With the launch of its “battery alliance”, the European Union is finally taking up the industrial battle with Asia and hopes to meet a large share of the surging demand for electrical batteries. Yet, the clock is ticking and the future of battery manufacturing in Europe depends primarily on the strategies that automakers will adopt.

India has committed to ambitious action on climate change, but financing its renewable energy goals remains a significant challenge.

In September 2015, Addis Ababa introduced the first Light Rail Transit system (LRT) in sub-Saharan Africa. This tram, a symbol of Ethiopian renewal, was nevertheless barely used by the capital’s residents during the first few months. However, at the time of our research trip in April 2017, access to the tram during rush hour was difficult and the trams were overcrowded.

Transatlantic differences over the future of the Iran nuclear deal – or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of July 2015 – are damaging a nuclear accord that all parties, except the United States, see as delivering on its purpose. They also increase the risk of Washington and European capitals working at cross-purposes vis-à-vis Iran and broader regional policies. To avoid such a scenario, the E3 (France, Germany, United Kingdom)/European Union (EU) and the United States need to set up new channels of communication to avoid a transatlantic rift, to attempt – if at all possible – to preserve the Iran deal, and to secure its benefits for regional and global security.

The use of recreational cannabis became legal in the States of Colorado and Washington in January and July 2014 respectively. The regulations, based on the examples of the tobacco and alcohol markets, intend to tackle the black market and to protect minors more efficiently. How do these two pioneering experiments inform the ongoing debate in France?

The acceleration of the digitization of energy infrastructure has brought many economic benefits, including  greater efficiency in the rationalization of energy consumption. However, this has also increased the risk of cyberattacks, where malicious software is able to take advantage of the increasing digitization of energy equipment. 

Assessing the state of democracy in Asia is a challenge. While some countries, such as Japan and India, have been showing the way from early days, some others, such as in Southeast Asia are still struggling to ensure stable and sustainable democratic institutions and practices.

Attitudes vis-à-vis Russia expressed in the public sphere are heterogeneous, in France more so than in Germany. In both France and Germany, the general public is by and large skeptical of Vladimir Putin and his policies. The picture is more diverse in the political realm. In Germany, there (still) is an approach that might be qualified as “mainstream”. The French debate, in turn, is highly fragmented.