Reluctant Allies & Competitive Partners: U.S.-French Relations at the Breaking Point?

The United States and France have shared a long and tempestuous relationship, but they have always managed to work through their differences because they have common values and similar interests. However, for much of the last decade, these two nations have been on a collision course, and it is no longer apparent that Washington and Paris support the same interests or even view the fruits of the Enlightenment in quite the same way. The events of September 11, 2001, have exacerbated this divergence of French and American perspectives, and in the coming months policy differences over the Bush Doctrine, Iraq, Israel, and Russia could tear apart the fabric of this alliance. This monograph examines the U.S.-French relationship and offers a candid assessment of what the future may hold.