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FRIDE:
SARKOZY'S CLEAN SLATE - A NEW FRENCH COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN
RIGHTS? - METSA RAHIMI
18/02/2008
(MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 18
February 2008 --
France’s heritage alone should stand it in
good stead as a promoter of democracy: the republican values of liberty,
equality and fraternity, Montesquieu’s writings on the separation of powers,
the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Steadfast
in their national pride, many French defend the Republic’s virtues in
democracy as given. In 1990, President Mitterrand reputably placed France at the
head of the democracy promotion commitment with his speech at Le Baule by
stating that "French aid will be ungenerous towards authoritarian regimes
and more enthusiastic towards those who choose the path towards democracy [...]
there is no development without democracy and there is no democracy without
development".
Yet the
post-Cold War era did not bring any significant French achievements in this
field, and was in fact characterised by support for dictatorial regimes in
Africa and the Middle East through historical linkages. According to one
diplomat, the French attitude to democracy has always seemed either reactive, or
even defensive through its protection of “friends” and national interests.
Consequently,
experts in development have for years criticised France’s contribution to
democratisation as at best empty or limited, and at worst, detrimental. The
presidential elections of 2007 thus generated hopes of a shift in foreign
policy, away from traditional bonds and towards a greater commitment to
democratisation.
Nicolas
Sarkozy has certainly made bold and well-publicised strides in defining a new
foreign policy for France. But has his pragmatic realism brought any evidence to
suggest a new vision for promoting democracy?
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Keywords
Democracy
aid Democracy
promotion Europe France
Governance
Bio
author: Metsa Rahimi
Metsa
holds a BA Honours in French and International Studies from the University of
Warwick and a Masters in International Affaires with a specialisation in
International Security from Sciences Po in Paris. Prior to joining FRIDE, she
worked at the UNHCR, The Foreign Policy Centre in London, and Casa Asia in
Barcelona.
Labels:
FRIDE, Fundación
para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior,
Sarkozy, democracy,
human rights, United
Nations, U.N.,
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