United States of America
Despite polarized domestic politics and social tensions, the United States remains a major player in international relations, on the economic, military and diplomatic levels.
Related Subjects
John Kerry in the Middle East: from Weak to Hopeful Diplomacy?
In 2013, Barak Obama and John Kerry managed, not without difficulty, to steer Israeli and Palestinian leaders back to peace negotiations. At the same time, Washington re-established dialogue with Tehran in talks aimed at finding a solution to the Iranian nuclear problem.
Réduire la taille des portions : Les guerres alimentaires aux États-Unis
At times of TTIP negotiations, the American food industry frightens the Europeans. Having elaborated marketing practices and also unhealthy foodstuffs, it is largely kept responsible for obesity epidemic which strikes the United States since the 1980s. however, the American civil society organized itself and the industrialists now have to act more carefully. What is the state of the balance of power today?
LIBERATION: Obama the Fatalist : the American president and the Middle East
ISIS's recent military advances in Iraq leave some reconsidering American intervention in the region.
FRANCE CULTURE : Middle East: A War of Religion
Iraq is in chaos: unleashed ancestral hatred, civil war, religious war, porous borders, embarrassed chancellery,the rise of a jihad spanning from the Sahara to the Sahel that even recruits in Europe, quick conquest by ISIS.... looking at the situation that Sunnis and Shiites face in Iraq and Syria.
In addition to renewed ancestral rivalries, war and porous borders, ISIS's rise in Iraq leaves the region in a state of utter chaos. Taking a look at the situation Sunnis and Shiites face in Iraq and Syria.
Obama at West Point
President Obama presented the case for his foreign policy last week – again. He addressed the cadet corps at West Point in what was billed as a comprehensive strategic statement for the balance of his tenure in office, and for America's future. Obama's speech came just over a week after John Kerry issued his own call for America to take a large and active role in the world — urging Americans not to "allow a hangover from the excessive interventionism of the last decade to lead now to an excess of isolationism in this decade." It set the pitch and tone for the President's address. [1]
FRANCE CULTURE: What America will Obama leave the world?
One could say that the President of the United States, with just over two years left in his second term, worries about the state of the country he will leave for his successors. "What America will Obama leave the world?"
BFM BUSINESS: BNP Paribas: Will France and the United States take up arms just three days before the ceremnoies commemorating the D-Day invasion?
On June 3, 2014, Laurence Nardon, head of the United States Program at IFRI joined Fabrice Lundy on "Les décodeurs de l'éco."
How to Misread Polls
Poll numbers are the life blood of politics these days. Anything expressed in digits has a claim to truth that assertions without digits cannot make. They inspire confidence - especially among those aspiring to public office - that they actually understand what public sentiment is.
Obama announces "Opportunity Ladder"
There are moments in life when you receive an unmistakable sign that the game is over. That it’s time to fold your tent, to pull up stakes, to pack it in, to furl the flag, to trim the sails, to let go of a lost cause. At best, to wait for next year. In the extreme, to write it off permanently. And if one chooses to breast the tide, to do so stoically.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: 'Freedom fries' forgotten, Hollande visits Obama amid warming ties
Laurence Nardon, head of the United States Program at IFRI, sheds light on Franco-American relations in an article by Sara Miller Llara in the The Christian Science Monitor.
LE FIGARO: Europe and Obama : I loved you but not anymore
Are America and Europe growing apart or does the U.S. still have a privileged tie with the Europeans?
FRANCE CULTURE: United States: Permanently altered global alliances
Washington's relationships with a number of key allies are in a worrying decline. Israel and Saudi Arabia are keeping their distance from Barack Obama as a result of diverging opinions on nuclear negotiations with Iran.... This disenchantment also effects Afghanistan where President Karzai has turned away from the United States as have allies Pakistan and Turkey.
The Return of Robert Gates
The memoirs of public men are exercises in self-promotion and self-justification. They are designed to etch a portrait of the (wo)man that will live across time. It's the legacy thing. These days, that legacy pertains also to the "here and now" since memoirs are not necessarily the conclusion of a career but rather the curtain-raising on its next act.
Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.
Americas Program
Ifri's work on the Americas region focuses mainly on the United States. Indeed, for more than 20 years, Ifri's Americas Program has provided keys to understanding American society and domestic policy while shedding light on developments in the country's foreign policy, including transatlantic relations and trade issues.
Since 2023, a specific axis on Latin America structures more actively Ifri's research on this region.
Ifri's Canada program was active in 2015 and 2016.