of the presidential election. On May 8, 1981, Giscard d’Estaing failed to win a second term against the socialist candidate, François Mitterrand. Mitterrand then became the fourth president of the Fifth Republic to be elected under the Constitution of 1958, and the first socialist to hold the office. On May 8, 1988, François Mitterrand succeeded in winning a second term, but did not stand for re-election on completing his second seven- year period in 1995. On May 7, 1995, the right-wing Gaullist candidate Jacques Chirac defeated the socialist Lionel Jospin to become the fifth president of the Fifth French Republic to be elected under the 1958 Constitution. Each of the five men so far to have been elected to the office of president of the Fifth Republic began his working life as a salaried servant of the state. Each performed honourably on the field of battle. Each tended to appoint former civil servants to the office of prime minister. Each was married and had children, and each had ambitions, more successfully achieved in some cases than in others, to be a writer as well as a politician.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Sarkozy Effect France’S New Presidential Dynamic J.G
    Politics & Diplomacy The Sarkozy Effect France’s New Presidential Dynamic J.G. Shields Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign was predicated on the J.G. Shields is an associate professor of need for change in France, for a break—“une rupture”—with the French Studies at the past. His election as president of the French Republic on 6 University of Warwick in England. He is the first May 2007 ushered in the promise of a new era. Sarkozy’s pres- holder of the American idency follows those of the Socialist François Mitterrand Political Science Associ- ation's Stanley Hoff- (1981-95) and the neo-Gaullist Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), mann Award (2007) for who together occupied France’s highest political office for his writing on French more than a quarter-century. Whereas Mitterrand and Chirac politics. bowed out in their seventies, Sarkozy comes to office aged only fifty-two. For the first time, the French Fifth Republic has a president born after the Second World War, as well as a presi- dent of direct immigrant descent.1 Sarkozy’s emphatic victory, with 53 percent of the run-off vote against the Socialist Ségolène Royal, gave him a clear mandate for reform. The near-record turnout of 84 percent for both rounds of the election reflected the public demand for change. The legislative elections of June 2007, which assured a strong majority in the National Assembly for Sarkozy’s centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), cleared the way for implementing his agenda over the next five years.2 This article examines the political context within which Sarkozy was elected to power, the main proposals of his presidential program, the challenges before him, and his prospects for bringing real change to a France that is all too evidently in need of reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Letter to Mr Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic
    Public Document News Service: 136/99 AI Index: AFR 57/21/99 London, 15 July 1999 Open Letter to Mr Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic Dear President, As you prepare to visit Togo, we wish to bring to your attention some facts about the human rights situation in that country. Exactly seven years ago, on 23 July 1992, Tavio Amorin, a Togolese opposition leader, was seriously injured by gun fire in the heart of Lomé. Two days later he was evacuated to Paris where he died on 29 July at the age of 34, leaving a wife and a child barely a year old. Tavio Amorin studied engineering in France where he had sought refuge in the 1980s. At the first signs of political change in Togo in 1991, he chose to return to his country to take part in the transition which was intended to restore democracy and freedom. Tavio Amorin, leader of the Panafrican Socialist Party and member of the National Conference, became Chair of the Commission des affaires politiques, droits de l'homme et des libertés, Political Affairs, Human Rights and Liberties Commission, of the Haut Conseil de la République, (HCR), High Council of the Republic. Tavio Amorin firmly believed that it was possible to establish the rule of law in Togo so that the dignity of all citizens would be respected. In his new post he fought to shed light on violations committed by the Togolese security forces during the rule of President Eyadéma. Tavio never missed an opportunity to publicly denounce government abuses and excesses.
