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Security and Defense

 Silhouette de drone militaire sur fond coucher de soleil.

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.

Ifri's 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.

Elie TENENBAUM

Research Fellow, Director of Ifri's Security Studies Center

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Jérémy BACHELIER

Military Fellow, Security Studies Center

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Héloïse FAYET

Research Fellow, Security Studies Center

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Amélie FEREY

Research Fellow, Head of the Defense Research Unit - LRD, Security Studies Center

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Léo PÉRIA-PEIGNÉ

Research Fellow, Security Studies Center

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Marc HECKER

Deputy Director of Ifri, Editor-in-Chief of Politique étrangère, and research fellow at the Security Studies Center

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Pierre NÉRON-BANCEL

Military fellow within the Defense Research Unit of IfriI’s Center for Security Studies.

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Guillaume GARNIER

Associate Research Fellow, Security Studies Center

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Jean-Louis LOZIER

Advisor, Security Studies Center

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Jean-Christophe NOËL

Associate Research Fellow, Security Studies Center

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Le lancement d'un missile balistique depuis l'eau
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...
Ansongo, Mali - December 2015 : Daily life of french soldiers of barkhane military operation in Mali (Africa) launch in 2013 against terrorism in the area.
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...
satellite réaliste en orbite terrestre basse. Rendu 3D
The Observatory on Future Conflicts is a multiannual frame contract run by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) and Geo4i under the supervision of the three armed services headquarters (Air Force,...
L'Europe la nuit vue de l'espace avec des lumières de la ville montrant l'activité humaine en Allemagne, France, Espagne, Italie et d'autres pays, rendu 3d de la planète Terre, éléments de la NASA
Europe is faced with a degradation of its security environment, which affects all of the neighboring regional theaters and occurs along the entire conflict spectrum (Russian strategic resurgence, instability and civil wars around the Mediterranean Sea, changing patterns of jihadist terrorism, etc...
Soldiers patrolling near Louvre museum. France strengthened the measures to combat crime and terrorism.
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. ...
10/10/2023

As US-China rivalry reaches its peak and the likelihood of a high-intensity conflict in the region seems greater than ever, this report advocates for a pragmatic recalibration of France’s strategic posture in the Indo-Pacific. This adjustment should be grounded in a realistic reframing of...

29/09/2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, marked a turning point in German defense policy. After thirty years of military downsizing, the Bundeswehr found itself at an extremely low capability level just as a high-intensity war involving a great power was breaking out on Europe’s...

27/06/2023

With a rapidly deteriorating security environment, a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, internal disputes exploding into public view, and questions being raised about the scope of its security responsibilities, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) seemed to be in dire straits at the...

01
Feb
2023
Wednesday 01 February 2023 to Thursday 02 February 2023
from Wednesday 1 February 2023 15:00 to Thursday 2 February 2023 14:00 - Seminars and Round-table Conferences

The Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) and the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) are organizing the fifth edition of the 4x4 Directors Forum on February 1-2, 2023, in Rabat, Morocco.

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09
Jun
2022
Thursday 09 June 2022
from 12:30 to 14:00 - Conférences

Russia’s war on Ukraine has shaken the foundations of Western foreign policy and the multilateral rules-based order. Institutions built to preserve this order – like NATO, the G7, and the EU – have had to rethink their threat assessments and postures. France, Germany, Italy, and the UK have...