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Diverging French and Portuguese approaches to imperialism complicated French diplomats' assessment of Portugal in the 1960s. As France relinquished the last of its African empire, Portugal fought to maintain its overseas provinces. Examining this relationship reveals the uneven evolution of French attitudes towards Africa. Within the French state, some opposed Portugal's bloody colonial wars, while others believed that Portugal, as the remaining European power in Africa, represented the last best hope for the civilising mission on the continent. Beyond the Cold War dynamics at play, ideologies of race and empire lay at the heart of this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By integrating French archives and untapped US intelligence records, this article uncovers a debate within US government circles about the accuracy of the entrenched image of France at the onset of the Cold War as decadent and teetering toward revolution. In exchanges with the White House, State Department and military, right-leaning French sources bolstered this view. French contacts in the Resistance meanwhile shaped Office of Strategic Services analysis that France was a strong, worthy ally. France became a contested idea with warring factions in both capitals seeking to influence US policy - with repercussions for Franco-American relations for decades to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1951 Franco-Indian bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement was the first such cooperation outside the Manhattan Project, and preceded President Eisenhower's 1953 ‘Atoms for Peace’ proposal. This cooperation on one hand upset the United Kingdom, which regretted losing leverage over its former colony to its colonial rival, and on the other, enhanced the United States' interest in playing a key role in the region. Based on multi-archival research, this paper explores the significance of Franco-Indian nuclear relations against the backdrop of Anglo-American endeavours to censor information related to atomic energy and to secure control of strategic minerals during the early Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the 1960s, French president de Gaulle's ambition to create a ‘European Europe’ depended heavily on German support. This article illustrates and reinterprets the crucial attitude of Ludwig Erhard by focusing on his role after the signing of the Elysée treaty in January 1963, and his reaction to a secret (and since forgotten) French proposal for monetary union in March 1964. The evidence shows that Erhard, fundamentally a moderate Atlanticist, was profoundly affected by the pressure of the Kennedy administration not to harbour Gaullist ideas. Indeed, as German chancellor Erhard feared that America might cease to defend Europe if de Gaulle's idea of a more independent Europe were to gain ground in Germany. Hence Erhard simply ignored any French move perceived to be contradictory to US policy. The article adds an element to the complexity of Franco-German relations in the 1960s while providing an example of how American power was exercised during the Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates France's policy towards the Arab world and the Middle East at a critical juncture: the first oil crisis. Based on largely untapped archival records, it demonstrates that concerns over declining power spurred Georges Pompidou's government to Europeanise this policy, taking advantage of the anxieties unleashed by the Arab use of oil as a political weapon. It also sheds light on the intricate links between the transatlantic relationship, relations between the superpowers, the Middle East conflict and Franco-/Euro-Arab ties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports on the state of archival research regarding French foreign policy among post-1945 historians as of October 2001. Observations of historian Alan Milward on the accessibility of French archival resources; Comparison on archival systems in Europe; Steps in researching French foreign policy.