Jolyon Howorth is now officially French
(B2) The famous British professor Jolyon Howorth, specialist in European security and defense policy, received his certificate of French nationality on Tuesday evening (June 4) from the hands of the French ambassador in Brussels (Claude-France Arnould) and the consul general (Raphael Trannoy)
We were thus reunited with some friends and personalities who have worked on European defense issues, from Joachim Bitterlich (former adviser to Helmut Kohl) to Pierre Vimont (former Secretary General of the EEAS and Ambassador in Washington) via Jamie Shea ( former NATO spokesman) and Giles Merritt (Friends of Europe), to celebrate the entry into the corpus of French citizenship " of one of the most French of the British ". A naturalization which is not insignificant since it intervenes under the title " exceptional services to France or whose naturalization is of exceptional interest to France as our host, the French Ambassador to Belgium, Claude-France Arnould, explained.
A long-considered choice
The choice of French nationality is not simply due to chance or to Brexit. Jolyon, who knows France as well as you and I, is able to speak English... with a French accent. He is a Parisian by adoption, where he resides semi-permanently (with another pied-à-terre in the south of France). He still has a small apartment in the 5th, his favorite neighborhood since 1968. He was a lecturer at the Sorbonne III Nouvelle University from 1969 to 1977. He had already thought of applying for French nationality – he told us entrusted – but had come up against the veto of his then wife. THE " long live France, long live the Republic » which punctuated his speech is therefore a real cry from the heart.
A specialist in French history
For those who have forgotten (like me), Jolyon is not only a European defense specialist recognized by all. He is also a fan of the history of French socialism. He thus devoted his thesis (in French history) to the role played by Edouard Vaillant (and Jean Jaurès) in the creation of the unified socialist party in France. " A rare moment from 1905 to 1920 when the left was reunited ". Interesting research at a time when the European elections again showed “ the dispersion into several parties claiming socialism ».
A precursor in European defense autonomy
In the field of defence, his work has taken root because he began to take an interest in this subject very early on. His first book on the subject dates from 1997 (“ The European Union and national defense policy, with Anand Menon); he is already interested in the question of " state autonomy alias 'strategic autonomy' or 'freedom of action'. In 2000, he published a somewhat prescient book: “ European integration and defence: the ultimate challenge? » and reiterates in 2003 with a « The EU, NATO and the Quest for European Autonomy (with John TS Keeler). To end with his work which has become a reference, “ Security and Defense Policy in the European Union (2nd edition 2014).
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Read also: Interviews. A 'grand strategy' for Europe (J. Howorth)
