Governance and Societies
States remain essential pillars of the international system, even if they are not the only players. Governance is a local, national and international issue.
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Quest for Strategic Autonomy? Europe Grapples with the US - China Rivalry
Building on the 2020 European Think Tank Network on China (ETNC) report, which assessed Europe’s positioning amid the strategic rivalry between the United States and China, this edition re-examines the geopolitical landscape in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House. This report features 22 national chapters and one dedicated to the EU, analysing the evolution of Europe’s relations with Washington and Beijing, the range of approaches to dealing the US-China rivalry and how these are expected to evolve.
What Is Dividing the West?
Once united by shared values and strategic interests, the West is increasingly fractured along ideological lines. Just as illiberal politicians have spent years building an international reactionary movement, their liberal counterparts must foster transatlantic dialogue to forge a common democratic vision.
Mid-term Elections in the Philippines: The Clan War Reaches New Heights
Three years after the last general and presidential elections, Filipino voters once again went to the polls on May 12, 2025, to elect their municipal and parliamentary representatives.
“There is, however, a real sense of urgency,” around the Franco-German relationship, says Marie Krpata, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and member of its Franco-German Relations Committee.
“Emmanuel Macron has only two years left to make progress on European files, while the far right lurks in the wings – in both Paris and Berlin.”
quoted by Laurent Geslin in Euractiv
Doing Politics in African Cities Actors, Causes and Forms of Urban Social Mobilization
From Maputo to Nairobi and from Lagos to Dakar: recently, African cities have been the theatre of mobilizations by groups of young protesters.
Replay of Ifri's webinar held on April 17, 2025.
Migrations Between Mexico and the United States: More of the Same or a Headlong Rush?
As Trump prepares to tighten border controls with Mexico and carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Mexico is questioning the economic consequences of this migration policy and expects to have to negotiate the issue in connection with the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Manufacturing Risk: Geopolitical Doxa and the Corporate World
The evolving power dynamics between the United States, China, and Russia are creating new geopolitical realities that businesses can no longer evade. Geopolitical risk has become unavoidable, yet many companies remain unprepared to navigate its complexities. Corporate leaders can no longer afford to overlook its implications.
Donald Trump v. the States: the Case of New York
While the disruptive policies of the second Trump administration are being implemented at the federal level and on the international stage, they are also being felt in the federal states and major cities across the country. In the spring of 2025, several cases involving the state and city of New York demonstrate that the president’s attacks on environmental protection, the separation of powers, freedom of speech, etc., are also being carried out at the local level.
The China-led AIIB, a geopolitical tool?
The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2016, on a Chinese initiative, constituted an attempt to bridge the gap in infrastructure financing in Asia. However, it was also perceived in the West as a potential vehicle for China’s geostrategic agendas, fueling the suspicion that the institution might compete rather than align with existing multilateral development banks (MDBs) and impose its own standards.
Friedrich Merz and the Zeitenwende 2.0. A “New Era” for Transatlantic Relations?
On February 23, 2025, almost 60 million voters were called upon to elect a new Bundestag. These elections will also give rise to a new government in Europe's largest economy.
France Contested in Overseas Territories - Politique étrangère, Vol. 90, No. 1, Spring 2025
New Caledonia, Mayotte: France's overseas territories were severely shaken in 2024. Beyond explanations of the economic situation, the place of these overseas territories in French policies and strategies is once again being called into question.
Are France's overseas territories the remnants of an outdated colonialism? Or, on the contrary, are they supports for an extended French presence that the opening-up of the world makes indispensable, and barriers raised here and there against the appetites of new powers? In any case, what policies should the Hexagone pursue in these regions, to promote better development and more effective integration into their environment? And is the legal status of these overseas territories untouchable?
When City Diplomacy Meets Geopolitics: A Framework to Help Cities Navigate Geopolitical Risk
Crises and the increasing polarization of international relations make political risk analysis an indispensable resource for internationally active public and private entities.
Will Trumpian Authoritarianism Lead to a Constitutional Crisis?
Since his return to the White House on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has signed around sixty executive orders to implement his political agenda. Numerous other measures have also been introduced by the White House and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as part of these orders.
