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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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 A soldier looking at a map on a laptop.
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Publications
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France and AUKUS: Bouncing Back to Live up to Pacific Challenges

Date de publication
03 November 2022
Accroche

Back in September 2021, the announcement of AUKUS – the defense partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) was a shock to Paris.

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Open Innovation in Defense. Passing Fad or New Philosophy?

Date de publication
26 October 2022
Accroche

The use of civilian technologies on the battlefield—one of the lessons that can be drawn from recent conflicts—is attracting growing interest from the armed forces of France and other nations. The growing number of examples of effective integration of civilian technologies into the armed forces, including during conflict, shows the importance of open innovation and the acceleration of the international race toward innovation in the defense industry.

Raphaël BRIANT
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The historical heritage of AUKUS: Australia-United States-United Kingdom relations since 1900

Date de publication
18 October 2022
Accroche

The signing of the AUKUS partnership agreement between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom in September 2021 seems to have reconstituted a natural coalition between “Anglo-Saxon” states. This solidarity generates contradictory judgments. 

Pierre GROSSER
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Modernizing the People's Liberation Army: The Human Factor

Date de publication
11 October 2022
Accroche

The tremendous demographic challenges facing China will not significantly affect the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the immediate future, but will become more problematic in the medium and long term. The rapid aging of the population and the resulting socio-economic imbalances will put pressure on defense budgets, military wages and the general attractiveness of the army. For the time being, the PLA’s primary goal in terms of human resources is to build a less oversized, more professional army, prepared for high-intensity combat.

 

Marc JULIENNE Constantin LAGRAULET
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French Navy bets on electronic warfare to counter anti-ship threats

07 October 2022
Accroche

With 2,000 miles of direct coastline and more than a dozen overseas territories, France’s naval vessels maintain a continuous presence in multiple maritime zones — from the North Sea to the Caribbean, and from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.

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Asia after the War in Ukraine: Re-imagining multilateralism and the risk of high-intensity conflict (video replay)

22 September 2022
Accroche

Annual conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies. The war in Ukraine has marked the return of high-intensity conflict in Europe and represents a profound, structural shift in the region’s strategic environment. It also takes place against a backdrop of a decades-long rebalancing of global power and the increase of strategic competition between the United States and China, in particular.

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“Don’t Bank on the Bombs” New European Standards Affecting the Defense Industry

Date de publication
22 September 2022
Accroche

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has underlined the need to upgrade the European armed forces, the urgency of the fight against climate change—as illustrated by reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—requires the political mobilization of the European Union (EU) to carry out the transition to climate neutrality.

Interview with David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee

19 September 2022
Accroche

Can you describe the humanitarian impact of the war in Ukraine, in Europe, including with regards to displacement, and beyond the outside of Europe?

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Image principale médiatique

France and AUKUS: A Necessary Reconciliation

15 September 2022
Accroche

One year on, the announcement of the Australia-U.K.-U.S alliance has not been accompanied by any major changes to France’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.

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The War in Ukraine: Echoes of Korea?

Date de publication
13 September 2022
Accroche

The war in Ukraine has revived discussion about the Washington-Beijing-Moscow triangle as well as Europe’s place in the geopolitical power struggles. 

Pierre GROSSER

Establishing the Rule of Law: the U.N. Challenge in Kosovo

Date de publication
29 June 2012
Accroche

Created on the 10th July 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK was responsible for restructuring the institutions of a country devastated by war and establishing democratic governance. The security of people and goods and the existence of a legal system trusted by the population were two crucial prerequisites to the state-building process.

Jean-Christian CADY

Proliferation and Nonproliferation in the Early Twenty-First Century: The Permanent Five Hold the Key to Success

Date de publication
11 May 2012
Accroche

Since the early twenty-first century, the international nonproliferation landscape has experienced a shift from relatively steady proliferation schemes to more complex and diverse challenges. New entities are gaining access to nuclear material and among them is a growing number of non-state actors. Some states continue to abuse international norms and rules overtly, while others opt for covert proliferation strategies. 

David SANTORO

Defence and Foreign Policy Under President-elect François Hollande

Date de publication
08 May 2012
Accroche

We know little about François Hollande's stance on wider foreign and defence policy issues. Though we are unlikely to see major changes from his predecessor, some clues from his successful campaign suggest that President-elect Hollande will adopt a more European and Gaullist approach.

Cruise Missiles and NATO Missile Defense: Under the Radar?

Date de publication
11 April 2012
Accroche

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the threat of cruise missile proliferation is as equally challenging to NATO as the threat of ballistic missiles. Over the last two decades, the emergence of cruise missiles and UAVs as a threat has been slow, and governments, particularly the United States, have invested much less in cruise missile defenses than in ballistic missile defenses.

Dennis M. GORMLEY

Dancing with the Bear: Managing Escalation in a Conflict with Russia

Date de publication
08 March 2012
Accroche

"Escalation", the tendency of belligerents to increase the force or breadth of their attacks to gain advantage or avoid defeat, is not a new phenomenon. Systematic thought about how to manage it, however, did not crystallize until the Cold War and the invention of nuclear weapons. 

Forrest E. MORGAN

Helicopter Warfare: The Future of Airmobility and Rotary Wing Combat.

Date de publication
06 February 2012
Accroche

Military helicopters have evolved into technologically sophisticated weapon systems. Originally designed to counter Soviet armor, attack helicopters now have to cope with a wide spectrum of threats, some of them bringing them back to their counterinsurgency roots.

Libya: Old or New Picture? Risks of political uncertainty for the gas and oil business

Date de publication
16 January 2012
Accroche

Libya has an opportunity to get back on track. The end of embargoes and sanctions after the conclusion of the “February Revolution” is favoring a fast production growth. 

Laura PARMIGIANI

Digital Hoplites: Infantry Combat in the Information Age

Date de publication
29 December 2011
Accroche

FELIN, the world's first "integrated soldier system", will enter service in the French Army this year. Throughout history, infantrymen have sought to capitalize on technology while seeking the best compromise between three basic requirements: mobility, firepower and protection of combatants.

In Defense of Deterrence: the Relevance, Morality and Cost-Effectiveness of Nuclear Weapons

Date de publication
05 October 2011
Accroche

Since 1945, nuclear deterrence has frequently been the target of continuous criticism on strategic, legal and moral grounds. In the past five years, however, the renewed debate on nuclear disarmament has been accompanied by an increase in such criticism.

Bruno TERTRAIS

Toward the End of Force Projection? II. Operational Responses and Political Perspectives

Date de publication
29 September 2011
Accroche

For more than a decade, US defense circles have been concerned about the emergence of capabilities and strategies, which, as they spread, risk imperiling the United States" position in the world by their ability to disrupt or prevent force projection operations. Though most of the literature on such “anti-access” strategies focuses on the military aspects of the threat, this Focus stratégique - the second and last part of a two-part study - adopts a different perspective.

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Related centers and programs
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T-72B3 battle tank, NATO
European & Transatlantic Security
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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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Internal Security
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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
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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
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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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A soldier looking at a map on a laptop
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