    [Show full text]
  • Received Time Jun.12. 11:53AM Print Time Jun. 12. 11:54AM SENT BY: 6-12-95 ;11:48A.~ EMBASSY of France~ 202 429 1766;# 3/ 4
    6-12-95 ;11:48A.+. EMBASSY Of f~~CE~ 202 429 1766;# 21 4 • JACQUES CHIRAC PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC Born on 29 November 1932 in the fifth arrondissement of Paris Son ofFranvois Chirac, a company director, and Marie-Louise, nee Valette Married on 16 March 1956 to Bernadette Chadron de Courcel Two children: Laurence and Claude. EDUCATION Lycee Carnot and Jycee Louis-le-Grand. Paris. QUALmCATIONS Graduate of the Paris Instltut d'Etudes politiques and of the Harvard University Summer School (USA). - DECORATIONS Grand-Croix de l'Ordre national du Mente; • Croix de la V alcur militairc; Grand-Croix du Merite de l'Ordre souverain de Malte; Chevalier du Mente Agricole, des Arts et des T..ettres, de ]•Etoile Noire, du Mente sportif, du Mente Touristique; Medaille de l'Aeronautique. CAREER J957-1959: Student at the hcole nationale d1Administration; 1959: Auditeur at the Cour des comptes (Audit Court); 1962: Charge de mission at the Government Secretariat-General; 1962: Charge de mission in the private office of M. Georges Pompidou, Prime Minister; 1965-1993: Conseiller referendaire (public auditor) at the Cour des comptes; March 1965 to March 1977: Memberofthe Sainte-Fereole (Correze) municipal council; March-May 1967: National Assembly Deputy for the Correze; 1967-1968: Minister of State for Social Affairs, with responsibility for Employment (government ofM. Georges Pompidou); 1968: Member of the Correze General Council for the canton of Meymac, re-elected in 1970 and 1976; • Received Time Jun.12. 11:53AM Print Time Jun. 12. 11:54AM SENT
    [Show full text]
  • Gardes Des Sceaux En France, D'hier Et D'aujourd'hui
    GARDES DES SCEAUX EN FRANCE D’HIER ET D’AUJOURD’HUI GARDES DESGARDES D’AUJOURD’HUI ET D’HIER EN FRANCE, SCEAUX GARDES DES SCEAUX EN FRANCE D’HIER ET D’AUJOURD’HUI ÉDITO Depuis près de 300 ans, sans interruption, la Chancellerie située place Vendôme, accueille les chanceliers de France, gardes des sceaux et ministres de la justice.Une fonction qui existe, elle, depuis 1545. Située sur l’une des plus prestigieuses places de Paris, la Chancellerie témoigne en ces lieux de la pérennité de l’État. Danton, d’Aguesseau, Cambacérès ... les noms de personnalités illustres résonnent dans l’hôtel de Bourvallais comme pour en scander l’histoire. Tous y ont laissé leur empreinte. Extension, embellissement de l’hôtel d’une part, affirmation de la fonction de ministre de la justice de l’autre, ainsi se sont entremêlés pendant près de trois siècles architecture, art et politique. GARDES DES SCEAUX · ANCIEN RÉGIME FRANÇOIS OLIVIER 28 avril 1545 - 22 mai 1551 Rois de France : François Ier et Henri II © Gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France 5 GARDES DES SCEAUX · ANCIEN RÉGIME JEAN DE BERTRAND 22 mai 1551- 10 juillet 1559 Roi de France : Henri II © Château de Versailles, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/image château de Versailles 6 GARDES DES SCEAUX · ANCIEN RÉGIME FRANÇOIS OLIVIER 10 juillet 1559 - 2 janvier 1560 Roi de France : François II © Gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France 7 GARDES DES SCEAUX · ANCIEN RÉGIME JEAN DE MORVILLIER fin avril 1560 - 2 juin 1560 Roi de France : François II © Gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France 8 GARDES
    [Show full text]
  • The Geopolitics of Great Power Intervention, 1815-2015
    ‘For the Happiness of the World’: The Geopolitics of Great Power Intervention, 1815-2015 by Christopher David LaRoche A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Christopher David LaRoche 2019 For the Happiness of the World’: The Geopolitics of Great Power Intervention, 1815-2015 Christopher David LaRoche Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2019 Abstract Why do great powers sometimes invest significant resources in efforts to secure approval from other great powers for their interventions, but other times do not? This dissertation argues that explicit or implicit agreements between great powers called geopolitical bargains have shaped great power intervention by delineating where they can acceptably intervene. When a great power intervenes in an area that a geopolitical bargain delimits as its own area of preponderance—its sphere of influence—it need not worry about making its intervention acceptable to its peers, and it can tailor its intervention coalition to closely meet its military needs. When it intervenes outside of its sphere, the great power must resort to other methods to legitimize its actions, such as formal multilateralism and legal approval. I trace the effects of geopolitical bargains across three periods of great power peace: the Concert of Europe, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. ii Acknowledgments Gustav Mahler said “a symphony must be like the world… It must embrace everything.” Anyone who has heard a Mahler symphony will know this is dangerous advice for a doctoral student already predisposed to excess.
