Julian Jackson's De Gaulle

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. xxix–124

Supplemental Readings:

• Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, Chs. 3, 5 and 10
• Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, excerpts from Ch. 5 (“Introduction,” “Shifting Balance of World Forces,” “Germany,” and “France”)
• Jonathan Fenby, The General, “Never Again” in Ch. 5

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe Charles de Gaulle—his character and temperament; his family background; his education; and his early experiences in the French Army and government.
2. What are the most salient “big ideas” developed and championed by Charles de Gaulle between the outbreaks of World War I and World War II respectively? What formative experiences in his biography inform them?
3. De Gaulle is born in 1890. Describe the geopolitical dilemma of France during the first 50 years of his life. After 1940, we shall see how de Gaulle shapes French history and geopolitics. But to what extent do French history and geopolitics shape de Gaulle—his character, his ideas, and ultimately, his own exercise of power?
4. De Gaulle spent much of his adult life prior to 1940 in various forms of subtle and not-so-subtle resistance against the established order in France and its leaders. To what extent do his beliefs and instincts therefore represent a departure from the French experience, or are they better understood as the quintessential expression of it?
5. You are Julian Jackson’s editor at Harvard University Press, and he has just submitted a draft of the first 100 or so pages of his monumental de Gaulle biography. Write him a memo assessing his treatment of the first fifty years of de Gaulle’s life. What are the strengths of his approach? What if any are its weaknesses or failings—stylistic or substantive? What if any revisions do you suggest?

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. 125–223

Supplemental Readings:

• Julian Jackson, The Fall of France, Chs. 1 and 3 (“We Are Beaten” and “The Politics of Defeat”)

Discussion Questions:

1. “Without the Fall of France,” Jackson writes, “de Gaulle would undoubtedly have become a leading general in the French army, probably a minister of defense… but he would not have become ‘de Gaulle.’” This begs the question: why did France fall with such stunning rapidity in 1940? Was its collapse primarily a consequence of military power? A failure of generalship? Of the political class? Or is it better understood as a kind of social or moral phenomenon?
2. De Gaulle arrives in London in June 1940 as “a penniless brigadier exiled in a land whose language he did not know.” How does this powerless figure come to amass so much power over the course of this week’s reading? What kind of power is it? What qualities and decisions attributable to de Gaulle enable his rise? What factors beyond his control are essential to his fate?
3. De Gaulle in his youth wrote that it is the task of a leader to “know how to dominate oneself perpetually.” Yet repeatedly de Gaulle, as leader of the Free French, erupts in such spectacular fashion that even some of his admirers come to doubt his sanity. How do you make sense of de Gaulle’s explosions?
4. You are on de Gaulle’s staff at Carleton Gardens in late 1941. A close friend writes to you: “So, what should I think of de Gaulle? Having seen him close up, how do you assess him—his strengths and his weaknesses? From what you have seen of him so far, is he fundamentally a great man—or, as others say, a menace?” Drawing from this week’s readings, draft a response.

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. 224–334

Supplemental Readings:

• Isaiah Berlin, “Roosevelt Through European Eyes,” The Atlantic, July 1955

Discussion Questions:

1. Compare and explain the attitudes toward de Gaulle of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Eisenhower. Isaiah Berlin wrote that there are “two contrasting types of statesmen”—one of them exemplified by Franklin Roosevelt, the other typified by Charles de Gaulle. Based on what you have observed of de Gaulle thus far, do you agree with his characterization and analysis?
2. For the first time, de Gaulle confronts credible rivals to his leadership in North Africa. Why does he succeed, and they fail? What do these contests reveal of de Gaulle’s leadership and character—both its strengths and limitations?
3. Describe the evolution of de Gaulle’s thinking about and handling of the Resistance inside France, from his time in London, then Algiers, and ultimately in Paris. What does he get right, and what does he get wrong? What calculations, interests, and objectives shape his approach toward them?
4. What does the liberation of France mean to de Gaulle? What is he determined to achieve? What is he determined to avoid? How do these goals and attitudes compare with those of his ostensible allies—both French and foreign?

