In international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

, a rapprochement, which comes from the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 word rapprocher ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries. In the political scene of an individual country rapprochement means the bringing together of diverse political factions as, for example, during metapolitefsi in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.
Other examples of its use are the mending of relations

Sino-American relations

For the article on U.S.-Taiwan relations, see Republic of China – United States relations.Sino-American or People's Republic of China–United States relations refers to international relations between the United States of America and the government of People's Republic of China...

 between the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 under Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 and the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 from 1972 onwards. Additionally, the period known as détente

Détente

Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...

 or 'relaxation' between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1970s was a time of rapprochement.

Rapprochement also refers to a human developmental milestone usually occurring between 15 to 24 months. The child moves away from and then returns to the mother for reassurance (Mahler)

Margaret Mahler

Margaret Schönberger Mahler was a Hungarian physician, who later became interested in psychiatry. She was a central figure on the world stage of psychoanalysis...

.

In the Jointness

Jointness (psychodynamics)

Jointness is a term in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory, describing a new look at normal object relation that takes place from the beginning of life...

type of object relation the individuals (children and adults) jointly determine the extent of rapprochement between themselves, while each of them is sensorily attentive to the strangeness and the separateness that the other represents for him.

Papers and Articles

• Mahler, M.S. (1972) Rapprochement subphase of the separation individuation process. Psychoanal. Q., 41: 487-506. http://www.pep-web.org/
• Solan, Ronnie (1998) Narcissistic Fragility in the Process of Befriending the Unfamiliar. 1998 Psychoanal. Amer. J. Psycho-Anal., Vol. 58: (2)163-186. http://www.springerlink.com
• Solan, Ronnie (1999). The Interaction Between Self and Other: A Different Perspective on Narcissism. Psychoanal. Study of the Child, 54: 193-215.