Open AccessThe Ideological Legacy of Charles de Gaulle. I. Paradoxical Perception, Paradoxical Historical Memory, Paradoxical Political Philosophy
Author(s) -
Ekaterirochnitskaya
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
perspektivy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2411-3417
DOI - 10.32726/2411-3417-2021-1-80-94
Subject(s) - ideology , politics , cornerstone , demise , reverence , rhetoric , shadow (psychology) , aesthetics , political science , sociology , philosophy , political economy , history , law , psychoanalysis , psychology , linguistics , archaeology
The personality of General de Gaulle, which once divided the French, now holds the first place in their national imagination. In recent years, all kinds of politicians have increasingly laid claim to his legacy. Ironically, the new reverence for de Gaulle has grown with the demise of Gaullism and intensified with French elites turning to an alternative Euro-Atlanticist and neoliberal paradigm. In this paradox, the “obsession with Gaulle” has taken on very different meanings. For some it is a rhetoric instrument or compensatory nostalgia, but for many it is indeed a symbol of disagreement with political dogma of the last decades. De Gaulle's shadow over today’s France is inextricably linked to the appeal and relevance of his ideas. His political philosophy stands out by a kind of multiple synthesis of opposites, often overlooked and underappreciated. De Gaulle's cornerstone ideas directly resonate with fundamental dilemmas that are now at the heart of controversies within societies and internationally, including those between West and Russia, West and East. His search for a dialectical conjunction of national, European and global imperatives is of particular interest.