France Restored

View Inside

312 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 4 tables, 1 map, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4747-3
Published: October 1998
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-6680-1
Published: November 2000
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-7006-3
Published: November 2000

New Cold War History

Buy this Book

Paperback $42.50
E-Book $29.99

Barnes and Noble Ebooks Apple iBookstore Google eBookstore Amazon Kindle

To purchase online via an independent bookstore, visit Bookshop.org

Awards & distinctions

A 1999 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Historians of the Cold War, argues William Hitchcock, have too

often overlooked the part that European nations played in shaping

the post-World War II international system. In particular,

France, a country beset by economic difficulties and political

instability in the aftermath of the war, has been given short

shrift.

With this book, Hitchcock restores France to the narrative

of Cold War history and illuminates its central role in the

reconstruction of Europe. Drawing on a wide array of evidence

from French, American, and British archives, he shows that France

constructed a coherent national strategy for domestic and

international recovery and pursued that strategy with tenacity

and effectiveness in the first postwar decade. This once-occupied

nation played a vital part in the occupation and administration

of Germany, framed the key institutions of the "new" Europe,

helped forge the NATO alliance, and engineered an astonishing

economic recovery. In the process, France successfully contested

American leadership in Europe and used its position as a key Cold

War ally to extract concessions from Washington on a wide range

of economic and security issues.

About the Author

William I. Hitchcock is assistant professor of history and

associate director of International Security Studies at Yale University.
For more information about William I. Hitchcock, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"A valuable contribution to the University of North Carolina Press's 'New Cold War History' series."--American Historical Review

"A fine example of the new Cold War history that aims at transcending a purely US-Soviet framework, France Restored provides an original, critical perspective not only of the history of the Fourth Republic but also of Europe’s first decade after World War II. . . . An eloquent, well-organized [book]."--Choice

"Persuasively redeeming the Fourth Republic from its earlier reputation as a feckless regime, William Hitchcock's solidly researched study shows that its civil servants and more far-sighted political leaders ably laid the foundation for a long-term enhancement of French influence in postwar Europe. During years of vulnerability they defended their autonomy while accepting American support, and they designed imaginative institutions to benefit from a German recovery they learned could serve their own interests: the innovative capacity still at the heart of today's European Union."--Charles S. Maier, Harvard University

"Elegantly written and thoughtfully argued, Hitchcock's book will be indispensable for all future debates about postwar reconstruction policy in Europe. Weaving a subtle story of domestic and international policymaking, Hitchcock shows how the French, despite their many weaknesses, managed to protect their own vital strategic and economic interests."--Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia

"This is a first-rate study of French foreign policy during the early Cold War period. The basic argument here is that French policy had a profound impact on the sort of international system that took shape in Europe in this period--and thus that the American role in shaping what went on in the West was a good deal more limited that most people think. Hitchcock makes his case quite effectively. This book shows what a talented and skillful historian can accomplish when old problems are approached in new ways, and it is exceptionally well-written to boot."--Marc Trachtenberg, University of Pennsylvania