France has been in continuous decline since 1815. This article attempts to analyse the reasons why, making a distinction between those which derive from internal structural characteristics, those which are the result of external structural events, and (without going into irrelevant detail) those which are fortuitous. The first touch on demography, the economy, sociology and mentalities; the second on the spread of national feelings in their modern form in Europe, and then the world.
The Causes of the Decline of France since 1815
Since the failure in 1815 of its last attempt to dominate continental Europe, France has been in a long process of decline. What is meant here by ‘decline’ is the reduction in the power of the French nation with regard to its capability to defend its moral and material interests–by force, if need be–and to exercise its political influence in the relationships it maintains with other countries.
It has been a relative decline, seen not in the evolution of the many factors which go to make up the ‘power’ of a country in absolute terms, but by comparison with the power of other countries at a given point, and France’s position in the preceding period. This decline has been a lasting process, punctuated by a multitude of episodes in an eventful history and by the will of men concerned for the standing of their nation, yet irregular in its rhythm. What have been the causes of this?
Domestic Structural Causes
There are some profound causes which go to the very heart of national life and are peculiar to France. They concern demography, the economy, sociology and mentalities.
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