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Security - Defense

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As a result of global strategic competition, security and defense issues are marked by the return of major wars and nuclear deterrence, the transformation of terrorism and the race for military technologies.

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French "State Action at Sea" as a Model for SE Asian Coast Guards

16 March 2022
Accroche

South-East Asian countries like Philippines and Indonesia have to cope with an increasing number of maritime issues in order to exert their sovereign rights over their territorial waters, archipelagic waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). In the midst of a tense geostrategic environment, the security of maritime areas and, more broadly, security in the high seas, are subject to major threats and illegal activities as recently summarized in the last Information Fusion Centre (IFC) annual report: piracy and sea robbery, maritime terrorism, cyber-attacks and AIS spoofing, trafficking of all kinds, illegal fishing activities and maritime pollution.

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The French-Greek Partnership: Beyond The Eastern Mediterranean.

04 March 2022
Accroche

This week, Ifri, in partnership with CATS Network, is launching a series of five videos on the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, seen through the prism of the geopolitical rivalry between France and Turkey. 

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Technology at the Center of Geopolitical Relations

03 January 2022
Accroche

Technologies from big data to quantum computing, artificial intelligence and next-generation drones are fueling power struggles between nations and large industrial companies. Alice Pannier, head of the Geopolitics of Technology program at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), talks us through the impact of these new technologies, which have added a further level of complexity to the major energy issues seen in the 20th century.

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AUKUS, a Hot Topic at Beijing Xiangshan Forum Webinar 2021

28 October 2021
Accroche

BEIJING, Oct. 28 -- The 5th session of Beijing Xiangshan Forum Webinar 2021 was held on the evening of October 26 around the topic of “Strategic Stability: Impasse and Way Out”, in which the establishment of the so-called trilateral security partnership, AUKUS, by the US, Britain and Australia and their nuclear submarine cooperation were heatedly discussed.

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France’s submarine trouble highlights its precarious status as a great power

22 September 2021
Accroche

French admiral says US has broken a pact among nuclear powers on the UN Security Council by agreeing to sell nuclear submarines.

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Paris attacks: Survivors hope for justice as France's biggest criminal trial in history begins

08 September 2021
Accroche

"Still now I have the images of the corpses next to my feet": Olivier Laplaud and his wife were in the Bataclan enjoying themselves amongst a crowd of 1,500 people when everything changed in an instant.

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France hopes deporting more alleged radicals will bring security

04 July 2021
Accroche

France has repatriated more than half the people it defined as radical Islamists living in the country without a residence permit since 2018. Now it wants to extend the penalty and deport even more.

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Army colonel sworn in as Mali president as tensions with Paris grow

07 June 2021
Accroche

Assimi Goïta vows to uphold republican regime and democracy in Mali.

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France Halts Joint Military Operations with Mali Over Coup

03 June 2021
Accroche

PARIS - France said Thursday it would suspend joint military operations with Malian forces after the West African country's second coup in nine months, adding to international pressure for the military junta to return civilians to positions of power.

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Germany calls for closer cooperation with France over security threats

21 April 2021
Accroche

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has called for closer bilateral cooperation with France in light of the tense security situation in Europe marked by the Russian “threat”, the rise of China and spreading “Islamist terrorism” in the Sahel region.

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Rwanda’s Military Diplomacy. Kigali’s Political Use of the Military Means to Increase Prestige and Influence in Africa and Beyond

Date de publication
07 April 2022
Accroche

Although it is one of the smallest states on the African continent, Rwanda has adopted a proactive foreign policy. Kigali has deployed troops within the framework of multilateral peacekeeping missions to increase its prestige and influence. Since last year, changes have arisen: Rwanda has extended its activities outside of multilateral operations, intervening unilaterally in the Central African Republic (CAR) and then in Mozambique. Rwanda desires to foster its reputation as a regional and continental “security provider”. 

