Charles de Gaulle’s Legacy of Ideas

Charles de Gaulle combined the skills to master the politics of his own day with an uncanny sense of where history was going and how to position France accordingly. The essays in this volume examine certain of the policies and themes de Gaulle pursued nationally, in the European region, and internationally, giving consideration to their significance in his own time, and today.

The essays in this volume examine selected national, regional European, and international policies of Charles de Gaulle, giving consideration to their significance in his own time, and today. Not everything de Gaulle did withstands the test of time. Nor, obviously, was everything beyond criticism in his own time. Nonetheless, a main finding, in the words of one essayist, is that de Gaulle had an 'uncanny sense of where history was going' and the skill to position his country accordingly. De Gaulle also stands as a testament to the power of individuals in history, a somewhat unfashionable viewpoint in modern university curriculums. Today, when France's destiny appears increasingly to depend on structures and institutions beyond its national control, including a Europe weakened by the sovereign debt crisis, and a global economic system accountable to no one, it seems timely to reconsider the record of the twentieth century's greatest Frenchman, whose skill at dealing with the problems of his time can inspire today's generation of politicians and statesmen.

1 Acknowledgements
2 Preface
3 Introduction
4 1. De Gaulle's Visions for Europe
5 2. De Gaulle and the Dollar
6 3. Gaullist Economic Policies: the Role of Indicative Planning
7 4. The General and Germany
8 5. De Gaulle and the Italians
9 6. The Road to Phnom Penh: de Gaulle, the Americans and Vietnam, 1944-1966
10 7. De Gaulle and the 'Eternal China'
11 8. De Gaulle and the Middle East Conflict
12 9. De Gaulle and American Power