While solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are booming in Europe (and in other parts of the world), the local industry is closing down. Over the past two years, the European installed solar PV capacity has been multiplied by two. On the other hand, the remaining European manufacturers of solar PV panels are dying.

In the context of deep changes to the international security environment, especially the war in Ukraine, the risks of nuclear proliferation seem quite high, especially in the Middle East and East Asia.

The importance of African cities as economic, political, and social actors is increasing. While Africa used to be perceived as a predominantly rural continent, it is estimated that by 2050, the urban population of the continent will increase by around 900 million people, nearly tripling.^[1] 

Transport, energy, water and telecommunications infrastructures are vital for economic development. These infrastructures are also fundamental for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have suffered a setback notably due to the Covid-19 pandemic, wars, and weak economic performance. Based on the Global Infrastructure Outlook, the world needs 97 trillion dollars ($) in infrastructure investments (energy, water, airports, ports, rail, road, and telecommunications) over 2016-2040, and based on the current investment trends ($79 trillion over the given period), the cumulative global infrastructure investment gap amounts to $18 trillion.

Condemnations of French politics have gained momentum in recent years in French-speaking Africa. The grievances are multiple: military interventions, the persistence of the regional currency inherited from colonial time (CFA franc), development aid policy, restrictive visa policy, etc. However, the reasoned criticism against the French policy in Africa has turned into an anti-French diatribe on social networks and in the simplistic rhetoric of neo-Pan-Africanists.

The United States (US) reliance on foreign supplies of raw and processed critical minerals is pressing Washington to devise a strategy to secure short-, medium- and long-term solutions. Pressure only increased with the booming demand spurred partly by the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) policies.

Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.

Voter turnout for Nigeria's presidential elections in February-March 2023 has never been so low since the country's return to democracy in 1999. Nigeria's new president, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, must now reassure voters that Africa's leading economy is capable of putting the lie to a persistent image of a country in decline.

While the May 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections looked as a difficult test for the flagging Islamo-conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), they eventually held on to power, demonstrating their remarkable foothold in the Turkish context. The party notably recorded one of its highest scores in Konya, confirming the massive and uninterrupted support of this two-million inhabitants central Anatolian city for Turkish political Islam.

The Finnish and Swedish accessions to NATO enable the Alliance to play a more active role in the Baltic region.

As the European Union (EU) prepares for a new round of parliamentary elections, how should the bloc consider its strategy towards China?

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Russian government has been proactive in the ideological realm to ensure the sustainability of the war for Russian society. 

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was formed in 2013 in the context of the currency crisis as an “alternative” to the Merkel government’s policy of rescuing the euro. Since then, the party’s platforms for the European elections in 2014, 2019 and 2024 have become increasingly radical. 

With the war in Ukraine, Germany’s “traffic light” coalition government has had to adapt its climate policy to the upheavals caused by this war, which has turned its economic, energy, and military model upside down. Against a backdrop of high energy costs and increasing calls for reshoring in Europe, German industry is looking at how to maintain its competitiveness while decarbonizing its industry.

Armies’ doctrines of engagement are constantly evolving in line with experience in the field. 

This paper looks at how terrorism has thrived in the East African region, the evolving nature of criminality and terrorism, and the crime-terror nexus in the coastal and maritime areas of East Africa. The emphasis of the analysis is on the Kenyan coastal regions with a focus on three counties, namely, Kwale, Kilifi, and Lamu.

This issue of Politique étrangère looks at three conflicts currently unfolding around the world.

The Ukrainian counter-offensive, which was supposed to result in a major breakthrough in 2023, came up against solid Russian defenses and ended in failure.

France's setbacks in the Sahel should not lead it to forget the long-standing historical ties that bind it to many African countries. 

New Chinese financial technologies, including unparalleled electronic payment systems, have so far failed to threaten U.S. financial dominance.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the climate – even in worst-case scenarios. Across its life cycle, a typical European electric car produces less greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants or noise than its petrol or diesel equivalent. Emissions are usually higher in the production phase, but these are more than offset over time by lower emissions in the use phase. According to the European Environment Agency’s report on electric vehicles, life cycle GHG emissions of EVs are about 17-30% lower than those of petrol and diesel cars.

From the Covid-19 pandemic to the ramifications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international events are fueling fears of an accelerated fragmentation of the global Internet. 

In recent years, South Korea’s ascent in the global arms market has been remarkable. This surge, particularly amid a shifting geopolitical landscape and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War, has captured the attention of security watchers worldwide.

Indonesia is gearing up for its next general election on February 14, with a potential runoff scheduled in late June. This major electoral process will determine the nation’s next president and vice-president since incumbent President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, will step down after ten years in office in compliance with the constitutional limit of two terms.

How are women jihadists prosecuted and sentenced in different European countries? What happens when they are incarcerated? What reintegration programs are in place for women formerly detained for terrorism-related offenses?

As the global economy sits at a crossroad between connectivity-driven globalization and strategic decoupling, technical standardization provides a valuable measure of where we are headed.

The European Green Deal has not been planned for the current extraordinarily deteriorated internal and external environment. Russia’s war in Ukraine, higher interest rates, inflation, strained public finances, weakened value chains, and lack of crucial skills pose unprecedented challenges. 

The advent of the 21^st century has witnessed the rise of the space industry as a pivotal arena of technological innovation, economic opportunity, and geopolitical significance. Amidst this global landscape, South Korea has emerged as an increasingly influential player in space exploration and technology.

The influence of different protest cultures on democracy in Germany and France is complex. The protest takes various forms, serves as political representation, and contributes to the formation of political opinion.

On January 13, 2024, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was reelected for an unprecedented third consecutive term since popular elections began in 1996.

In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.

Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to civilian government after successive military regimes, it has continued to face enormous challenges to its legitimacy and monopoly of the use of force. 

This Briefing offers an analysis of Brazil's political and economic situation and prospects at the end of 2023. It also examines Brazil's position on certain international relations issues, thirteen months after Lula's election.

On January 13th the young Taiwanese democracy will hold its 8th presidential election since direct universal suffrage began in 1996. The same day, the people of Taiwan will elect a new Parliament – the Legislative Yuan – which will start its term on February 1st. President Tsai Ingwen’s second and final term will come to an end in May.

This study aims to decipher the complex relationships between politics, Islam, and society in Uzbekistan and, more specifically, the dynamics at work in the religious revival of Uzbek youth.

This report analyzes the economic and geopolitical situation in Central Asia.

Influences and developments within German agricultural policy have undergone significant transformations over the past 70 years, especially in the context of the dynamic Franco-German relations and the pivotal role both nations play in shaping the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 

The combination of geopolitical tensions, climate disruption, and the growing role of finance in the economy is taking us into uncharted territory. Until recently, each of these subjects was handled separately, but they are now inextricably linked by two shared characteristics: the gravity of the threat, and the fact that they all lay bare the scale of human self-delusions.

France is a seafaring nation. The stability of its national economy, trade, and security are inextricably linked to the maritime character of international trade.

In 2023, forums that amplify the voice of the “Global South” have proliferated and grown louder. As contradictory and divided as they may be, these forums (BRICS+, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), G20, the Group of 77, the European Silk Road Summit…) attest to the emergence of new power relations, and especially new directions in foreign policy, with states rejecting alignment with the dominant powers of the past in favor of putting their own interests first. A new world is taking shape, with changeable, still uncertain, contours.