Prénom de l'expert

Céline

Nom de l'expert

PAJON

Research Fellow, Head of Japan and Indo-Pacific Research, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

Research Areas:

Japanese foreign and defense policy
International relations and geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific
French and European approaches to the Indo-Pacific and Pacific Islands
Maritime security in the Indo-Pacific

Center for Asian Studies

Celine Pajon is Head of Japan and Indo-Pacific Research in Ifri’s Center for Asian Studies, which he joined in 2008. She also coordinates the research program on Pacific Islands, set up in 2022. Céline is a Senior Researcher with the Japan Chair at Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) and an International Research Fellow with the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) in Tokyo. In 2016, she was a visiting researcher at JIIA, the Japan Institute of International Affairs, the think tank of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A graduate from the Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and Sciences Po Lyon, Céline also studied for two years in Japan, at Waseda University (Tokyo) and Osaka University. She tweets @CelinePajon.

Flagship Publications

Studies

October 2023

France in the Indo-Pacific: The Need for a Pragmatic Strategic Posture

France-led Multilateral exercise La Pérouse

Jérémy BACHELIER Céline PAJON

July 2023

France's IndoPacific Strategy: From a Balancing Power to a Constructive Stakeholder

Céline PAJON

Papers

March 2023

Japan and the Pacific Islands Countries. Longstanding Strategic Interests, Recent Strategic Engagement

Tongan people greeting the Japanese destroyer Osumi arriving to deliver relief supplies after the volcanic eruption and tsunami of January 2022. © Embassy of Japan in Tonga

Céline PAJON

Memos

April 2022

Two Shades of Blue: Europe and the Pacific Islands, Strategic Partners in the Indo-Pacific Era

Crédits: Montage réalisé par l’Ifri © Shutterstock

Céline PAJON

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 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

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Analysis from Céline PAJON

Publications

Editorials

France and Japan in Africa: a Promising Partnership

31 July 2017

If some African countries are on their way to achieving dynamic economic growth, many are also still struggling with a lack of economic and social infrastructure, latent governance issues and often complex and risky security environments. In this context, both Japan and European countries, especially France, are making efforts to increase not only their development assistance, but also private investments and security cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Céline PAJON

External Articles

What Role for Japan in Africa's Security After Withdrawal from South Sudan?

01 June 2017

There is still a big gap between the discourse and the reality of what Japan wants - and what it can achieve in Africa.

Céline PAJON

Papers

Japan's Security Policy in Africa: The Dawn of a Strategic Approach?

17 May 2017

This paper documents new features of Japan's diplomacy that tends to gradually integrate Africa into Japan's strategic interests.

Céline PAJON

Studies

Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next French President

31 March 2017

France’s current presidential campaign has created an unprecedented situation fuelled by revelations and a total absence of restraint, but it has not truly taken account of the disruptions of the last year: Brexit, the attempted coup in Turkey, the election of Donald Trump, the recapturing of Aleppo by Bashar al-Assad, Xi Jinping’s declarations about “economic globalization”, or the behavior of North Korea. The debate, or rather its absence, can be looked at in two ways.

Thomas GOMART Marc HECKER Alain ANTIL Marie-Claire AOUN Christophe BERTOSSI Corentin BRUSTLEIN Alice EKMAN Sébastien JEAN Tatiana KASTOUÉVA-JEAN Barbara KUNZ Frédéric MONLOUIS-FÉLICITÉ Laurence NARDON Françoise NICOLAS Julien NOCETTI Céline PAJON Michel PÉBEREAU Vivien PERTUSOT Dorothée SCHMID John SEAMAN Hans STARK Matthieu TARDIS

The Third Japan-France Foreign and Defense Ministers Meeting on January 6, 2017

Japan and France: Slowly but Surely Moving Forward on Security Cooperation

06 February 2017

Despite being geographically distant, France and Japan share a number of converging interests.

Céline PAJON

External Articles

Japan Coast Guard ship at Yokohama harbor, Japan.

Japan’s Coast Guard and Maritime Self-Defense Force in the East China Sea: Can a Black-and-White System Adapt to a Gray-Zone Reality?

31 January 2017

This essay examines the need for growing coordination between the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) to better cope with gray-zone situations.

Céline PAJON

Officers of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force at the Yokosuka base, Kanagawa

Japan’s Coast Guard and Maritime Self-Defense Force: Cooperation among Siblings

01 December 2016

Coping with “gray zone” situations has in recent years become the core security challenge for Japan. Since September 2012, Beijing has been challenging Japan’s sovereign control of the Senkaku Islands by regularly sending law-enforcement vessels into Japanese territorial waters and contiguous zones.

Céline PAJON

Studies

Le monde selon Trump. Anticiper la nouvelle politique étrangère américaine

16 November 2016

What will become of US foreign policy under Donald Trump? A selection of Ifri researchers has come together to offer their thoughts on this question. Our experts cover an array of topics through 14 contributions, ranging from the future Sino-American relations, through US engagement in the Middle East, to the prospects of a renewed transatlantic relationship. This analysis intends to help readers anticipate the outcomes of this election in order to facilitate decision-making.

Marie-Claire AOUN Christophe BERTOSSI Corentin BRUSTLEIN Alice EKMAN Thomas GOMART Tatiana KASTOUÉVA-JEAN Carole MATHIEU Laurence NARDON Françoise NICOLAS Julien NOCETTI Céline PAJON Vivien PERTUSOT Dorothée SCHMID John SEAMAN Hans STARK Matthieu TARDIS

Japan and its Alliance with the US. Structure, Dynamics, Evolution to 2030

15 June 2016

China’s rise, US rebalancing in Asia, historic defense reforms in Japan, the adoption of new Guidelines for bilateral cooperation: the Japan-US alliance has reached a turning point in its history.

Céline PAJON John SEAMAN Françoise NICOLAS Alice EKMAN

Papers

Nationalism in China and Japan and Implications for Bilateral Relations

27 March 2015

Nationalism appears to be an important part of the growing frictions between China and Japan.

In Japan, the return to power of Shinzo Abe as prime minister, and the historic breakthrough of an extreme right-wing party onto the political scene reinforce the view that there has been a clear shift to the right. Public opinion is today also more realistic about direct security threats to Japan.

Alice EKMAN Céline PAJON