ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores how the different legacies of history are affecting the way France confronts the issues with which it is currently challenged, specifically how past traumatic experiences, socioeconomic and cultural patterns, and the traditions of an assimilationist state shape the approach to contemporary political dilemmas. It looks at how the choices in favor of a more open stance toward trade and a strong franc have changed the French approach to economic policy making and have brought to a head many of the political dilemmas about the role of letat providence, the state as a guarantor of welfare. The book examines directly how the fracture of the international framework of the postwar world has affected French security thinking, the country's relationship to the European Union and the future of European integration, and ultimately, basic notions of the state and sovereignty.