From Conservative Nationalists to Tech-Libertarians: Far-Right Ideologies in the Trump 2 Administration
The officials and advisers of the Trump 2 administration represent diverse ideological currents, some of which are relatively new to Washington.
Commanders of Putin's Long War: Purged, Reshuffled and Disgruntled
The trend of reshuffling the Russian top military command in the course of a fast-evolving and far from successful war has progressed unevenly both across the Armed Forces’ structures and in time. The rationale for and timing of the abrupt cadre decisions made by Commander-in-Chief Putin often defy logical explanation, and the rare official clarifications are no more informative than the usual information blackout.
Barriers and Adaptations To Rural-Urban Mobility: A Focus of the Milk Value Chain in Peri-Urban Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya has per capita milk consumption of 110 litters of milk per year, making the inhabitants the largest milk consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. The daily sector requires functional infrastructure adapted to weather conditions, as well as affordable and easily accessible means of transport. However, only 18% of Kenya's road network is considered to be in good condition . As a result, farmers take alternative routes, reduce the number of trips, or limit their sales to the urban periphery. The daily transport of milk along the 47-kilometer urban-rural continuum in the peri-urban area north of Nairobi illustrates the reciprocal links between urban and rural areas and the dynamics of peri-urbanization. The challenges of the flow of milk along the value chain are intrinsically linked to those of mobility, which creates the connection between production, the exchange of goods and services, and consumption.
City Diplomacy and Human Mobility in Africa. Protecting Refugees and Migrants along the Central Mediterranean Route from the East and the Horn of Africa
Cities face constraints to work on migration and refugee issues, often due to a lack of decentralisation and resource constraints. Adopting an inclusive city approach can safeguard local authorities’ commitment towards providing protection to residents regardless of status, while not overstepping legal mandates.
Rebooting Italy's Africa Policy: Making the Mattei Plan Work
Against the backdrop of increasing anti-French rhetoric across parts of Francophone Africa, the relative failure of the counterinsurgency operation in the central Sahel (Operation Barkhane) and diplomatic rifts with several Sahelian countries, Paris has been rethinking its relationship with the continent for several years now. As a former imperial power that has seen its colonial domain in Africa gain independence between 1956 (Morocco-Tunisia) and 1977 (Djibouti), France has invented two successive roles for itself in Africa since 1960, particularly in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.
From Crisis Hotspots to Convening Powers. African Cities Launch Diplomacy to Create Climate Mobility Partnerships
African local governments cannot afford to turn into climate mobility hotspots without taking proactive action – drawing on local knowledge, convening power and access to affected communities.
The dilemma of the Franco-African military relationship: reinvent or turn the page?
The origins of military presence and cooperation in Africa can be traced back to the tacit decolonization pact between the countries of French-speaking Africa. This cooperation led to the creation of African armies in the former colonies, as part of a project to prevent the spread of communism and maintain France's influence in the newly independent countries.
The Evolution of City Diplomacy in Africa: Impact, Potential, and Ongoing Challenges of African Cities’ International Activities.
Over the past decades, African cities have ranked among the leading players in the evolution of city diplomacy. Indeed, municipalities across the continent have gone beyond simply adapting to shifting trends in international cooperation. They have been shaping the current partnership approach that sees local authorities worldwide working together to pursue shared goals and address common urban challenges such as climate change, migration, and social justice.
Why do migrants still leave northern France to head to UK?
Migrants who head to the United Kingdom often see it less as a panacea than a last-ditch means-to-an-end, according to Matthieu Tardis, an expert in migration policy at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
Europe still mired in division after migrant crisis
Since taking in more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in 2015, Europe has stepped up border controls but still falls short on common migration and asylum policies.
Calais Migrant Crisis: Refugees Risk Their Lives To Leaves France For UK
The distance between Dover, England, and Calais, France, is only 30 miles. For migrants and refugees trying to cross from France to Britain through a tunnel underneath the English Channel, however, that short distance represents a dangerous journey and a risk of deportation, grave injury and even death.
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Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.
