The growing local and global security concerns have improved the relations between countries in enhancing efforts towards achieving mutual benefit. Great powers have been at the forefront of strengthening peaceful coexistence in the world. However, balancing power among them has been a critical challenge affecting the quest for peaceful, legitimate, and enduring security primarily in the wake of the First World War. This has changed the relationship between countries and how France relates to other countries that are key members of the United Nations Security Council (Charillon, 2010). While there has been significant progress towards enduring peace, the recognition and realities of power and great power interests have affected the alliance and status of the great powers.
Question 1
Countries like France and the United Kingdom serve as key players in the Security Council and represent Europe in the council and great powers on the global stage. The relationship between France and the UK has been cordial and positive over the years based on the idea that the two countries represents the interests of Europe and use the culture of cooperation. The positive relations between France and the UK have made a significant contribution to the global security and enhancement of the liberal international order. Both France and the UK are promoters of liberal internationalism and have been central in supporting the European integration process and have a positive relation which is based on the shared ideals and policies as well as interests such as growing the European region primarily within the Security Council (Maull & Deudney, 2011).
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"France and Its Relationship with UK and US".
However, the relationship between France and the US has been a complex one which is characterized by increased problems owing to the diversity in their interests and failure to have a structured dialogue. The relations between the US and France is limited due to the foreign/ international policies in each country. However, in recent times, the countries seem to share common interests and values but tend to have a policy difference in most security and economic issues (Eversley, 2016). The differences have not affected the interactions and cooperation between the two countries. The US and France have also shared vital trade and economic relations compared to past years. Besides, both countries are among the principal founders of UN and NATO among other global organizations (Charillon, 2010).
Question 2
According to Hill (2016), there exists important trade and security relationship between the UK and France which has contributed to the growth of both powers as well as the continued stability within the region. The idea of sharing similar policies and ideas adds immensely to the trade/security relations between them. The rise in trade and security relations between the UK and France has positive implications on negotiations presenting the notion that the two countries are more likely to resolve issues compared to France and the US. On the other hand, the trade and security relationship between France and the US is limited due to the complex nature of their policies and ideals. The two countries are more concerned with driving their interests which tends to affect their ability to promote cooperation that helps achieve mutual benefit. The poor relationship between the US and France is likely to impact negotiation approaches negatively due to the lack of shared values and negative policies. While the two countries have recently demonstrated improvements in their relations, there is still key limits primarily associated with policies (Charillon, 2010).
Question 3
In recent years, the relations between France and other members of the Security Council have been negative owing to the ideals and policies pushed by France such as making the council more representative to ensure balances in the world. For example, France has been in the forefront of encouraging the expansion of the Security Council to the accession of new members such as Brazil, Germany, and Japan among others.
- Charillon, F (2010). France and the US: From reluctant alliance to ambiguous rapprochement. European Consortium for Political Research, (9), 189-198.
- Eversley, D (2016). Population in History: Essays in Historical Demography, Volume II: Europe and United States. Somerset: Taylor and Francis, 93, 393-414.
- Hill, C (2016). Powers of a kind: the anomalous position of France and the United Kingdom in world politics. International Affairs, 92(2), 393-414.
- Maull, H, & Deudney, D (2011). How Britain and France could reform the UN Security Council. Survival, 53(5), 107-128.
