Moscow, Nauka Publ. 1984. 223 p.

The scientific and, most importantly, political value of a peer-reviewed monograph written by N. A. Rozantseva, a researcher at the Institute of General History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, is primarily determined by the importance attached in the Soviet Union to relations with France, as well as to the activities of such an authoritative international organization as the UN. The issues discussed in this book are important for studying the political role and place of the UN in the system of international relations. Our country's full support for efforts aimed at enhancing the role of the UN as a tool for strengthening peace and constructive cooperation between states was once again confirmed by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Konstantin Chernenko in an interview with the UN Secretary General. Perez de Cuellar in July 1984 1 .

French policy at the UN, which has become an integral part of international relations since the end of World War II, is also of great interest. This perspective in the study of French foreign policy makes it possible to clearly outline possible ways to increase the effectiveness of the UN in maintaining peace and security - the main goal proclaimed by its charter. As V. L. Israelyan, Permanent Representative of the USSR to the Conference on Disarmament, writes in the preface to the book, "a retrospective study of France's position in the UN, undertaken on a fundamental scientific basis, is all the more interesting because all major events and problems fall within the scope of the UN, and all crisis issues fall on the agenda of the Security Council situations" (p. 4).

Examining the role that France played as one of the founding countries of the United Nations in the first period of its activity, i.e. from 1945 to 1950, the author correctly emphasizes that "France's participation in the activities of the United Nations in the first post-war years was an important component of French foreign policy" (p.183). The book shows that the UN was considered by France as one of the means of implementing its political tasks in the international arena, first of all, restoring the status of a great power. For the first time in Soviet and foreign Marxist literature, the author makes an attempt to analyze the French policy in the UN on the most important problems of post-war international relations, which still remain relevant today: ensuring peace and security in Europe, disarmament, the elimination of the colonial system, etc.

The author notes that the first post-war years were a period of active participation of France, which became a member of the five permanent members of the Security Council, in the activities of the UN. France was a permanent member of the Trusteeship Council, whose work closely affected its position in the colonies. French representatives also joined the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). France also participated in the work of committees and commissions of the UN General Assembly, regional commissions, and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East-

1 Pravda, 14. VII. 1984.

page 139

ECAC), as well as specialized agencies-UNESCO, etc. Suffice it to say that the number of French citizens in the administration of international UN organizations exceeded the percentage that this country could claim, according to the principle of geographical distribution of posts.

It was during these first post - war years that the foundations of France's position on many international problems were laid, and its approach to solving a particularly burning problem of our time-the atomic one, which radically affected the country's domestic and foreign policy and economy, as well as the class and political struggle within it. The author notes that, despite France's active participation in the UN, many of the French proposals did not meet with support from the majority of the organization's members. This was reflected in the significant changes that took place after the Second World War in the balance of power between the capitalist Powers. France was trying to find a foothold among the small and neutral countries of which it was going to become the leader in the future. Maneuvering was a hallmark of French diplomacy in UN bodies.

Central to the book is a chapter that examines France's attitude to disarmament issues. The author clearly shows the ambivalence of its foreign policy on this issue. 108, 131 - 133, 187 - 188), It reveals the specific domestic and international political reasons that determined the specifics of the French position. In terms of the breadth of the problems considered and the depth of the analysis carried out, the chapter goes beyond a narrowly country-specific topic. The facts presented by the author once again remind us that from the very beginning of the UN's existence, the Soviet Union pursued a consistent policy of ending the arms race and general disarmament.

