The role of NATO in the foreign policy of France and Britain

Abstract

This dissertation will address the issue of NATO with regards to French and British foreign policy, with a main focus on the security developments of the last 10 years. The events in question threaten the present European security balance, and have left a pivotal impact on the contemporary history not just of Franco-British-NATO relations, or individual French and British NATO relations, but also on the international community as a whole. The need for NATO, as it is, arises from the globalization of collective security. France and Britain, even in their continued commitment to NATO, typify extremely developed societies with the moral authority to light the way forward in international relations based on their conceptions of the rule of law, diplomacy, democracy and statecraft. The ethics of policy formation in line with the Alliance's desired best practice are extremely relevant for analyses of international politics. Ultimately the placement of NATO within the international system based on British and French debates of the NATO idea will be analysed in the conclusion.