France's drift into war and subsequent collapse have often been attributed to her level of confidence. Either she had too much, or too little. This work contends that these two moods were not mutually exclusive, that they coexisted throughout the interwar years, sustained by competing visions of the Republic and of the best way to ensure national security. Early chapters describe the tensions within French interwar foreign policy, as well as the ensuing historiographical tensions among scholars intent on interpreting the French experience. Subsequent chapters explore tensions in defence and economic policies, domestic politics and ideological allegiance, public attitudes and opinion.

ROBERT J. YOUNG is Professor of History at the University of Winnipeg, Canada.

Introduction
France Ambivalent, 1919-1940
Historical Ambivalence, 1940-1990s
Accord and Disaccord
Political Division and Ideological Debate
Economics and More Counter-Prophecies On Ideas, Attitudes, Opinions
Notes
Bibliography.