Reform, Revolution and French Global Policy, 1787-1791

This study into France's attitude to the question of her place in the world system of the late eighteenth century focuses on the policies of the French government during the period when absolutism gradually gave way to radical republican rule. From this analysis of the Old and New Regimes' respective global policies, it demonstrates how French responses to the demands of international competition played a central role in both fostering and shaping the Revolution of 1789.