Date of Award

4-1988

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Michael J. Zeps

Abstract

Observers were hardly surprised when President Charles de Gaulle formally withdrew France from the military aspect of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on February 21, 1966. For more than twenty-five years France's relationship with other western powers, particularly with the United States, were tremulous. Two great obstacles impeded an affable relationship between France and the United States. One was France's unwillingness to ally herself firmly to the Western power, as she felt that a solid alignment with the U.S. was a severe b.low to her prestige as a strong and independent nation. The other obstacle was America's refusal to recognize the world as multipolar instead of bipolar. The U.S. was engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and from the U.S. perspective the whole world was divided into two camps, "theirs" and "ours"; and if a country refused to be a loyal ally it was regarded with suspicion. Unfortunately for Franco-American relations, the U.S. failed to understand that France was far more concerned about a German threat, not a Soviet one.

Comments

An Essay Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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