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. 335–506

Discussion Questions:

1. In the span of less than four years, de Gaulle catapults from being an obscure Army officer to the undisputed leader of France—outmaneuvering both internal rivals and the great powers in the process. Yet barely 18 months after reaching the summit, de Gaulle voluntarily abdicates it. What does de Gaulle’s performance as head of the provisional government from 1944 to 1946—to include his abrupt resignation—reveal about his character, capabilities, and self-conception as a leader?
2. De Gaulle spends 12 years in “the desert.” What are the elements and assumptions in his strategy to regain power during this time, how do they evolve, and why does the strategy ultimately succeed? Is de Gaulle’s return a masterpiece of Machiavellian cunning, a stunning stroke of luck, or something else entirely?
3. Analyze the relationship between De Gaulle’s power in France and France’s power in the world. How does the one shape the other and vice versa in the period between 1944 and 1958?

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. 507–645

Supplemental Reading:

• Henry Kissinger, “The Illusionist: Why We Misread de Gaulle,” Harper’s, March 1965
• Constant Meheut, “Macron Commemorates 1961 Paris Police Killing of Algerian Protesters,” New York Times, October 16, 2021
• Roger Cohen, “France Asks ‘Forgiveness’ for Its Abandonment of Algerian Harkis,” New York Times, September 20, 2021
• Adam Nossiter, “French Soldiers Tortured Algerians, Macron Admits 6 Decades Later,” New York Times, September 13, 2018
• Optional Viewing: The Battle of Algiers

Discussion Questions:

1. Julian Jackson writes of de Gaulle and Algeria, “Perhaps no one could have done any better, but it is hard to see that anyone could have done worse.” Describe how de Gaulle manages and ultimately resolves the Algeria question, including (a) what if any of the methods and principles that de Gaulle applies to this crisis are consistent with what we have previously observed of him; (b) what if any lessons about leadership can de Gaulle’s handling of Algeria teach us; (c) whether you agree or disagree with Jackson’s ambivalent assessment of his achievement.
2. Explain the principal tenets that animated de Gaulle’s approach to international relations as President of France. Should de Gaulle be remembered as one of the 20th century’s great strategists, or as a self-defeating egotist with delusions of grandeur? What if any aspects of his foreign policy—either tactical or philosophical—would you want to emulate if you were in charge of contemporary American foreign policy?
3. Robert Caro, in his biographies of Lyndon Johnson, writes: “Although the cliché says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said… is that power always reveals. When a man is climbing, trying to persuade others to give him power, concealment is necessary. But as a man obtains more power, camouflage becomes less necessary.” Now that de Gaulle at last enjoys the position of power he has always sought—the presidency of France under a constitution of his own design—what does his use of that power reveal about him?

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle, pp. 646–778

Supplemental Reading:

• Richard Nixon, “Chapter 3: De Gaulle,” in Leaders

Discussion Questions:

1. De Gaulle as President sought to entrench a fundamentally new and different political-constitutional order in France. What was his vision, and how did he go about achieving it? To what extent should we judge de Gaulle as successful in this endeavor, and why?
2. Julian Jackson argues that, as President, de Gaulle increasingly became “a victim of his own success.” What does he mean by this, and do you agree with this assessment?

Readings:

• Julian Jackson, De Gaulle

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you assess de Gaulle’s handling of the May 1968 crisis? What were his principal moves and to what extent was his approach in keeping with the broader methods and tactics he practiced throughout his career?
2. What does it mean for someone to be a “great” leader? Was de Gaulle one? Why or why not?

Bernard-Henri Lévy, known most widely as a philosopher and nonfiction writer, is also a novelist, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the author of more than 40 books.

Born in Beni Saf, Algeria, in 1948, he was one of the founders of the “New Philosophers” movement. A committed intellectual, he is known for his opposition to authoritarianism in its manifold forms and as a proponent of the “duty to intervene.”

Known universally as BHL, he is a columnist for numerous periodicals in France and abroad and chairs the advisory board of the French media network Arte. He is publisher of the review La Règle du jeu and manages the “Figures” collection at Grasset, a Paris publishing house.