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.
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How Rwanda Became Africa’s Policeman
From Benin to Mozambique, President Paul Kagame is flexing his small country’s military muscle—and transforming the continent’s security landscape.
Why a reconciliation between Washington and Teheran seems impossible.
Relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic are marked by history. On the Iranian side, the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 weighs heavily on the perception of the United States. On the American side, the events linked to the 1979 Islamic Revolution remain a trauma after more than forty years. The agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and signed in July 2015, was therefore a momentous first step towards a possible reconciliation. Unfortunately, the process was interrupted by the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement and the implementation of a "maximum pressure" policy by the Trump administration in 2018.

We need to talk about Xi Jinping: G7’s discord over powerful trading partner
Disagreements have opened up about strategy when China is also seen as an existential threat. Western powers in the G7 group of nations are failing to coordinate their China strategies, senior western officials admit, adding that the need to do so has been given sharp impetus by Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power at this month’s Communist party congress.
The historical heritage of AUKUS: Australia-United States-United Kingdom relations since 1900
The signing of the AUKUS partnership agreement between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom in September 2021 seems to have reconstituted a natural coalition between “Anglo-Saxon” states. This solidarity generates contradictory judgments.
The European Union Industrial Strategy: Reconciling Competition and Geoeconomic Challenges
The EU’s basic assumptions, on which it grounds its economic and trade power, are being steadily cast into doubt. The EU’s main trade partners, the US and China, increasingly set their sights on securing their supply chains, which may further a potential decoupling.
More Europe in the face of realpolitik’s return? French perspectives on 30 years of German reunification
The current geopolitical situation has disrupted the European and global order, which were both consolidated in the 1990s and have been key factors in the modern German model. The Franco-German duo is currently facing new challenges and it will have to respond appropriately in a time when the EU’s global influence is shrinking in the face of what some analysts call a “new Cold War”.

French delight as Emmanuel Macron will be first world leader to visit Biden in US
President Macron is set to become the first world leader to make a state visit to the US during the Biden presidency, to the delight of Paris. Following the announcement on Tuesday, some commentators claimed that France was being “pampered” by the US, while others drew a contrast with what they described as Britain’s loss of prestige on the global stage following Brexit.
The U.S. Political Landscape Two Months Before Midterms. Can the Democrats Avoid Defeat?
The Biden Administration has succeeded this summer in passing several important pieces of legislation. In addition to progressive societal measures that break with the Supreme Court's rulings, the Administration has focused on the economy and the environment: the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act promote the relocation of semiconductor and electric vehicle battery plants.
Support and conflict: transatlantic agricultural trade since 1945
Agriculture is an area of strategic importance, where relations between the United States and the European Union (EU) vary from solidarity to competition.
Implications of the Global Supply Chain Reform: A Taiwanese Perspective
How have both the private and public sectors in Taiwan sought to mitigate the challenges posed by the reform agenda for global supply chains (GSCs)?
Blaming El Norte: The Economic Realities of Anti-Americanism South of the Rio Grande
For more than half a century, Cuba captured America’s attention as a symbol of anti-Americanism right in its own backyard. As normalized relations between the United States and Cuba bring these iconic hostilities to a close, many wonder if Castro’s Cold War rhetoric is finally dead. Borne primarily by Venezuela and Ecuador, Latin America's anti-Americanism has in fact merely transformed into an equally aggravating but less consequential trend today. Economic dependency tempers this new thorn in the United States’ side.
The US Shale Oil Revolution: The Test of the Business Model is Underway
Since 2010, the United States has been undergoing a second shale revolution with the very rapid development of Light Tight Oil (LTO) or shale oil, following the revolution in shale gas. This development has allowed the production of oil and liquids to increase, so that the US is the world’s largest producer today, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The end of globalization ?
Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C, was the guest of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) on September 29th 2014. In this video, he analyzes the major economic trends post-2008, and predicts the end of globalization.
The Difficult Issue of College Rape in America
Cette Actuelle est la quatrième d'une série de quatre Chroniques américaines sur l'éducation aux Etats-Unis, publiées cette semaine.
MOOCs: Re-Creating Affordable Education
This piece is the thrid in a series of four Chroniques américaines on education in the United States, published this week.
Sixty Years after Brown: Resegregation in America
This piece is the second in a series of four Chroniques américaines on education in the United States, published this week.
American Student Loans: Debt, Reform, and the True Cost of Higher Education
This piece is the first in a series of four Chroniques américaines on education in the United States, published this week.
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]
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.
Support independent French research
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 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.
