Eglantine Staunton - France, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect

France, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect

France, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect

Eglantine Staunton

Manchester University Press

Copyright Eglantine Staunton 2020

The right of Eglantine Staunton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Published by Manchester University Press

Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA

www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN978 1 5261 4240 5hardback

First published 2020

The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

IMAGE: A French soldier, one of the international force supporting the relief effort for Rwandan refugees, adjusts concertina wire in August 1994.
PHOTO BY: SSGT ANDY DUNAWAY/DoD

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France has been a central actor in human protection, yet the existing literature has too often focused on Anglo-Saxon states or states that are wary of its development. In order to address this gap, this book provides an original and much-needed account of France's relationship to human protection since the 1980s. It analyses a tale of two norms using an innovative theoretical framework. The first is France's domestic norm of human protection, and the second is the dominant international principle or norm of human protection at the time (chiefly humanitarian intervention in the 1990s and the responsibility to protect (R2P) in the 2000s). Through this tale of two norms, and also thanks to elite interviews with key actors such as Gareth Evans and Bernard Kouchner and an analysis of fourteen case studies, the book reshapes our understanding of the development and influence of key principles and norms of human protection. It also corrects prevailing assumptions about France's foreign policy and allows us to anticipate its future foreign policy more accurately. Last but not least, by showing how important it is to pay more attention to the interplay between domestic and international norms and building an innovative framework that can be used beyond the analysis of France and human protection, the book makes a key contribution to the literature on norms and International Relations theory more generally. The book is therefore an essential read for anyone interested in human protection, peace and conflict studies, France, foreign policy analysis, International Relations and norm diffusion.

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From a more personal point of view, I thank my family for supporting me throughout this exciting yet challenging process but more generally for always being there for me. In particular, I want to thank my patient, kind, funny and caring husband Michael. There are not enough words to express how grateful I am to him for helping me and being there every step of the way. Michael's beautiful soul, his constant positivity and his unwavering faith in me have not only allowed me to undertake this project; they have made my work infinitely better. Thank you also to our wonderful daughter Juliette, who brings me so much joy and inspires me to always aim higher while reminding me of what matters.