Preserving power after empire : the credibility trap and France's intervention in Chad, 1968-72
Abstract
France’s 1968–72 intervention in Chad constitutes a forgotten turning point in the Fifth Republic’s foreign relations. Interconnected institutions and treaties gave France a disproportionate influence over its African ex-colonies. French security guarantees underscored this system, however, whereby francophone African leaders continued to accept French economic and political leadership. French leaders discovered in Chad, however, that they had fewer choices and needed to dedicate more resources to fulfilling these commitments than President Charles de Gaulle had intended. Prosperous ex-colonies’ leaders judged French commitments’ value according to how France responded to crises in its least-valued ex-colonies. Thus, although French analysts viewed intervening in Chad as irrational from a cost–benefit perspective, they found themselves pressured into it.
Citation
DeVore , M R 2018 , ' Preserving power after empire : the credibility trap and France's intervention in Chad, 1968-72 ' , War in History , vol. Online First . https://doi.org/10.1177/0968344518758359
Publication
War in History
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0968-3445Type
Journal article
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