Threat-Function-Structure:the Evolvement Of French National Security Policy Making Mechanism

Once elected as the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy adjusted defence and national security strategy, and established the Defence and National Security Council in 2008. The establishment of the Council aimed at dealing with new national security situation, breaking through the division between traditional internal and external security. The new strategy integrated defence policy, national security policy, foreign policy and economic policy all together, which had impacts on the definition of national interests, recognition of threats, and determination of measures. French policy makers recognized that the separated function, divided structure and methods could not cope with the security threats nowadays.Although the Defence and National Security Council was set up in 2008, French national security policy making mechanism has been evolved since the establishment of the Fifth Republic of France in 1958. Therefore, the key question of the paper is why French national security policy making mechanism has been evolved for so many years.In order to answer the question, the analysis is based on two approaches, which are "threat-function-structure" approach and "domestic politics-foreign policy-security mechanism" approach. This thesis argues that the devefopment of the internal and external security threats was the major reason for the evolution of French national security policy making mechanism, which could be separated into four stages:the Defence Council under the conventional security threats, the Domestic Security Council under the domestic and international terrorism, theDomestic Security Council under the domestic security problems, the Defence and National Security Council under the integrated security threats. During the process, French national security policy making mechanism has changed in various aspects, including the leadership, the members, the ideas, etc.Meanwhile, French domestic political regime and power structure had effects on French national security policy making mechanism as well For example, the Cohabitation caused by the semi-presidential system has impacts on the relationship between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister in the field of national security decision making, and then French national security policy making mechanism was influenced.The thesis concludes that facing the intergraded security threats nowadays, the nation states have to break through the separation of institutions, function and structure of the national security policy mechanism, and to develop a intergraded mechanism. And the establishment and evolvement of national security policy making mechanism must be in correspondence with the changing security threats the countries are facing with and the corresponding domestic political institution and structure.