The French-German Couple: Elites’ Affair or Peoples’ Friendship?

Abstract

Friendship is a term that is commonly used in diplomacy, yet it has long been ignored by international relations. “Friendship between peoples” or “friendly relations” between states are part of standard diplomatic rhetoric. Articles 1§4, 14 and 55 of the United Nations (UN) Charter, for instance, refer to the necessary strengthening of “friendly relations” between states. In October 1970 the General Assembly adopted Resolution 2625 (XXV) on “the principles of international law dealing with friendly relations and cooperation between States”. Peace treaties providing for friendship and cooperation were the usual diplomatic tools in Soviet Russia. The friendship between France and the United States or Iran that is extolled during state visits is generally institutionalized by parliamentary associations soberly entitled “Franco-American parliamentary friendship group” (or Franco-Italian, Franco-Tunisian, etc.). That being said, any head of state visiting a foreign country introduces themselves as a “friend” in the same way as a mediator offers “friendly guidance” to help to resolve a dispute. Quite naturally, civil society, which had become a player in its own right on the international stage, weaves its own networks by consolidating friendly relations between peoples, as demonstrated by early non-governmental organizations, such as International Friendship and Solidarity.