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FRENCH FOREIGN POLICY'S IMPASSE
View By Beril Dedeoglu
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 18 2007
A country's domestic policies may sometimes appear reformist, and
this is often attributed to its leader's personal choices. However
the reforms introduced in any country are never free from regional
and global developments. In this context a government's foreign
policy position tends to determine its liberty of movement in the
domestic sphere.
As we all know, French president Nicolas Sarkozy is pro-American,
even though it remains to be seen just how this attitude will affect
the relationship between France and the US. Sarkozy has been presented
as the figure successful in convincing the US to become more active
in dealing with global warming. The US opposes any compulsory
regulations, saying that China (who is the worst culprit in this
arena) doesn't cooperate. In fact what Sarkozy truly obtained is a
goodwill declaration indicating a 50 percent reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions during the next 20-25 years. France actually doesn't
even seem to be disturbed by the absence of China in the G8 Summits.
France supports US positions regarding the independence of Kosovo
and is therefore in conflict with Russia about the issue. However
it does support Russia's views on the US missile project and is
opposed to the US presence in Iraq. Additionally France pursues good
relations with Iran, a country declared as an enemy of the US. When
it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France has always
supported Palestinian groups over US-favored Israel. Meanwhile
France also assists the Maronites in Lebanon. In the Caucasus the
US supports Georgia, a country that may even join NATO one day,
while France prefers cooperation with Russia and Armenia. France has
not yet decided whether to come back to the military wing of NATO,
and tends to place emphasis on the EU, contrary to US requests
for a US-EU rapprochement. Furthermore its views on the future of
European integration seem to be damaging the traditional constructive
cooperation between France and Germany, while strengthening the usual
anti-British stance. Ultimately each country's conservatives have
a different kind of conservatism. France continues to say Turkey is
an Asiatic country, forgetting that Europe's biggest problem is an
absence in Asia and that the US supports Turkish accession to the EU.
If Sarkozy's new government hopes to make France a global power once
again, a primary focus must be relations with the US. Given this,
France, like Turkey, has no choice but to determine quickly its
position vis-a-vis Russia. After having done that, it should make
clear a position on Europe's future, because its insistence on several
issues has the potential to deepen divisions within the EU.
Apparently France's European project doesn't include cooperation with
the US. However if a rapprochement does appear in US-EU relations,
France will have to modify its anti-American policy in the Middle
East. This change of attitude will demonstrate just how much France
is willing to support the US in Iraq and how it will heal relations
with Turkey. France has declared that its priority is Africa, without
taking into consideration all of these paradoxes. Even the African
choice involves difficult judgments as France cannot strengthen
its position on the African continent simply by increasing food aid
(as it tried before in Iraq). As long as France doesn't make clear a
position regarding the great powers, it will have limited liberty of
action in Africa. It's easy to say that your country is going to the
African continent, but the resolution of problems created by other
powers and historical responsibilities is not an easy task.
If France is really in a "new" period, then it has to adopt a new
foreign policy path. For this reason France needs to be more careful
when it comes to Turkey.
View By Beril Dedeoglu
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 18 2007
A country's domestic policies may sometimes appear reformist, and
this is often attributed to its leader's personal choices. However
the reforms introduced in any country are never free from regional
and global developments. In this context a government's foreign
policy position tends to determine its liberty of movement in the
domestic sphere.
As we all know, French president Nicolas Sarkozy is pro-American,
even though it remains to be seen just how this attitude will affect
the relationship between France and the US. Sarkozy has been presented
as the figure successful in convincing the US to become more active
in dealing with global warming. The US opposes any compulsory
regulations, saying that China (who is the worst culprit in this
arena) doesn't cooperate. In fact what Sarkozy truly obtained is a
goodwill declaration indicating a 50 percent reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions during the next 20-25 years. France actually doesn't
even seem to be disturbed by the absence of China in the G8 Summits.
France supports US positions regarding the independence of Kosovo
and is therefore in conflict with Russia about the issue. However
it does support Russia's views on the US missile project and is
opposed to the US presence in Iraq. Additionally France pursues good
relations with Iran, a country declared as an enemy of the US. When
it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France has always
supported Palestinian groups over US-favored Israel. Meanwhile
France also assists the Maronites in Lebanon. In the Caucasus the
US supports Georgia, a country that may even join NATO one day,
while France prefers cooperation with Russia and Armenia. France has
not yet decided whether to come back to the military wing of NATO,
and tends to place emphasis on the EU, contrary to US requests
for a US-EU rapprochement. Furthermore its views on the future of
European integration seem to be damaging the traditional constructive
cooperation between France and Germany, while strengthening the usual
anti-British stance. Ultimately each country's conservatives have
a different kind of conservatism. France continues to say Turkey is
an Asiatic country, forgetting that Europe's biggest problem is an
absence in Asia and that the US supports Turkish accession to the EU.
If Sarkozy's new government hopes to make France a global power once
again, a primary focus must be relations with the US. Given this,
France, like Turkey, has no choice but to determine quickly its
position vis-a-vis Russia. After having done that, it should make
clear a position on Europe's future, because its insistence on several
issues has the potential to deepen divisions within the EU.
Apparently France's European project doesn't include cooperation with
the US. However if a rapprochement does appear in US-EU relations,
France will have to modify its anti-American policy in the Middle
East. This change of attitude will demonstrate just how much France
is willing to support the US in Iraq and how it will heal relations
with Turkey. France has declared that its priority is Africa, without
taking into consideration all of these paradoxes. Even the African
choice involves difficult judgments as France cannot strengthen
its position on the African continent simply by increasing food aid
(as it tried before in Iraq). As long as France doesn't make clear a
position regarding the great powers, it will have limited liberty of
action in Africa. It's easy to say that your country is going to the
African continent, but the resolution of problems created by other
powers and historical responsibilities is not an easy task.
If France is really in a "new" period, then it has to adopt a new
foreign policy path. For this reason France needs to be more careful
when it comes to Turkey.