A diplomatic genre? France caught between compassion and universal repentance

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Abstract

Apology and compassion in diplomatic speeches are firstly a Western phenomenon. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, this repentance appears like a substitute for action. It is a telltale sign of the Western identity crisis, which is embodied by France. But it also results from the apparition of new actors within the national and international « civil society », limiting the diplomatic action of States. Yet, some typically French reasons would seem to feed these speeches of repentance. They are as much the product of a diplomacy founded on memory as the result of the parliamentary will for revenge.

AFRI 2008 Summary

Gérald ARBOIT

Docteur en Histoire et auditeur à l'Institut des hautes études de la défense nationale (IHEDN, France) ; Chercheur post-doctorant au Centre d'étude et de recherches européennes Robert Schuman (CERE) de l'Université de Luxembourg et directeur de recherches au Centre français de recherches sur le renseignement (CF2R, France).