France and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia Christopher David Jones, MA, BA (Hons.) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia School of History August 2015 © “This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution.” Abstract This thesis examines French relations with Yugoslavia in the twentieth century and its response to the federal republic’s dissolution in the 1990s. In doing so it contributes to studies of post-Cold War international politics and international diplomacy during the Yugoslav Wars. It utilises a wide-range of source materials, including: archival documents, interviews, memoirs, newspaper articles and speeches. Many contemporary commentators on French policy towards Yugoslavia believed that the Mitterrand administration’s approach was anachronistic, based upon a fear of a resurgent and newly reunified Germany and an historical friendship with Serbia; this narrative has hitherto remained largely unchallenged. Whilst history did weigh heavily on Mitterrand’s perceptions of the conflicts in Yugoslavia, this thesis argues that France’s Yugoslav policy was more the logical outcome of longer-term trends in French and Mitterrandienne foreign policy. Furthermore, it reflected a determined effort by France to ensure that its long-established preferences for post-Cold War security were at the forefront of European and international politics; its strong position in all significant international multilateral institutions provided an important platform to do so. Therefore, it was imperative for France that Yugoslav dissolution, and recognition of its successor states, be firmly anchored within a strongly European and international framework. Moreover, it was absolutely essential that the Yugoslav crisis did not threaten the Maastricht Treaty in 1991 nor the national referendum on its passing into law in September 1992. Therefore, French diplomacy stressed the primacy of a unified common European approach to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Many of the methods employed in diplomacy towards, and peacekeeping within, Yugoslavia thus bore the hallmark of French initiative. In addressing these issues, this dissertation demonstrates that France played a far greater role in shaping the international response to the dissolution of Yugoslavia than previously acknowledged. i Acknowledgements I am incredibly grateful to all those who have made this thesis possible and I apologise profusely if I have accidentally omitted anybody here. I would firstly like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding this research and the School of History at the University of East Anglia for providing a friendly and stimulating environment to undertake this project. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to the Society for the Study of French History, who awarded me a research grant to cover the costs of a research trip to France, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of East Anglia, whose financial support assisted me in a further trip to Paris. In preparation for, and during, these research trips, I was fortunate to have the assistance of many people. Particular thanks go to Jean-Charles Bédague for his assistance in accessing documents at the Archives Nationales. I would also like to thank the staff at the Archives Nationales and the Archives Diplomatiques for their help and cheery conversations as I initially bumbled around the French archives. Special thanks go to Georges Saunier from the Institut François Mitterrand for his assistance in organising interviews, help in navigating the French archival system, and for insightful discussions on Mitterrand and Europe. I would also like to thank Aurélie Neumann for linguistic support. I must also greatly thank those I interviewed whilst writing this thesis: Ambassador Geert- Hinrich Ahrens, Lord Peter Carrington, Baron Douglas Hurd, Caroline de Margerie, Jean Musitelli and Hubert Védrine. I must thank a number of academics who have assisted in, and inspired, this research. Thanks go to Kenneth Morrison, Josip Glaurdić, Frédéric Bozo, Garret Martin, David Bell and Katarina Todić. I have also benefitted from constructive feedback at conferences in Antwerp, Zadar, Cambridge, Norwich and Newcastle. I have been fortunate enough to work in a department where I can call a great number of colleagues my friends. I would like to thank Mike Bowker, Richard Deswarte, Ben Jones, Camilla Schofield, Jan Vermeiren, Matthew D’Auria, David Milne, Peter Waldron, Caroline Woolsgrove, Mel Watling, Sam Foster and Mark Vincent. I would particularly like to thank: Francis King, for keeping my blood caffeinated and my ear