11/07/2018
The designation of an enemy is always the result of a political decision, which generally leads to the opening of hostilities.
Security and Defense
The relative simplicity of the Cold War has given way to a series of crises and conflicts involving heterogeneous actors and unpredictable situations. Today, security studies require an integrated approach that takes into account both regional and global dimensions, as well as political trends (coalitions, pressure from the media, strategic rivalries and limited wars) and military dynamics (nuclear and conventional capabilities, reduced force structures, types and methods of intervention).
Since the 1990s, Ifri’s Security Studies Center has stimulated debate and contributed to the improvement of strategic thinking in France through its conferences and widely read publications (in French and English). The Center also works on behalf of public and private policymakers through briefs and closed-door seminars.
The Security Studies Center analyzes traditional defense issues as well as the evolution of the broader field of security. The Center’s programs are designed to be enduring and cross disciplinary, and are conducted with the help of other Ifri research units. Through its innovative work, the Center has two objectives: influencing a wide public with its publications – in particular its two electronic paper series “Focus stratégique” and “Proliferation Papers” – and making recommendations to all the actors involved in public security. Accordingly, various reports and projects are realized on behalf of the Ministries of Defense, the Interior and Foreign Affairs.
Corentin BRUSTLEIN
Research fellow, Head of the Security Studies Center
Serge CAPLAIN
Chercheur au Laboraire de Recherche sur la Défense (LRD) à l'Ifri
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Marc HECKER
Marc Hecker is Ifri's Director of publications and Editor-in-Chief of Politique étrangère. He is a research fellow at the Security Studies Center.
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Aline LEBOEUF
Research fellow, Security Studies Center, Defense Research Unit
Morgan PAGLIA
Chercheur junior
Elie TENENBAUM
Research fellow at IFRI's Security Studies Center, coordinator...
Vivien PERTUSOT
Associated Research Fellow
The prospect of completely eliminating nuclear weapons seems distant. In sharp contrast with the pragmatic ambitions outlined by Barack Obama in his 2009 speech in Prague, and even more so with the hopes brought about by the fall of the Berlin Wall, nuclear weapons should no longer be perceived...
Western armies today face a triple challenge. First, they have been involved in “wars amongst populations” for twenty-five years, having to cope with failed states, fractured societies, and irregular adversaries. Counterinsurgency (COIN) may be out of fashion, but stabilization operations remain...
The porosity of borders has become a key characteristic of contemporary international relations. While this has long been recognized for trade and information networks, it also has an impact on the field of defense and security.
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03/07/2018
The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) called for tailoring assurance across America’s allies, including NATO, as part of an overall deterrence and assurance strategy.
25/06/2018
Deception operations, which refer to manoeuver, economy of armed forces and surprise, need to be reintegrated at the center of strategy to respond efficiently to modern threats.
06/06/2018
Since 2015, several countries in the European Union have been hit by attacks.
06/06/2018
The cyber world has undoubtedly become a part of geopolitics, in the way that it shapes, in its own way, relationships between the actors of the international stage.
06/06/2018
Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated.
18/05/2018
US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will severely degrade regional and global security. His decision has increased the risk of war and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and beyond. ...
04/05/2018
Something is happening with the military forces of the Arab monarchies in the Gulf.
13/04/2018
How can we define Emmanuel Macron’s foreign policy since he took office? After Nicolas Sarkozy’s brazen style of “gutsy diplomacy” and François Hollande’s “normal diplomacy”, the eighth president of the Fifth Republic seems to have opted for an agile classicism. In substance, he makes no claim...
10/04/2018
This study, based on original judicial sources, assesses the profiles of 137 individuals sentenced in France for cases related to jihadism.
14
Jun
2018
from 16:00 to 17:15
- Ifri Conferences
Eurosatory conference: "Strategic Landpower for the 21st Century" Conference-debate
Landpower has long been dissociated from "strategic forces", as these generally refer to long-range and/or high-yield strike capabilities.However, the recent military commitments contest this notion and highlight the current and future strategic value of landpower.
