2024/12/10 by Gesine Weber · 1 voice · 10 citations
Social Sciences · #Balance (ability) #Context (archaeology) #Economics #Economy #European Union Policy and Governance #European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies #European union #Foreign policy #Geography #Geopolitics #International Relations and Foreign Policy #International trade #Law #Political economy #Political science #Politics #Power (physics) #Resizing #Security policy #Sociology #Summit
paper · doi:10.1177/13691481241303277
published in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 27(4), 1153-1175 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2024/12/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
This article analyses the evolution of French foreign and security policy in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine from early 2022 to NATO’s Vilnius summit (June 2023). It introduces the idea of a Zeitenwende à la française and argues that France’s policy has, albeit more gradually than it was the case in other European states, undergone significant shifts. Drawing on a neoclassical realist approach, this article shows that geopolitical factors – namely the balance of power, balance of threat, and considerations regarding influence in Europe – explain France’s policy shifts, particularly on European Union enlargement and NATO membership for Ukraine. Simultaneously, this adaptation allowed continuity regarding the fundamentals of French foreign and security policy, especially strengthening European Union defence and Europe’s role as a powerful global player ( Europe puissance ). In this context, domestic factors, namely the views of President Macron and strategic culture, created a permissive strategic environment for following the systemic imperative.