Japan’s space program has evolved greatly since the end of the Cold War, driven by a rapidly changing geopolitical environment and tailored by the emergence of an “intra-alliance hedging strategy”.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit the countries of the European Union (EU) hard.

Middle Eastern geopolitics is currently undergoing structural changes: the regional order is in transition in the aftermath of the Arab Spring that undermined authoritarian governance, and triggered the competition for power against a backdrop of American withdrawal. 

The geopolitical shadow of the Gulf now extends far beyond the Middle East as a function the external dealings of Iran and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

An irreplaceable reservoir of biodiversity and freshwater, the Amazon basin has become extremely important in this age of climate disruption.

China is rapidly emerging as a formidable power in the development of technical standards, transforming the international standard-setting landscape and reintroducing an element of geopolitics into what are too often considered as benign, technical processes. 

Navigating the mounting tensions between the United States and China is a geopolitical minefield. Is Europe up to the challenge?

In this special issue of Politique étrangère devoted to the proceedings of the conference organized by Ifri on April 10, 2019, in the Grand Amphitheater of the Sorbonne, on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, read the foreword by Thierry de Montbrial, founder and president of Ifri.