La fourmilière du général : le commandement opérationnel face aux enjeux de haute intensité
Focus stratégique, n° 89, June 2019
Operational command structures have always been able to adapt to the strategic context. However, they now face a new challenge: high intensity threats.
Modern operational command structures, although very different from their elders, perform more or less the same functions. These are systems of systems which allow military leaders to command and control armed forces in operation, from the highest strategic level to the lowest tactical level. Under the combined effect of new technology, multilateralism or in order to adapt to asymmetric conflicts, these structures have become increasingly complex and resource-intensive. But as high intensity threats are re-emerging, command structures will need to evolve and face new challenges, especially in terms of vulnerability. Even though inertia and resistance to change should not be downplayed, there is ample room for improvement, mixing technology and human factor, so as to better protect existing structures and adapt them to their new environment.
This content is only available in French: La fourmilière du général: le commandement opérationnel face aux enjeux de haute intensité.
Available in:
Regions and themes
ISBN / ISSN
Share
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programs
Security Studies Center
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.
Find out more
Discover all our analyses
Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?
Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?
How does France’s nuclear deterrent contribute to the defense of Europe?
France’s nuclear deterrent, serving first and foremost to defend France’s vital interests, also contributes to the defense of Europe. This contribution has been recognized within the North Atlantic Alliance since 1974, but remains little known. In a speech closely followed by France’s European partners and its adversaries alike, President Emmanuel Macron announced a new concept for French nuclear deterrence: “forward deterrence” (dissuasion avancée). This article aims to explain the origins of this concept, outline its main pillars, and describe the partnerships that are sought. It then discusses the relationship with the U.S. doctrine of “extended deterrence”, and finally offers some ethical considerations.
Fury from the Skies. A Strategic Analysis of Air Campaign against Iran
What is the outcome of Operations Roaring Lion (RL) and Epic Fury (EF), launched by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28, 2026?
Finland: The Ally Who Came in from the Cold
Among all European countries, Finland is perhaps the one whose strategic culture and military model have changed the least since the end of the Cold War. Built after the end of the Second World War to deter a potential new Soviet invasion, this model enabled Finland to serve as an example of European rearmament.