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Le cloud défense : défi opérationnel, impératif stratégique et enjeu de souveraineté

Date de publication
24 November 2021
Accroche

Cloud computing – or data management – is considered as one of the pillars of the digital transformation of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. 

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Moving Towards the End of 20 Years of War on Terror?

Date de publication
07 September 2021
Accroche

Twenty years after 9/11, the assessment of the “War on Terror” is mixed: heavy financial and human costs, weakening of Al-Qaeda central and the Islamic State in the Levant, but creation of affiliates in different locations, fatigue of endless wars, etc. 

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Hypersonic Weapons: What Are the Challenges for the Armed Forces?

Date de publication
18 June 2021
Accroche

Hypersonic systems are becoming attributes of power for the states that design and implement them, at the risk of reviving an arms race.

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Cyber-influence : les nouveaux enjeux de la lutte informationnelle

Date de publication
09 March 2021
Accroche

The coming of age of a digital “info sphere” has dramatically changed the nature of military information support strategy. 

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Strategic Risk Reduction between Nuclear-Weapons Possessors

Date de publication
15 January 2021
Accroche

The topic of nuclear risk reduction has gained momentum in the international security debate among policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and experts. 

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No Peacemakers for the New / Old Caucasian War: Understanding the Armenia-Azerbaijan Clash

Date de publication
30 September 2020
Accroche

A full-blown war erupted in the South Caucasus last Sunday, September 27, and as the two belligerents — Armenia and Azerbaijan — mobilize their forces under martial law, no international authority is trying in earnest to stop the hostilities. The conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region ignited 30 years ago as the Soviet Union was collapsing and has never effectively “frozen.” The cease-fire Russia negotiated in May 1994 was not backed by a peacekeeping operation, and clashes have kept occurring, most notably in April 2016.

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Global Order in the Shadow of the Coronavirus: China, Russia and the West

Date de publication
29 July 2020
Accroche

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a harsh spotlight on the state of global governance. Faced with the greatest emergency since the Second World War, nations have regressed into narrow self-interest. The concept of a rules-based international order has been stripped of meaning, while liberalism faces its greatest crisis in decades.

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The European Equation of Nuclear Deterrence, Variables and Possible Solutions

Date de publication
06 July 2020
Accroche

Ever since nuclear weapons were developed by the United States and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, Europe has lived under the nuclear shadow. A major direct confrontation between “the West” and “the East” could have very likely resulted in the detonation of nuclear weapons on the continent. As the Cold War ended, massive reductions in the US and Soviet arsenals (from 70,300 in 1986 to 13,890 in 2019) and a new security architecture radically transformed the European security environment.

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Confettis d’empire ou points d’appui ? L’avenir de la stratégie française de présence et de souveraineté

Date de publication
27 February 2020
Accroche

France is one of the few nations in the world to benefit from a permanent global military presence. With more than 10,000 military personnel from all three services, deployed across the five continents and the three main oceanic basins, it benefits from the second largest network of prepositioned forces in the world.

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France to spell out post-Brexit nuclear weapons strategy

07 February 2020
Accroche

France, the European Union's sole nuclear power since Britain's exit from the bloc, will unveil Friday how it intends to use its atomic arsenal as a deterrent in an increasingly unstable world.

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Jihadist Prisoners: The Fear of Recidivism

12 July 2018
Accroche

On July 16, Djamel Beghal is expected to be released from the Rennes-Vezin prison in the west of France. Beghal is a well-known figure in the European jihadist sphere. Born in Algeria in 1965, he settled in France in 1987. Ten years later, he moved to the United Kingdom with his French wife and their children. In November 2000, the family left for Afghanistan, a country then governed by the Taliban.

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Missiles of March: A political means of last resort for Putin

07 March 2018
Accroche

President Vladimir Putin’s extra-heavy emphasis on new strategic missile systems in his March 1 address to parliament was quite unexpected and rather out of character. 

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Menace islamiste, loi martiale, ... que se passe-t-il aux Philippines?

24 May 2017
Accroche

Philippines' President wants to limit islamist groups' capacity after several attacks in the South of the country.

