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Economy

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The economy is an essential attribute of power and a major component of international relations. While geopolitical tensions are on the rise, economic interdependence remains strong.

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Publications

What Is a Think Tank?

Date de publication
27 November 2019
Accroche

When I was laying the foundations for the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri)1 in 1978 and 1979, only a select few in France were familiar with the English term “think tank” and had at least an approximate idea of what it covered.

This term has become fashionable but still has no consensual definition.

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Ten Years Ahead: Insights Into the Agendas of International Think Tanks

25 November 2019
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Accroche

A panel with Michael Fullilove, executive director,  Lowy Institute (Australia), Rohinton P. Medhora, president, Centre for International Governance Innovation (Canada), Samir Saran, president, Observer Research Foundation (India), Patrycja Sasnal, head of research and senior fellow for the Middle East, Polish Institute of International Affairs (Poland), and Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, president, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil), moderated by Thomas Gomart, director, French Institute of International Relations (France) as part of the 12th regional conference of Council of Councils (CoC), which unfolded from November 17 to 19, 2019 at Ifri.

The Changing Political Agenda and Role of Think Tanks in the Next Decade. Video

19 November 2019
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Accroche

A debate in the framework of the 12th regional conference of Council of Councils (CoC) in Paris between Thierry de Montbrial, Executive Chairman of Ifri and Richard N. Haass, President of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Moderator: Sophie Pedder, Paris Bureau Chief, The Economist.

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What Is a Think Tank? A French Perspective

Date de publication
19 November 2019
Accroche

The French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) celebrated its 40th anniversary in the spring of 2019, in a completely different environment to when it was founded, which was dominated by the competition between the two “superpowers” of the time, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR).

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What Is Digital Power?

Date de publication
12 November 2019
Accroche

Digital power refers to any actor’s ability to exploit digital data to help influence the behavior of other actors on the international stage and to achieve its own ends. It is about understanding how it influences events in the real world, despite its “intangible” nature.

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The Sanctions Policy of the European Union: Multilateral Ambitions Versus Power Politics

Date de publication
03 October 2019
Accroche

Restrictive measures are a major instrument of the European Union (EU)’s external action, which has emerged as one of the world’s leading sanctions emitters. The EU has thus leveraged the size of its market and its economic and financial clout (trade relations, aid policy and bilateral agreements).

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RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?

Date de publication
27 August 2019
Accroche

RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.

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Think Tank 7 - Recommendation paper for the G7 Presidency

Date de publication
23 August 2019
Accroche

The Think Tank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries in order to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency. 

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International trade - Rekindling interest in a multilateral rules-based approach

Date de publication
23 August 2019
Accroche

International trade is one of the themes that used to constitute the very raison d’être of the G7, alongside international security and energy policy. 

Françoise NICOLAS Sébastien JEAN
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Foreign Policy

Why Are Japan and South Korea in a Trade Fight?

16 July 2019
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Accroche

Officially, Japan has “national security” concerns about technology exports to South Korea. Unofficially, World War II still casts an ugly shadow.

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Rare earths: Beijing threatens a new front in the trade war

04 June 2019
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Accroche

China believes its near-monopoly gives it leverage over the US but supply cuts would spur rival producers.

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Sustaining Multilateralism in a Multipolar World. What France and Germany Can Do to Preserve the Multilateral Order

Date de publication
03 June 2019
Accroche

While international multilateralism is under strain, it is vital for France and Germany to defend it, since it is the most appropriate system for preserving their interests – particularly in terms of welfare, security, prosperity and environmental protection. Against this backdrop, three political fields offer opportunities for joint initiatives: trade, conventional arms control and climate change.

Claire DEMESMAY, Director of Institut français de Bonn Barbara KUNZ
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The European Union in Crisis: What Challenges Lie ahead and Why It Matters for Korea

Date de publication
20 May 2019
Accroche

The EU is currently undergoing serious challenges from inside such as Brexit and strengthening Euroscepticism, rising populism and changing political geography, anti-immigration moods as well as retarded economic recovery.

Heungchong KIM Françoise NICOLAS
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Désinfox: no, Europe is not under Germany's rule

06 May 2019
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Accroche

Since the financial crisis of 2008, has the balance of power between France and Germany shifted in favor of Berlin? Does Angela Merkel alone decide on the conduct of the European Union? The answer obviously deserves to be nuanced.

The European Battery Alliance is Moving up a Gear

Date de publication
02 May 2019
Accroche

French battery cell manufacturer Saft and Opel, the German subsidiary of automaker PSA Group, are finalising the details of a major investment project in battery cell manufacturing. Is the European Union (EU) finally challenging Asia’s dominance on battery cells production? What chances of success for the European Battery Alliance (EBA) and what implications for the EU industrial policy?

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China’s Belt & Road and the World: Competing Forms of Globalization

Date de publication
24 April 2019
Accroche

China increasingly sees its flagship foreign policy project as a tool for restructuring global governance and a vector for promoting a new form of globalization.

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2019-2029: The World in 10 Years

Date de publication
29 March 2019
Accroche

The last four decades have witnessed the profound transformation of the very foundations of the international system: the globalization of trade, technical revolutions, the upheaval of the hierarchy of powers, the emergence of China, the explosion of the Middle-East, the mutation of conflicts and threats, climate concerns, etc.

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The Future of the International Monetary and Financial System

Date de publication
20 March 2019
Accroche

Following the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the international community sought new stability in the financial system and the assurance of sustained growth. The crisis that began in 2007-2008 has revealed weaknesses that affected advanced economies first and foremost. Efforts have since been made to consolidate the international financial architecture, to coordinate macroeconomic policy, and to improve foreign exchange relations, even if this latter objective has proven complex.

Jean-Claude TRICHET

Trump's trade policy: pushing back against China

Date de publication
18 March 2019
Accroche

Although not akin to the protectionist policies practiced by the United States through the 1930s, the trade war launched by the Trump administration since early 2018 challenges the principles and institutions of free trade.

Patrick ALLARD

Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Atlanta. TPP and TTIP: Power Games in the U.S. Congress

Date de publication
06 July 2015
Accroche

Our analysis on the Agrement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Atlanta: President Obama is now seeking approval from Congress. He might be getting more support from the Republicans.

Blaming El Norte: The Economic Realities of Anti-Americanism South of the Rio Grande

Date de publication
25 June 2015
Accroche

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.

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Persistence and Evolutions of the Rentier State Model in Gulf Countries

Date de publication
23 April 2015
Accroche

A general economic model of understanding Middle Eastern states was elaborated by political scientists around the 1980’s, based on the concept of rent as a factor of wealth around which the economic model as much as the governance of energy-rich countries was re-organized. The particular case of GCC’s countries as rentier state has been at the cornerstone of this concept since they own the most important share of energy resources in the world.

Japan's Energy Policy in a Post-3/11 World: Juggling Safety, Sustainability and Economics

Date de publication
15 September 2014
Accroche

The March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station turned Japan’s energy policy on its head, shedding a harsh new light on Japan’s energy policy and power supply system, and throwing into relief six major problem areas that had largely escaped scrutiny before the disaster.

Hikaru HARANUMA

Greenland and Iceland: Meeting Place of Global Powers in the Arctic

Date de publication
04 September 2014
Accroche

At the crossroads of American, European and Asian interests in the Arctic, Greenland and Iceland, the importance of which had for too long been underestimated, are set to play a central role in future regional developments. In order to exploit the potential of their growing economic ties with Asia, without becoming the Arctic “weak links”, Greenland and Iceland need to secure their economy on a long-term basis.

The Distinctive Features of China's Middle Classes

Date de publication
01 June 2014
Accroche

This study seeks to lay the foundations for a better understanding of the Chinese middle classes. It goes beyond the traditional classification by revenue and identifies the distinctive features of China’s middle classes by taking into account relevant historical events, current sociopolitical and economic contexts, and key expectations of the population.

Beyond the Arab awakening: Policies and Investments for Poverty Reduction and Food Security

Date de publication
31 July 2013
Accroche

This report aims to inform and stimulate the debate on key policy priorities for poverty reduction and food security in light of the Arab Awakening. 

Perrihan AL-RIFFAI Clemens BREISINGER Olivier ECHER Bingxin YU

Youth Unemployment in Europe

Date de publication
18 June 2013
Accroche

On an initiative of the IP-Journal of the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP), the Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) are regularly publishing short contributions on a common subject, written by three experts of these institutes. The purpose of these “Weimar Triangle Analyses” is to give the French, Polish and German views on central questions of European politics and European integration.

Nele Katharina WISSMANN Patrick TOPOROWSKI Almut MÖLLER

A Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement? Weimar Triangle Analyses: French, Polish and German viewpoints on European questions

Date de publication
25 February 2013
Accroche

On an initiative of the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP), the Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) are regularly publishing short contributions on a common subject, written by three experts of these institutes. The purpose of these “Weimar Triangle Analyses” is to give the French, Polish, and German views on central questions of European politics and European integration.

Philippe MOREAU DEFARGES Stormy-Annika MILDNER Claudia SCHMUCKER Bartosz WISNIEWSKI

Trading Freely with East Asia: Challenges and Opportunities for EU FTAs in the Region

Date de publication
30 November 2012
Accroche

As the fastest growing region in the world, East Asia is an important partner for the European Union, particularly at a time of economic difficulty. Asian countries have weathered the recent financial and economic crisis much better than Europe and much better than initially anticipated, with China and several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recording relatively impressive growth rates. As a result, self-confidence has been growing in Asia while European economies feel increasingly challenged.

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 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.

Presentation of Ramses 2026, Ifri, Paris
Related centers and programs
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Geoeconomics and Geofinance Initiative
Accroche centre

To analyze the impact of power rivalries and tensions on globalization, this initiative combines economic and political expertise. In the face of growing geopolitical risk, the goal is to decipher the dynamics of reconfiguration: protectionist pressures, sanctions, restrictions, industrial policies, and economic security concerns are redefining the rules of international trade. These tensions are also transforming international financial relations by undermining the foundations of trust and reshaping the global monetary system. They raise questions about the role of several key players: sovereign wealth funds, central banks, digital platforms, multilateral institutions, and financial infrastructure operators. In a context of profound disruption, simply refining existing approaches is no longer sufficient. The initiative is designed as a flexible model, drawing on diverse expertise to offer both broad overviews and targeted analyses. It also provides a platform for stakeholders and experts from various backgrounds to debate these issues freely.

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