N. A. Rozantseva also considers the problem of decolonization. France's position on these issues was determined by the desire to prevent the collapse of the colonial system, and first of all, of course, its own colonial empire. That is why the French monopoly circles had a negative attitude to the establishment of an international guardianship system. The contradictions between France and other imperialist States undoubtedly reflected on the position of Paris on this issue. Its position was repeatedly subjected to reasonable criticism at the UN by the USSR, the countries of popular democracy, as well as a group of Asian and African states that became sovereign. Until mid-1947, that is, while the Communists were part of the French government, it followed a flexible tactic: French troops were withdrawn from Lebanon, and a line was drawn to condemn discrimination against the Indian minority in the South African Union (now South Africa). After the strengthening of the position of the right-wing forces inside the country, tougher moments have emerged in France's foreign policy. Its representatives found themselves on the right flank of the pro-imperialist forces operating in the UN.

Analyzing the foreign policy of France in the first post-war years, N. A. Rozantseva recalls the specific internal and external reasons that determined the implementation, especially before May 1947, of the "middle line", i.e., a policy that, due to centuries-old tradition, turned both to the West and to the East. This applies to issues such as ensuring peace and security in Europe. France took a certain progressive position when considering the so-called Spanish question. But since the spring of 1947, major changes have taken place in both France's domestic and foreign policies, and the country has gradually become embroiled in a" cold war " against the Soviet Union and the countries of popular democracy. In the face of an acute confrontation between East and West, French diplomacy was constrained by the framework of "Atlantic solidarity". Paris has lost its freedom of maneuver. From trying to maneuver, to play the role of a kind of "link" between the USSR and the Anglo-Saxon countries, France moved to a unilateral orientation towards the United States and Great Britain. In this connection, it is worth emphasizing with satisfaction the author's desire to identify points of common ground between the positions of the USSR and the countries of popular democracy, on the one hand, and France, on the other.

It is very valuable that the author tries to show that France's approach to solving major international problems in the UN is conditioned by the peculiarities of domestic political development, to find out what difficulties French diplomacy encountered in pursuing its course, to what extent the goals of the UN diverged or coincided with those of the United Nations.-

page 140

political interests of the ruling circles of France, determine the attitude of political parties, parliamentary groups, and prominent statesmen of the country to this international organization. Established as a guarantor of peace and security, the UN enjoyed the support of various political parties and parliamentary groups in France, especially its progressive public, with the Communist Party at the forefront.

The work is based on the study of a wide range of documentary sources and literature: UN materials, Soviet documentary publications, verbatim reports of the National Assembly of France, memoirs and diaries of French, English and American statesmen and politicians, and the press of various fields. The information obtained by the author in the course of personal conversations with French diplomats, participants of the UN General Assemblies and the Security Council - A. Parodi, J. Mock, A. Ganem, former French Ambassador to the USSR L. Jox-is also of great interest. of an economic and sociological nature. This interdisciplinary approach allowed her to see the diverse and complex nature of the problem.

The approach chosen by N. A. Rozantseva - the "UN perspective" - to the study of French foreign policy is also of great importance in terms of recreating the recent history of this country and providing a multi-faceted coverage of international relations that developed at a critical moment in history, when there was a turn from cooperation of states within the anti-Hitler coalition to the"cold war". In this regard, the paper would probably have greatly benefited if it had highlighted the position of France on the admission of new members to the UN, since this was an acute political issue that reflected the principled positions of States in relation to fascism, militarism and aggression.

It would be possible to show more fully in the monograph how the general objectives of French foreign policy were proclaimed from the UN rostrum, and the main guidelines for the activities of French diplomacy in the UN were formulated. It would be desirable to follow in more detail the work of French diplomats at the UN in order to organize support for their positions, especially at a time when France was pursuing a relatively independent foreign policy course or was looking for a"middle way". This would reveal the deep connection between her work at the UN and other aspects of French foreign policy. There is an annoying inaccuracy in the work - it is historically incorrect to replace the term "people's democracy" with the term "socialist countries" for the period under consideration by the author (p.186).

In general, the monograph under consideration, which is characterized by a new approach, shows that in the context of the development of multilateral diplomacy and the increasing role of international organizations in world politics, the "UN perspective" is becoming more and more significant when studying the foreign policy of a particular state and deserves close attention of Soviet historians.

page 141

Permanent link to this publication: