What makes the militia milieu so unique and important for understanding today’s Russia is that it finds itself at the intersection of state institutions, patronage mechanisms, criminal structures, and grassroots illiberal activism.

Since February 22, thousands and then millions of Algerians have taken to the streets every Friday to protest against the fifth term of their ailing eighty-two-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

This text was published in Politique étrangère in 1979, the year in which the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) was created.

The last four decades have witnessed the profound transformation of the very foundations of the international system: the globalization of trade, technical revolutions, the upheaval of the hierarchy of powers, the emergence of China, the explosion of the Middle-East, the mutation of conflicts and threats, climate concerns, etc.

During the 19th century, Westerners provided ideological justifications for their colonization, namely spreading the Enlightenment across the globe.

The notion of power has long been a topic of study in international relations. In the coming decade, the evolution of power will be characterized by the dynamics of concentration and dispersion.

Urbanization is a relentless trend, and as cities grow and expand, armed conflict and violence are urbanizing as well. 

Of Russia’s 146 million citizens (if we include those in Crimea), 63 million—or 43 percent—are under 34 years of age. Of these, 30 million belong to Generation Y (millennials in their 20s and early 30s), 15 million belong to Gen Z (teenagers), and a further 18 million are part of the youngest generation (less than 10 years of age).