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Du bon usage de la terreur

Studies
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Date de publication
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Référence taxonomie collections
Focus Stratégique
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Références
Focus stratégique, n° 6, April 2008
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Du bon usage de la terreur
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What is the role of terror in wars in general and in asymmetric conflicts in particular? Why have democratic countries such as France and the United States been confronted to torture in Algeria and Irak? Do terrorists have to be "terrorized"? That article aims at exploring some lines of enquiry in order to answer those particularly sensitive issues.

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Du bon usage de la terreur

Decoration
Author(s)
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Marc HECKER

Intitulé du poste

Executive Director of Ifri, Editor-in-Chief of Politique étrangère, and Research Fellow at the Security Studies Center, Ifri

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 A soldier watching a sunset on an armored infantry fighting vehicle
Security Studies Center
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Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.

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Taking the Pulse: Is France’s New Nuclear Doctrine Ambitious Enough?

Date de publication
12 March 2026
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French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his country’s new nuclear doctrine. Are the changes he has made enough to reassure France’s European partners in the current geopolitical context?

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Macron Offers a Promising Vision for Nuclear Deterrence in Europe

Date de publication
11 March 2026
Accroche

Macron’s concept of ‘forward deterrence’ offers a distinctly European approach to nuclear deterrence.

Héloïse FAYET Darya DOLZIKOVA
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Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Europe’s Long-standing and Enduring Dependence?

Date de publication
10 February 2026
Accroche

The war in Ukraine has underlined the importance of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) in modern conflict, especially a war without clear air superiority and hence a reduced potential for air-launched deep strike. In 2022, the European MLRS fleet was split between a variety of Western platforms developed at the end of the Cold War and specialized in precision strikes.
 

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Autonomous Systems in the Underwater Domain: A Limitless Revolution?

Date de publication
15 January 2026
Accroche

One of the decisive strategic factors in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is the mass use of aerial, maritime, and terrestrial autonomous capabilities, which are transforming the face of the battlefield. Nevertheless, many of these drones are still remotely piloted, operated, or supervised, testifying to the fact that the autonomization of military capabilities is still at an embryonic stage.

How can this study be cited?

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Du bon usage de la terreur
Marc HECKER, « Du bon usage de la terreur », Studies, Focus Stratégique, Ifri, 30 April 2008.
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Du bon usage de la terreur

Du bon usage de la terreur