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At the 2016 Xiangshan Forum, China Outlines a Vision for Regional Security Governance

15 October 2016
Accroche

Beijing has a plan for a new regional security architecture, and it’s not based around alliances.

France wants to feel safe – whatever it takes. But what if it takes too much?

28 July 2016
Accroche

Opinion column published in "The Globe and Mail"

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In France, are soldiers outside the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre really worth it?

04 June 2016
Accroche

Sentinel represents a watershed development in French military operations. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the number of French army soldiers actively deployed in metropolitan France roughly equals that of overseas operations. But the military establishment here is far from unified on the value of an operation often seen as a costly and superficial means of reassuring civilians and tourists at the expense of substantive improvement to national security.

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NATO wrestles with internal divisions ahead of Warsaw summit

02 June 2016
Accroche

The alliance is struggling to assemble four battalions to safeguard its eastern flank from a possible Russian attack. In addition, many member states are falling short of their financial commitments to the alliance.

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Chinese missile crisis? Escalation over disputed China Sea islands

18 February 2016
Accroche

Reports have emerged that China has set up a missile launch base on Woody Island, part of an archipelago disputed with Taiwan and Vietnam. This comes just as the US President was wrapping up an ASEAN summit to strengthen ties after the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. How will this shape policy not only among Washington's traditional allies in the region but also in countries like Vietnam? Once again, a war-weary US is being called upon and has to look at the broader picture.

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China quiere aumentar su protagonismo en Oriente Próximo

18 January 2016
Accroche

Después de haber rehuido durante años implicarse en una región que considera un avispero, China quiere finalmente mostrarse como un participante más activo en Oriente Medio. La visita que el presidente chino, Xi Jinping, comienza este martes a Arabia Saudí, Irán y Egipto señala la creciente importancia que Pekín concede a la zona, tanto desde el punto de vista económico como de seguridad, y representa un paso más en su estrategia para presentarse como una alternativa al modelo estadounidense de potencia mundial.

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Related centers and programs
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European & Transatlantic Security
Accroche centre

The European & Transatlantic Security Program aims to contribute to the strategic debate by developing analyses around three main axes: European defense and the security architecture of the European continent, institutional and strategic links between the Treaty Organization of North Atlantic (NATO) and the European Union (EU), as well as the evolution of the transatlantic relationship.

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Legionnaires patrolling during the sentinel operation in Paris
Internal Security
Accroche centre

The distinction between internal and external threats is often exaggerated, as the borders are so porous. Conflicts taking place thousands of kilometers from France can have tragic resonances on national territory. Radicalization, terrorism and even organized crime have an international dimension that cannot be ignored.

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Nuclear ballistic missile submarine, in transit on the surface
Deterrence and Proliferation
Accroche centre

The conflicts in Europe, Asia and the Middle East demonstrate a return of nuclear power to the balance of power. Arsenals are being modernized and expanded, while arms control is collapsing. This research program aims to analyze these phenomena.

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Group of kamkazza combat drones against the background of sky and clouds, top view, 3d rendering. Concept: war in Ukraine, drone attack.
Observatory on Future Conflicts
Accroche centre

The Observatory of Future Conflicts is a research program carried out by the French Institute of International Relations and the Foundation for Strategic Research on behalf of the three army headquarters aimed at studying developments in tensions and armaments at the horizon 2040 in a transversal perspective, taking into account the issues of each army.

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 A soldier watching a sunset on an armored infantry fighting vehicle
Security Studies Center
Accroche centre

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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French soldiers during an exercise in the forest
Defense Research Unit
Accroche centre

The Defense Research Unit is a program that aims at stimulating the strategic debate by dealing with subjects at the junction of the “technico-operational” and the “political-strategic”. A unique structure in France, it brings together civilian researchers and “military fellows” from each of the three armies to produce work on defense policies, the capability and strategic adaptation of armies, and foresight on tomorrow's conflicts.

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