The Enlargement of the European Union: A Strategic Choice?
France, the Western Balkans and the EU in an Uncertain Geopolitical Context. Russia’s war against Ukraine has brought the enlargement of the European Union back to the centre of European strategic debates. In this context, the Western Balkans have regained heightened visibility in discussions on the continent’s security, at a time when the international environment is marked by a growing number of destabilising factors.
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Can Interdependence Persist in Tense Times? Insights from the 2nd Paris Geoeconomic Dialogue
Ifri’s 2nd Paris Geoeconomic Dialogue brought together in November 2025 experts, academics, and decision-makers around six themes relating to the prospects for interdependence in an increasingly tense international environment.
Financial Tools for Boosting Resilience of CRM Value Chains and Strategic Stockpiling
Critical Raw Material (CRM) value chains are more vulnerable than ever and entire vital industries in Europe are now at risk if supplies are not secured through strategic and urgent actions, given mounting geopolitical confrontation, resource nationalism, growing demand and limited supply increase.
European Union-India: Lasting Rapprochement or Partnership of Convenience?
The partnership between the European Union (EU) and India has long been limited to economic exchanges. Its political dimension has gradually developed, culminating in its elevation to the status of a “strategic partnership” in 2004. However, the failure of negotiations for a free-trade agreement in 2013 slowed this momentum. Since the early 2020s, in an uncertain geopolitical context, bilateral rapprochement has gained new momentum.
Bundeswehr: From Zeitenwende (historic turning point) to Epochenbruch (epochal shift)
The Zeitenwende (historic turning point) announced by Olaf Scholz on February 27, 2022, is shifting into high gear. Financially supported by the March 2025 reform of Germany’s “debt break” and backed by a broad political and societal consensus to strengthen and modernize the Bundeswehr, Germany's military capabilities are set to rapidly increase over the coming years. Expected to assume a central role in the defense of the European continent in the context of changing transatlantic relations, Berlin’s military-political position on the continent is being radically transformed.
Russia, the Palestinians and Gaza: Adjustments after October 7th
The Soviet Union (USSR), and subsequently the Russian Federation as its internationally recognized legal successor, has consistently sought to play a visible role in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The U.S. Policy Toward Taiwan Beyond Donald Trump: Mapping the American Stakeholders of U.S.-Taiwan Relations
Donald Trump’s return to the White House reintroduced acute uncertainty into the security commitment of the United States (U.S.) to Taiwan. Unlike President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated the determination to defend Taiwan, President Trump refrains from commenting on the hypothetical U.S. response in the context of a cross-Strait crisis.
Nuke-talk is heating up among Europeans in Munich
Multiple European countries are publicly backing talks on a homegrown nuclear deterrent to complement American atomic weapons following an erosion of trust in a Donald Trump-led U.S.
Whatever it takes? EU in race to shore up sovereignty
Can Europe man the ramparts on its own? As the US war secretary snubbed a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels, EU leaders converged on the 16th-century Alden Biesen castle in Belgium's Limburg province to answer former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi's call for a "big bazooka" approach to reform and competitiveness.
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The Enlargement of the European Union: A Strategic Choice? France, the Western Balkans and the EU in an Uncertain Geopolitical Context
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Replay - Conference with Chris Wright, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Welcomed at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), Chris Wright outlined his vision of American energy policy built around two core axes: the human reality of energy access, and a data-driven approach.
Replay - Navigating the Taiwan Strait Tensions: Perspectives from Japan, the Philippines, and France
Replay - Strategic Autonomy and Asia amid Rising Geoeconomic Competition
Amid growing strategic and geopolitical uncertainty, Europe is grappling with the notion of its strategic autonomy. For Europe’s partners in Asia, the concept is also becoming increasingly salient as the world enters an era of structural transformation.
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Ramses 2026
"Un nouvel échiquier"
Ramses 2026
"Un nouvel échiquier"
Every year, Ramses provides the essential keys and benchmarks to decipher developments in the world. Ramses 2026, Paris, Ifri/Dunod, 384 pages, September 2025
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Politique étrangère
The journal of debates and analyses on major international issues.
