Adrian Dellecker

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Norway embarked on a policy to overcome old dividing lines in the High North and encourage closer cooperation with Russia, its large neighbor to the east. In addition to being neighbors in the High North - an area that still plays an important part in Russian strategic designs - both countries are important global energy players and share interests in developing energy resources in the area. However, their energy cooperation is influenced by many historical and geopolitical factors and concerns, and their bilateral relationship is strongly influenced by a visible disparity of their respective potentials and by their historically determined perceptions of each other. To what extent their cooperation in the energy sphere will be influenced by these perceptions, and to what extent their energy related interests overlap or collide are a few of the questions addressed in this brief analysis of the developing Russian-Norwegian energy relationship, particularly in light of Gazprom's decision to invite StatoilHydro to join the Shtokman gas field project.

The 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party: shedding light on how the system works

Thème lancé pendant les années 1980 et constamment repris depuis, érigé en obligation impérieuse et presque en dogme pendant l'ère Rumsfeld, l'interarmisation ou jointness s'inscrit en réalité dans un débat ancien et même récurrent qui, par-delà MacNamara, remonte aux débuts de la guerre froide et même en-deçà.

The threat of a gas-OPEC, waved around by certain big producers, has given rise to much fear in consuming countries. The behavior of Russia, a key exporter, has made it seem as though gas sales could be used as a political weapon. In truth, the creation of an entente between exporting countries is not technically feasible. What is more, Russia remains reticent to join any association in order not to limit its room for maneuver. Seeking to dominate the world market, it has singed a certain number of agreements with other big producers. Nevertheless, the capitalistic constraints of the gas market jeopardize the chances of long-term coordination, which is incompatible with short-term political interests.

La commission Winograd a mis en avant certains dysfonctionnements de l'armée israélienne au cours du conflit de l'été 2006. Les errements du processus de décision stratégique ont également été dénoncés. Depuis lors, les causes de l'échec de la guerre contre le Hezbollah ont été analysées et des réorientations majeures ont été engagées.

Apparue aux États Unis dans l'euphorie de l'éclatante victoire aéroterrestre de la première guerre du Golfe en 1991, l'idée de concevoir les opérations à partir des effets que l'on souhaite obtenir sur le terrain et l'ennemi reprend une notion qui n'a rien de révolutionnaire. Il ne s'agit pas d'une nouvelle manière de faire la guerre. Les principes en question, comme le fait de faire plier la volonté de l'adversaire, rappellent Clausewitz ou Sun Tsu. Néanmoins, cette notion prend une toute autre dimension avec les développements conceptuels et doctrinaux de la théorie des Effects-Based Operations.

The visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Russia (October 2007) and the future French Presidency of the European Union (in the second half of 2008) call for a reflection on Franco-Russian relations and their structure within the broader framework of Russia-Europe relations. In the coming years, the nature of the EU-Russian dialogue will become a crucial issue, while Franco-Russian bilateral relations are now relegated to second place. This discrepancy is forcing French policy-makers to resort to a pragmatic and realistic approach in order to better combine the two agendas. This article examines the immediate issues at stake in the EU-Russian dialogue, the EU's attitude toward Russia and, conversely, Russia's attitude toward the EU. For each point, this article will examine whether the French stance has been sustained or if it has evolved.

Jolyon Howorth

Olivier Louis