Monday, July 03, 2006

Elite Gaullist Culture

I've recently been reading a book entitled French Negotiating Behavior: Dealing with La Grande Nation by Charles Cogan - it comes with the highest recommendations for anyone interested in how the elite of French society are developed and what motivates them. A summary of some of the high points follows (with a separate post to come on French actions in the UN Security Council negotiations prior to the Iraq War).

The Cultural Context


  • Tradition of the State - in France the State is virtually deified. To work for the government is seen as noble and prestigious, a higher calling than perhaps any other profession. The trappings of office, the perks, and the general grandeur government buildings and functions is unparallelled in the western world. The State has survived every convulsion in France since the Revolution of 1789, and even the Revolution did not come to destroy the State - it came only to change it. Needless to say, this is quite different from the United States - where in Jefferson's words "the government that governs best governs least" - and the State is not viewed favorably
  • Conception of Democracy - to the French, democracy entails invididualism only within the context of "the greater good". The French approach (liberality, equality, fraternity) essentially says that there is more than individualism for a society - thus a top-down spirit is born in which French society is highly regulated (which translates to a powerful State apparatus) - and through the law the French citizen is forced to correct the civic deficit that is perhaps in a free society. In contrast, the American approach (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) stresses individualism - and the law ensures only that citizens have a right to pursue happiness on their own terms. There are no guarantees here. The approach is more bottom-up, where the collection of all individual wills essentially equals societal will, with minimal government interference.
  • The Strong Executive - in France the President is much more powerful than in America. The legislature holds significant power, but the President has the upper hand. Both the executive and legislative branches are more powerful than the legislative branch. The executive branch is extremely hierarchical, and thus the President at the top of the pyramid speaks for France in totality. The French will iron out their differences behind closed doors and present a 100% unified front to the world - and typically the final position is the President's. In contrast, the President in America is heavily constrained by the legislative and judicial branches. Also, America sends divided messages to the rest of the world about the "American position" due to highly visible political disagreements, endless leaks, and bureaucratic infighting.
  • Anticapitalism - the French believe in strong state intervention to correct the social and economic inequalities which flow from capitalism. Thus, their society is socialist.
  • Freedom From Religion - the Revolution of 1789 made the French the first European state to de-Christianize itself, and it has stayed true to that idea ever since. The French do not espouse freedom of religion - instead they would rather be free from it altogether.
  • Anti-Americanism - primarily due to the fact that the French and American political and economic systems are seen by their adherents as universal. As such, they represent two powerful (and sharply different) worldviews which are in constant competition for global supremacy. French insecurity about its waning power in the world, coupled with a fear of excessive American power and an uneasiness with being dependent on the US for military protection all contribute strongly to anti-Americanism as well.
  • Panache - the French style tends towards audacity and elegance. High praise is reserved for those who show a sharp wit in conversation, and present arguments in a dashing and impressive manner. In the context of negotiations, this can be highly irritating to representatives of other countries.
  • Rationalism - the French bring a Cartesian style of argumentation to the negotiation table. I will oversimplify for the sake of brevity - the Cartesian style is named for Rene Descartes and entails an almost religious devotion to logic and reason. The French have to fit their stances on various issues within a broad ideological framework before they can get to details, and if their opinion is backed by strong logic (to them) then they will not bend on it. In contrast, Americans are more pragmatic - typically working out the details first and moving upward from there.
  • Education of the Elites - suffice it to say that the French have a large, focused, and disciplined system of higher education by which the State maintains an elite class which will perpetuate it. The best analogy I could make would be if all of the Ivy League schools in this country produced nothing but civil servants and military officers every year. Oh, and the entrance requirements would have to be such that, if you were not pre-selected several years before graduation to move on to the Ivy League school (and thus received years of specialized training) then you would have virtually no chance of admittance. It is certainly tough to get into our elite schools in America, but in France it is taken to a higher level.

The book is fascinating and goes into much more detail on each of the bullet points above. In addition, the French historical context is fascinating, as well as details of their actual negotiating behavior.


posted by JM @ 11:19 AM