TY - JOUR
T1 - The boundaries of acceptability: France’s positioning and rhetorical strategies during the Arab uprisings
AU - Beauregard, P.
AU - Brice Bado, A.
AU - Paquin, J.
PY - 2017/9
Y1 - 2017/9
N2 - Why did French leaders adopt vastly different positions during the Arab uprisings? Building on recent studies that emphasize the importance of rhetoric to understand states’ behaviour, this article argues that France’s inconsistent positioning results from decision-makers trying to remain within political boundaries that are acceptable both to their domestic audiences and to foreign partners. Through a chronological content analysis of France’s top decision-makers’ responses to the crises in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain, the article provides evidence that acceptability-enhancing rhetorical strategies contribute to explaining foreign policy positioning.
AB - Why did French leaders adopt vastly different positions during the Arab uprisings? Building on recent studies that emphasize the importance of rhetoric to understand states’ behaviour, this article argues that France’s inconsistent positioning results from decision-makers trying to remain within political boundaries that are acceptable both to their domestic audiences and to foreign partners. Through a chronological content analysis of France’s top decision-makers’ responses to the crises in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain, the article provides evidence that acceptability-enhancing rhetorical strategies contribute to explaining foreign policy positioning.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85050334557&partnerID=MN8TOARS
U2 - 10.1080/13629395.2017.1371899
DO - 10.1080/13629395.2017.1371899
M3 - Article
SN - 1362-9395
VL - 24
SP - 40
EP - 61
JO - Mediterranean Politics
JF - Mediterranean Politics
IS - 1
ER -