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Security - Defense

Description

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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Rebooting the Entente: An Agenda for Renewed UK-France Defense Cooperation

Date de publication
22 February 2023
Accroche

The Franco-British Summit on March 10th, 2023, will mark a much-needed reset in bilateral cooperation, following years of strained relations. With a recently re-elected French president and a new British Prime minister, both sides are committed to making this summit a success and re-launching a positive agenda for bilateral cooperation. The summit, the first since Sandhurst in 2018, will focus on three key topics: migration, energy, and foreign policy. Defense cooperation will also be addressed, as it remains the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship, though it may take a less prominent part than on previous occasions.

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Naval Combat Redux: A Renewed Challenge for Western Navies

Date de publication
09 January 2023
Accroche

Our world is becoming increasingly contested and unpredictable and we are trending towards a return of great power strategic competition, characterized by more frequent challenges to the established rules-based international order. As a consequence, the risk of interstate conflict continues to rise. This regressive evolution is most readily apparent in the maritime domain, where the concomitant impacts on the free flow of international trade and the control of illegal and unregulated fishing are interlaced with the prescient, yet growing challenge of environmental security. 

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Self-defense Groups, the Pyromaniac Firefighters of Sahel

Date de publication
14 December 2022
Accroche

Since 2012, the proliferation of jihadist groups across the Sahel has monopolized the attention of the authorities.forced by the threats they represent and the weakening of their regal power, states are gradually withdrawing from their peripheral rural territories. As a result, populations have organized themselves to become local security providers.

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Democratic Republic of Congo: Nothing New in the East

Date de publication
08 December 2022
Accroche

While a state of siege was declared a year ago in two Congolese provinces and Kenyan authorities organized a meeting in Nairobi between the Congolese government and armed groups, the pacification of the Congolese East remains unresolved. This study looks back at the Tshisekedi government's policy and handling of this issue since 2019.

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Military Stockpiles: A Life-Insurance Policy in a High-Intensity Conflict?

Date de publication
06 December 2022
Accroche

The war in Ukraine is a reminder of the place of attrition from high-intensity conflict in European armies that have been cut to the bone after three decades of budget cuts. All European forces have had to reduce their stocks to the bare minimum. As a result, support to Ukraine has meant a significant drain on their operational capabilities. A significant amount of decommissioned systems were also donated, due to the lack of depth in operational fleets.

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What Strategic Posture Should France Adopt in the Middle East?

Date de publication
17 November 2022
Accroche

France has a historical presence in the Middle East, where it has many interests to defend: the fight against terrorism, the promotion of the arms industry, the dissemination of humanitarian values, etc. To this end, it has a number of resources at its disposal, notably military: French forces are deployed in Iraq, Syria and Jordan as part of Operation Chammal, in Lebanon for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and in the United Arab Emirates.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

 

Evolution of the Australia-Japan Security Partnership: Toward a Softer Triangle Alliance with the United States?

Date de publication
01 October 2010
Accroche

This paper examines how and why the Australia-Japan defense and security partnership has evolved, what policy implications this new partnership has for the U.S.-Japan alliance system, and what constraints the further advancement of trilateral security cooperation faces.

Potential Strategic Consequences of the Nuclear Energy Revival

Date de publication
08 July 2010
Accroche

Renewed interest throughout the globe in harnessing nuclear energy has raised concern about security threats from states and non-state actors while holding out the promise of more electricity for more people.

Chinese Perceptions of the Utility of Nuclear Weapons: Prospects and Potential Problems in Disarmament

Date de publication
16 June 2010
Accroche

This paper takes a careful look at China's perceptions of the role of nuclear weapons in its national security policy and defense posture.

North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development: Implications for Future Policy

Date de publication
23 April 2010
Accroche

Despite the resumption of high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Pyongyang in late 2009, realization of a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula remains a very remote prospect, with the DPRK insisting that a peace agreement between the U.S. and North Korea and hence the cessation of "hostile DPRK-U.S. relations" are necessary before any consideration of denuclearization.

In Search of the Nuclear Taboo: Past, Present, and Future

Date de publication
11 January 2010
Accroche

One of the most puzzling - if positive - phenomena of the past half century is the non-use of nuclear weapons. 

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Related centers and programs
Image principale
T-72B3 battle tank, NATO
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.

Image principale
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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A soldier looking at a map on a laptop
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