Thierry de MONTBRIAL
Founder and Executive Chairman of the Institute for International Relations
Member of the "Institut de France"
Founder and President of the World Policy Conference
Research Interests:
- Mathematical and Theoretical Economics
- Applied Economics
- Analysis of the International System (History, Geography, Economy, Politics, Security)
- Theory of Action and Decision-Making
Thierry de Montbrial founded the French Institute of International Relations (Institut français des relations internationales, Ifri) in 1979. He has been its President since then.
In 2008, he launched the World Policy Conference. He is a former Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique since 1974 and chaired its Department of Economics between 1974 and 1992. He is Professor Emeritus at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He was the Chairman of the French-Austrian Center for European Economic Convergence (1985-2015).
He serves on the International Advisory Board of Lafarge and chairs the International Advisory Board of OCP Group (Morocco). He is on the Board of Directors of Renault Foundation. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Meetings (1976-2012). He was a member of the Consultative Board to the WTO Director-General, Geneva (2004-2005) and a committee member for the French White Paper on Defence and Security (1993-1994; 2007-2008).
He has been a columnist for Le Monde and for Le Figaro.
In the academic field, he is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE), Washington, of the Carnegie Moscow Center, and of the Advisory Council of the Standford Institute for International Studies. He sits on the editorial advisory board of Foreign Policy, Washington, the editorial board of Russia in Global Affairs, Moscow, and the editorial board of the The South African Journal of International Affairs, Johannesburg.
He is a Visiting Professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing.
Between 1993 and 2001, he was the first Chairman of the Foundation for Strategic Research (Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, FRS).
In 1973, he was entrusted with the creation of the Policy Planning Staff (Centre d'Analyse et de Prévision, CAP) at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was its Director from 1973 to 1979.
In June 1992, he was elected as a member of the Institut de France (Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques) of which he was elected chairman for the year 2001. He is also a founding member of the Académie des Technologies. He was elected as a member of the Academia Europaea in March 1993, of the Académie Royale de Belgique in January 1996, of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in May 1999, of the Romanian Academy in December 1999, of the Russian Academy of Sciences in June 2003, of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences in January 2006, of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in July 2006, and of the Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras, Spain in 2008.
He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Romanian Academy of Economic Studies (1996), of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (2002), of the University of Brasov, Romania (2003), of the University Galatasaray, Turkey (2004), of the University of Chisinau, Moldova (2005), of the State Institute for International Relations / MGIMO, Moscow (2007), of the University of Bucarest, Romania (2011) and of the A. I. Cuza University of Iasi, Romania (2014).
He was awarded the Grand Prix of the French Geographic Society in 2003.
He is a Commandeur of the Légion d’honneur, Grand Officier of the ordre national du Mérite and has been awarded other state honors by the French and several foreign governments (Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Italy…).
Thierry de Montbrial is the author of many professional articles and of twenty books (several of them translated in various languages) in economics and international affairs, including Action and Reaction in the World System - The Dynamics of Economic and Political Power. UBC Press, Vancouver, Toronto, 2013. He has also contributed to various collective works.
Thierry de Montbrial was born on March 3, 1943. He is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines, and received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Looking back on the last few weeks, a famous quote by Goethe (from his report on the siege of Mainz in 1793) came to mind: “Better to commit an injustice than to countenance disorder.” In other words, disorder engenders more injustice than it eradicates. But, if one word...
As Europeans get ready for their summer holidays, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be winding down, despite hotspots cropping up here and there. However, we are not safe from the next wave. After so many careless speeches, nobody dares to make any more precise forecasts. In any case, any...
As I write these lines, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be following the pathway forecast by those epidemiologists and virologists, who have been telling us for weeks that the wave is past its peak. If it is, this does not mean that we are safe from a second wave some time later, but only that...
After my first editorial a month ago (it seems like forever!), I am back with some concise remarks.
It is not easy to step back and gain perspective on a battle that is raging on the home front for all of us and has not yet reached its peak. However, I do want to share some of my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic, especially its context.
The French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) celebrated its 40th anniversary in the spring of 2019, in a completely different environment to when it was founded, which was dominated by the competition between the two “superpowers” of the time, the United States and the...
RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
RAMSES 2019. The Clashes of the Future, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of global geopolitics.
One of the focal points of my writings has consisted of shedding light on the problem that arises from the heterogeneity of the international (or national) system, and the need for its components to reach agreement on the rules of the game and thus avoid collapsing into hostile blocs—as well...
RAMSES 2018. Will the Information War Take Place?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of global geopolitics.
Thierry de Montbrial, Executive Chairman of Ifri, is interviewed by Yang RUI for China Global Television Network (CGTN), on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, November 2019. He analyzes the position of Europe in a world dominated by the Chinese-American competition.
Thierry de Montbrial, executive chairman of Ifri, one of the founding member of the Paris Peace Forum, discusses multilateralism and global governance. Ifri, a leading French think tank in international relations in Europe and internationally, has been supported the Paris Peace Forum (PPF)...
An interview with Thierry de Montbrial, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Ifri, on the occasion of his participation in the Trilateral Commission.
Thierry de Montbrial makes a statement on the 11th edition of the World Policy Conference (WPC) held from October, 26-28, 2018, in Rabat, Morocco.
An interview led by John Andrews, contributing editor, The Economist.
There are two main reasons the United States will maintain its primacy on the world stage. The first is that, in a world of weak or broken identities, theirs remains strong, despite racial tensions and the growth of social inequality. The US is a land of immigrants, who swept the plate clean –...
The US and China are headed for a technological arms race that could disrupt the status quo of global trade, according to Thierry de Montbrial, founder and executive chairman of the French Institute for International Relations, and chairman of the World Policy Conference.
The UK leaving the EU. Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. The crushing defeat of Italy's prime minister in a national referendum. 2016 was a year of massive change led by populism. The roots of this trend are widespread, and they involve the ideological divide between the...