French Foreign Policy and International Issues

This course examines the timeline and history of French foreign policy from the period of the Indochina War and Vietnamese Independence (1954) through the present day. We will trace French involvement not only in Southeast Asia but also in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the French West Indies and Caribbean, and other regions. Our goals are to survey and better understand French policy decisions in the context of international relations, colonization, economic initiatives and the play for global dominance.

FRLA 8354 provides theoretical tools for research and analysis. We will scrutinize how French foreign policy decisions have simultaneously shaped and responded to issues such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, control of natural resources, environmental crises and the support of authoritarian regimes. Our observations will aim to uncover alliances and common objectives as well as discord between the French leadership, its foreign allies and opponents.

Students will improve all key language skills through activities such as discussion, use of authentic audiovisual and social media sources, creative projects, debates, guest speaker interactions and oral presentations.