10
Apr
2018
from 11:00 to 12:30
- Ifri Conferences
Shedding New Light on Terrorism in France
France is the Western country the most severely impacted by acts of terrorism. Some 1300 French citizens have left for Syria and Iraq, among which 330 have returned.
05
Oct
2017
from Thursday 5 October 2017 14:30 to Friday 6 October 2017 13:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
QUAD 2017 Réunion annuelle
Since 1983, the QUAD gathers every year, the SWP, RAND Corporation, Chatham House and Ifri.
07
Dec
2016
from 16:45 to 18:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
Estonia and European Security after the Warsaw Summit
Closed-door Seminar with Her Excellency Kersti KALJULAID, President of the Republic of Estonia.
13
Sep
2016
from 13:00 to 14:30
- Dinners and Luncheons
Iran after the Nuclear Deal: Open for Business? Les Mensuelles Ifri/Entreprises
These luncheon-debates are dedicated to corporate and individual benefactor members. By personal invitation only.
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14
Jun
2016
from 14:30 to 16:00
- External Events
Eurosatory seminar: "Training and Equipping Foreign Forces" Lessons and Future of Capacity-Building
This event will cross various perspectives on the strategic rationale behind capacity-building efforts, assess current and future challenges to those endeavors, and provide an overview of how the European Union and France implement it in the field and in...
27
Oct
2015
from 09:30 to 11:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
Japan’s New Security Legislation: A Rupture with its Postwar History?
Makoto Iokibe, a renowned expert of Japanese diplomatic history and security policy, will offer his insight on Japan’s new security legislation.
23
Sep
2015
from 09:30 to 12:00
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
Regional and Global Impact: The Changing Situation in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea Area
The French Institute of International Relations and the Embassy of Sweden in France are jointly organising a closed seminar with the Swedish Defence Minister, Peter Hultqvist, and the Director General for International Relations and Strategy at the French Ministry of Defence, ...
28
Apr
2015
from 10:30 to 14:30
NATO's Framework Nations Concept: The Panacea?
This expert seminar gathered officials from national ministries of defense, national delegations to NATO, officials from NATO, the EDA, and the EEAS, as well as experts. The objective was to discuss the ambitions of the framework nations concept for framework nations as well as for partner...
22
Apr
2015
from 14:30 to 16:30
- Seminars and Round-table Conferences
The United States and the Iran Nuclear Negotiations Closed seminar with Robert Litwak
The United States Program and the Center for Security Studies at IFRI hosed Robert Litwak, Vice-President and Director of Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center for a closed seminar on April 22.
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12/07/2018
On July 16, Djamel Beghal is expected to be released from the Rennes-Vezin prison in the west of France. Beghal is a well-known figure in the European jihadist sphere. Born in Algeria in 1965, he settled in France in 1987. Ten years later, he moved to the United Kingdom with his French...
23/01/2018
Corentin Brustlein, head of Ifri's Security Studies Center, has appointed as a member of the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. He is attending the 69th Session of the Council, which is...
18/10/2017
An interview with Jon WOLFSTHAL, nonresident scholar, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
24/05/2017
Philippines' President wants to limit islamist groups' capacity after several attacks in the South of the country.
28/07/2016
Opinion column published in "The Globe and Mail"
04/06/2016
Sentinel represents a watershed development in French military operations. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the number of French army soldiers actively deployed in metropolitan France roughly equals that of overseas operations. But the military establishment here is far...
02/06/2016
The alliance is struggling to assemble four battalions to safeguard its eastern flank from a possible Russian attack. In addition, many member states are falling short of their...
16/11/2015
PARIS — Crowds gathered on Monday to place flowers and candles and pay their respects to the 89 people killed at the Bataclan, as speculation swirled about why the legendary music hall was the target of the most brutal of the terrorist attacks on Friday.
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22/04/2015
Robert Litwak from the Wilson Center joined Ifri on April 22, 2015 for a seminar on the U.S.-Iranian nuclear negotiations. In this video, he analyzes the different views on Iran and its regime.
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22/04/2015
Robert Litwak is the Vice President for Scholars and Director of International Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.