bent; Matthias Neumann, for keeping my 4:30 thirst quenched; and Richard Mills, for keeping my feet firmly on the ground. I must thank my many good friends who have been a constant support. My gratitude goes to Chris Bacon; Richard Milbourne; Ben Cable; Steve Brown; Satkirat Thethy; Alisdair Brown; Rob Heywood; James, Jo and Kit; Richard, Sarah and Henry; Matty, Hannah, Phoebe and Jude. To my family, who may not always understand what I do, but have been supportive nonetheless: my Dad, Ian; my Mum, Louise; and my sister, Beverley; Audrey Horne; Nanny Jo and Grandad Brian; Nana and Grandad Jones, whom I miss dearly; Bobby, Adam, Eddie and Stella; Linda; and Grant. I would also like to thank John and Rosemary, David, Louise, Chloe and Joshua for welcoming me into their family. Finally, I reserve special thanks for two people. Cathie Carmichael, whose enthusiasm for, and knowledge of, European history has been an inspiration to me and many others. Words do little service to express my thanks for the support and encouragement that Cathie has shown throughout my time at UEA. Finally to my best friend, Suzanne Doyle: without your tireless enthusiasm, kind-heart and infectious joie de vivre this thesis, and my life, would be far the lesser. I dedicate this work to you. ii Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Contents iii Abbreviations vi Introduction 1 Part One - France and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia. Chapter 1 – Une amitié traditionelle? Franco-Yugoslav Relations in the 18 longue durée, 1918-1981. The Interwar Years 18 World War Two 22 The Early Cold War 25 Decolonisation and Early Nonalignment 29 Old Rivals: The General and the Marshal 34 Pompdolienne Pragmatism 40 Giscard d’Estaing: ‘Change without Risk’ 44 Chapter 2 – Franco-Yugoslav Relations in Mitterrand’s premier 49 septennat, 1981-1988. Tito’s Orphan 49 Towards a European Socialism? 52 Political Émigrés: A Thorn in the Side of Franco-Yugoslav 57 Relations From U-Turn to Downturn 66 Chapter 3 - France and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia, May 1988 - 73 January 1992. ‘Two Contradictory Emergencies’ 73 ‘We would like Yugoslavia to remain Yugoslavia’ 85 ‘The Phony War’ 98 iii ‘The Yugoslav Crisis could break the European 104 Community’ ‘We must guard the unity of the Community at all costs’ 127 Part Two - France and the Bosnian War. Chapter 4 -‘Beyond Diplomacy’: Defining French Humanitatian 136 Intervention in Bosnia-Hercegovina, 1992. ‘Highway of Hell’: Warning Signs in Bosnia-Hercegovina 136 Europe once more 140 François Mitterrand in Sarajevo 152 Internationalising the Crisis 172 Maastricht and London 187 Chapter 5 - France and the Vance-Owen Peace Plan, September 1992 - 194 May 1993. Making Plans 195 The Vance-Owen Peace Plan 204 Protecting a Peace Plan 215 ‘You are now under the protection of the United Nations’ 222 Cohabitation and Clinton 228 The Failure of the VOPP: A Catastrophe of Clinton’s 234 Making Chapter 6 - France and the Tripartite Peace Plans, June 1993 - April 248 1994. The Union of Three Republics 251 The ‘Kinkel-Juppé Plan’ 259 A Massacre in a Marketplace 273 Making Contact 277 Chapter 7 - France and the Conclusion of the Bosnian War, May 1994 285 - December 1995. The Contact Group Plan 285 iv Paris-Bihać-Washington 295 Exit Europe, Enter USA 304 Jacques Chirac and the Force of Will 310 France’s Last Stand 320 Pax Americana 327 Conclusion 335 Bibliography 341 Maps 352 v Abbreviations AD Archives diplomatiques (Archives of the French Foreign Ministry) AFP Agence France-Presse (French Press Agency) AN Archives nationales (National Archives of France) ARBiH Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine (Army of the Republic of Bosnia- Hercegovina) BiH Bosna i Hercegovina (Bosnia-Hercegovina) BL-DY Brook Lapping documentary series The Death of Yugoslavia, deposited at Liddel Hart Centre for Military Archives, Kings College, London BODA Balkan Odyssey Digital Archive, an online repository of documents pertaining to the work of Lord David Owen in the International Conference for the Former Yugoslavia. CAP Centre d’analyse et de prévision (Policy Planning Staff of the French Foreign Ministry) CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy CIA Central Intelligence Agency COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance COMINFORM Communist Information Bureau COREU CORespondance EUropéenne: an EU Communication network between Member States and the European Commission in the fields of foreign policy. CSCE Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe DMZ Demilitarised Zone EC European Community ECU European Currency Unit ECCY European Community Conference on Yugoslavia ECMM