Security - Defense
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.
Related Subjects
Nuclear Multipolarity: Myths and Realities of Competition
The term “arms race” does not accurately reflect the events of the Cold War, let alone the multipolar logics that have followed it.
Les bases de la puissance. Enjeux géopolitiques et stratégiques des bases militaires avancées
Throughout history, great powers have relied upon forward military bases, either to support their interventions in areas of interest, to re-assure allies or to control a territory.
East Asia Security in Flux. What Regional Order Ahead?
In February 2020, the Ifri Center for Asian Studies and the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) held a conference on the Asian security environment.
The Return: Russia and the Security Landscape of Northeast Asia
Northeast Asia has emerged as a critical theater of Russian foreign policy in recent years.
Moscow’s historical Westerncentrism is giving way to a new awareness about the vital importance of the region. The “turn to the East” now has genuine substance and impetus. Yet Russian policy is a work in progress, more opportunistic than strategic. The security landscape is complex and fluid, and Moscow has struggled to manage its contradictions.
Confettis d’empire ou points d’appui ? L’avenir de la stratégie française de présence et de souveraineté
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.
No Longer a Middle Power: Australia’s Strategy in the 21st Century
Confronted with a strained strategic environment and a relative decline of its resource base, Australia is currently going through a historical shift of its global status.
La compétition stratégique en Afrique : approches militaires américaine, chinoise et russe
While it was left behind from power politics for the last decades, Africa is at the core of a renewed attention from global powers.
Regards croisés sur la guerre électronique
Information dominance through the exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum has become a cornerstone of military superiority. However, it is now threatened by increasingly advanced electronic warfare capabilities.
The Strategic Role of Land Forces: A French Perspective
Although the first and foremost domain in the history of warfare, Land power has been dissociated from the concept of “strategic forces” for some time now, as these generally referred to long-range and/or high-yield strike capabilities, above all nuclear weapons.
La fourmilière du général : le commandement opérationnel face aux enjeux de haute intensité
Operational command structures have always been able to adapt to the strategic context. However, they now face a new challenge: high intensity threats.
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Related centers and programs
European & Transatlantic Security
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.
Internal Security
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.
Deterrence and Proliferation
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.
Observatory on Future Conflicts
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.
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.
Defense Research Unit
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.