    [Show full text]
  • COHABITATION: the PARLIAMENTARY ASPECT of the FRENCH SEMI PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM by Małgorzata Madej
    POLISH POLITICAL SCIENCE VOL XXXVII 2008 PL ISSN 0208-7375 COHABITATION: THE PARLIAMENTARY ASPECT OF THE FRENCH SEMIPRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM by Małgorzata Madej e political system of the French Fi h Republic is referred to as “semi-presidential- ism”. is is to indicate its mixed nature – of a system presidential and parliamentary at a time. e Constitution grants broad prerogatives – and assigns serious tasks to both the head of state – le Président de la République – and the chief of government – le Premier ministre . When the prime minister represented the pro-presidential political camp, the head of state gained very serious in! uence on governing the state and political strategy (" rst, when the French political scene was dominated by the right – 1958–1981; then by the le – 1981–1986 and 1988–1993; and " nally by the right again 1995–1997 and since 2002). As early as during Charles de Gaulle presidency (1958–1969) the idea called domaine reservée came into existence. According to this political concept, the widely- interpreted external policies – including foreign a# airs and defence were recognised as presidential prerogatives, regardless the of literal construction of legal provisions. Relations within the executive changed radically with the end of political unity. During the so-called cohabitation French political practices were di# erent and they ultimately led to an amendment of the Constitution. QUASICOHABITATION 19741976 GISCARD D’ESTAINGCHIRAC PERIOD For the " rst time posts of the President of the Fi h Republic and his Prime Min- ister were taken by representatives of di# erent parties in 1974. is year the liberal Cohabitation: e Parliamentary Aspect of the French Semi-Presidential System 185 politician Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was elected president and he appointed a rightist Gaullist Jacques Chirac chief of the government.
    [Show full text]
  • France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations
    France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations Paul Belkin Analyst in European Affairs April 14, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL32464 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations Summary The factors that shape French foreign policy have changed since the end of the Cold War. The perspectives of France and the United States have diverged in some cases. More core interests remain similar. Both countries’ governments have embraced the opportunity to build stability in Europe through an expanded European Union (EU) and NATO. Each has recognized that terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are the most important threats to their security today. Several factors shape French foreign policy. France has a self-identity that calls for efforts to spread French values and views, many rooted in democracy and human rights. France prefers to engage international issues in a multilateral framework, above all through the European Union. European efforts to form an EU security policy potentially independent of NATO emerged in this context. However, more recently, policymakers in France, Europe and the United States have come to view a stronger European defense arm as a complement to rather than a substitute for NATO. From the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States through the Iraq war of 2003 until today, France has pressed the United States to confront emerging crises within a multilateral framework. France normally wishes to “legitimize” actions ranging from economic sanctions to military action in the United Nations.
    [Show full text]
  • The French Presidential Election: an Assessment by Thierry Leterre, Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Versailles, St
    The French Presidential Election: An Assessment By Thierry Leterre, Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Versailles, St. Quentin In the Constitution of the Fifth Republic (founded by General Charles de Gaulle in 1958), the presidency is the key-stone of French institutions. Presidential elections are dramatic moments in the country’s democratic life: the people of the Republic choses by direct universal suffrage the incarnation of its sovereignty for five years. (The term was seven years until the 2001 constitutional revision: see US-France Analysis by Olivier Duhamel, “France's New Five-Year Presiential Term, http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cusf/analysis/quinquennat.htm). The President of the Republic is elected by an absolute majority of votes cast. If no candidate obtains a majority on the first ballot, a second ballot is organized with the two candidates who have won the greatest number of votes in the first ballot. This two-round system avoids an election with only a relative majority and prevents third party candidates-such as Ross Perot or Ralph Nader in recent American elections-from distorting the outcome. The French believe this would weaken the bond between the nation and its supreme representative. Any French citizen who meets certain eligibility criteria can run for president. These criteria include paying a deposit of €153,000 and getting “500 signatures”-the patronage of at least 500 elected officials (from a list of about 45,000) from 30 départements. There are some 15 official candidates in the 2002 election (see table). The final contest, however, will be a showdown between two, and only two, competitors.
    [Show full text]
  • Das Ist Headline in NL HUE 1
    REDE Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. USA JEAN-PASCAL PICY April 2007 The 2007’ French Presidential Election www.kas.de/usa www.kas.de SPEECH OF JEAN-PASCAL PICY, SENIOR ADVISER TO FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE, JEAN-PIERRE RAFFARIN ET MAÎTRE DE CONFÉRENCE AT SCIENCES PO There are two ways to deal with the com- outgoing Government, the two former Prime ing French presidential election. The first Minister Alain Juppe and Jean-Pierre Raf- is to focus on the appearances. And there farin, more than 500 French Representants is a good chance that, according to this and Senators, thousands of local council- method, Nicolas Sarkozy will be the next lors. The very popular and respected French president. Simone Veil, a former French Social Affairs secretary and President of the European Let me remind you of all the facts that Parliament, who as a Jewish child survived strengthen this thesis: to the death camps during World War II, has campaigned for him. Even President - For more than three months, all the polls, Chirac brought him a relatively clear sup- more than 80 of them, placed him at head port a few weeks ago and his wife, the very in the first ballot with around 30 Percent of popular French First Lady appeared in one the votes. He wins in the second ballot too, of his meetings last week in the city of against the socialist Ségolène Royal, with Lyon. 54 Percent versus 46 Percent, with an in- creasing difference for a few weeks; If you consider all these facts, the intrinsic weakness of the Left this year and of her - Moreover, Nicolas Sarkozy is considered to candidate, there is no doubt that the For- be the best prepared candidate and proba- mer French Homeland Secretary should win bly the most competent too.
