61

To intervene or not? That is the question for Western forces whenever a new conflict breaks out. Though the decision to engage troops is the responsibility of government decision makers, citizens’ support is one of the elements which they take into account. Through a comparison between France and Britain, this article aims to assess citizens’ support for military interventions, questioning its roots and understanding its national variations. The analysis is based on two datasets: the European Values Survey and a collection of print media ( Le Monde, Ouest-France, The Independent, and The Sun). According to our results, the national army is currently very highly viewed, which is beneficial for its deployment outside national borders. However, its operations do come under great scrutiny. Were the armed forces to fail to act according to democratic society values, it would be criticized. The army is at the same time subject to citizens’ considerable expectations and is under their control.