This paper seeks to analyze the future Middle Eastern military balance of power, in a time horizon of five to ten years.

RAMSES 2017. A Fragmented World, prepared by IFRI’s research team and selected external experts, offers an in-depth and up to date analysis of global geopolitics.

This 35^th edition focuses on three key issues: the spread of jihadist terrorism, the Middle East’s disintegration, and doubts about the European project. With the world’s balance of power and economic foundations shifting, the next few months are likely to be decisive for our future. The growing diversity and complexity of our world is startling, which is why it is important to rethink our analyses and means of action.

Only recently, Latin America seemed to embody an inexorable movement towards political democratization, towards a decrease in stark inequalities as well as greater involvement in the global economy. But the dream remains unrealized.

During the 2000s, Brazil's economy took off, with growth driven primarily by strong Chinese demand for commodities. Within a decade, the Brazilian middle class increased from 30% to 50% of the population.

In the space of 20 years, under the leadership of the former Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in power between 1995 and 2013, Qatar became a country which matters due to its status, obtained in 2006, as the leading world producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Post-sanctions Russia-China energy relations: what expectations?

From the very beginning, the armed conflict that broke out in the Donbass in the spring of 2014 drew in right-wing radicals, on the Ukrainian as well as on the Russian side. Organised ultra-nationalist groups and individual activists established their own units of volunteers or joined existing ones.

On Tuesday July 12th, after three years of deliberations, the Permanent Court of Arbitration finally delivered its verdict on the conflict opposing the Philippines and China over status of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The judgment is historic, as it goes far beyond the expectations of the involved parties and observers.