    [Show full text]
  • France and the Transatlantic Relationship Love Me, Love Me Not…
    Working Paper Research Unit EU External Relations Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Studies Stephanie Hofmann/ Ronja Kempin France and the Transatlantic Relationship Love me, love me not…. Ludwigkirchplatz 3ñ4 10719 Berlin Telefon +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org [email protected] Working papers are papers in the subject area of a Research Unit, which are not officially published by SWP. These papers are either preliminary studies that later become papers published by SWP or pa- pers that are published elsewhere. Your comments are always welcome. Working paper FG 2, 2007/ 04, February 2007 SWP Berlin France and the Transatlantic Relationship. Love me, love me not … Stephanie Hofmann / Ronja Kempin This article will soon be published in : Peter Schmidt (ed.). 2007. Beyond NATO – The Transatlantic Security Relationship Approaching 2010. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. “Messieurs, vous n’avez pas de majorité”.1 Addressing the Security Council in March 2003, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, confronted the American delegation with its failure to gain the necessary support for a UN-backed military intervention in Iraq. M. de Villepin’s speech received lengthy applause – something that had not been seen in the Council before-, and Colin Powell was obliged to admit before a global audience that the UN had refused its support. French interests and perceptions in the realm of security are important and must be taken into consideration when contemplating the future of the security relationship between the US, NATO and Europe. After all, France - with its 60.7 million citizens, a GDP of $2 trillion and a defence budget in 2006 of €47 billion2 - is one of the major players in the European and, arguably, global security environment.
    [Show full text]
  • How Prior Military Experience Influences the Future Militarized Behavior of Leaders
    How Prior Military Experience Influences The Future Militarized Behavior Of Leaders Michael Horowitz, University of Pennsylvania Allan C. Stam, University of Michigan August 2012 Abstract: Policy makers and the electorate assume political executives’ life experiences affect their policy choices once in office. Recent international relations work on leaders, however, focuses almost entirely on how political institutions shape leaders’ choices rather than on leaders’ personal attributes and how they influence policy choices. We theorize that differences in early life experiences affect leaders’ attitudes and beliefs. In particular, the prior military background of a leader is an important life experience with direct relevance for how leaders evaluate the utility of using military force. Drawing on literature from psychology and political science, we test several propositions employing a new data set, building on Archigos, that encompasses the military background characteristics of over 2500 heads of state from 1875- 2004. The results show that the leaders most likely to initiate militarized disputes and wars are those with prior military service but no combat experience, as well as former rebels. Those with prior combat experience, in contrast, are not more likely to engage in militarized behavior, except in regimes that feature weak civilian control of the military. 1 “I have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it has rolled through cities and villages, everywhere sowing death and destruction. For such is the logic of war. If people do not display wisdom, they will clash like blind moles and then mutual annihilation will commence”1 I. Introduction In the 2004 US presidential election, American voters faced a stark choice at the top of the ballot.
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks Following Discussions with President Jacques Chirac of France and an Exchange with Reporters in Brussels February 21, 2005
    Administration of George W. Bush, 2005 / Feb. 21 NOTE: An original was not available for verification of the content of this joint state- ment. Remarks Following Discussions With President Jacques Chirac of France and an Exchange With Reporters in Brussels February 21, 2005 President Bush. It’s my honor to be join- ghanistan. I’m thinking of the Balkans, of ing Jacques Chirac for dinner. I thank you course, but I’m thinking also of what we’re for coming, sir. I’ve really been looking for- doing in Haiti and in Africa. I’m thinking ward to this moment. also of our excellent cooperation over the Every time I meet with Jacques, he’s got tragedy in Asia; I’m talking about the tsu- good advice. And I’m looking forward to nami here. And let me take this oppor- listening to you. We’ve got a lot of issues tunity to thank the President for all the to talk about: Middle Eastern peace, Leb- help that was extended to our military by anon, Iran, helping to feed the hungry, and the American military, for instance, the working together to help spread medicines making available to our military of Amer- necessary to cure illness. ican helicopters, which made our work that So, Mr. President, thank you very much much easier. for your—coming by for dinner, and thank So we do share many, many ideals and you for your time. values. We have many things in common. President Chirac. Thank you. It’s, of For instance, we, together, are struggling course, a great pleasure.
    [Show full text]