International Organizations and Multilateralism
Rhetoric on the crisis of multilateralism is frequent. International organizations (UN, WTO, etc.) remain no less important, while other forums (G20, BRICS, etc.) are asserting themselves.
Related Subjects
A Year on from the Coup: Burma Collapses
The February 2021 coup encountered a level of resistance that the military did not expect: demonstrations, boycotts, and a slide toward an armed resistance against repression from the authorities.
Climate: Which Way Forward?
Thirty years after Rio, the case file “Climate: Which way forward?” assesses current climate commitments, which are undoubtedly less impressive and less certain than the political pronouncements and media fanfare make them seem. A number of fundamental problems remain.
The CPTPP and UK’s accession: What global implications?
The UK is the first State which formally applied to join the CPTPP. Its bid was accepted in early June 2021.
Trade
Françoise Nicolas contributed the chapter on trade, providing more insights into the opportunities and challenges South Korea and the EU need to address to revive the rules-based multilateral trading system.
The Biden administration in turmoil (video replay)
Celebrating its 20th edition, Ifri's Annual Conference on the United States convened a first panel on national politics and a second on the evolution of U.S. trade. An exchange between Thierry de Montbrial and Henry Kissinger, 56th Secretary of State, concluded the day. Videos of all interventions are below.
European Economic Governance: Past Errors and Future Promises
The eurozone crisis marked a real failure of European Union (EU) policy, which led to mediocre economic performance and the erosion of its political legitimacy among the populations of member states.
Franco-German Civil Society: Object and Actor of Bilateral Relations. Balance and Perspectives after the Signing of the Treaty of Aachen
The treaty signed by France and Germany in Aachen on January 22, 2019 highlights the role of civil society in bilateral cooperation and aims to contribute to "bringing societies [and citizens in both countries] closer together".
France: the leading European power in the Indo-Pacific
In May 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech at the Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, Australia, where he outlined a French strategy for the Indo-Pacific. With this speech, France formally positioned itself as an ‘Indo-Pacific power’ and became the first European country to adopt the concept as a regional framework. France’s approach to the region reflects unique sensitivities. It has also been the driving force for broader European engagement with the Indo-Pacific.
Foreign Policy: France at a Turning Point?
An exceptional issue of Politique étrangère
Confronted with a world in which the fundamentals are being redefined, France’s foreign policy is under scrutiny. In which geographies should France assert its presence? To which major challenges should France be responding in order to survive in tomorrow’s world? What kind of relationship to that world should France be establishing, as thirty years of Western intervention have ended in catastrophic failure in Afghanistan?
Chinese Influences in Africa. 1. The Political and Diplomatic Tools of the "Great Developing Country"
China and Africa have enjoyed a strong relationship since the wave of African independences in the 1960s. Nevertheless, relations between China and Africa have significantly expanded since the late 1990s and have been fueled by a growing discourse centered on a “win-win” partnership between China and Africa.
Ukraine at the Crossroads: Between the EU DCFTA and Customs Union
After serious decline in the 1990s, Ukraine's economy finally started its recovery and systemic reform in early 2000. While the economy rapidly grew by 2008, its transformation remained unfinished. Ukraine has three possible roads to development.
ASEAN-India Political Cooperation: How to reinforce a much-needed pillar?
India is one of Southeast Asia’s principal neighbors and there is certainly great potential for cooperation with the region and its institutional representation, ASEAN. But does India properly exploit this opportunity? Is Southeast Asia satisfied with the level of engagement?
Defence and Foreign Policy Under President-elect François Hollande
We know little about François Hollande's stance on wider foreign and defence policy issues. Though we are unlikely to see major changes from his predecessor, some clues from his successful campaign suggest that President-elect Hollande will adopt a more European and Gaullist approach.
The Lisbon Treaty and the Evolution of European Space Governance
Until the adoption of the Lisbon treaty in December 2007, there was no explicit reference to space in the EU’s constitutive documents. While the European Space Agency has been active in space since the mid-1970s, the Union’s policy remained without a legal basis for space activities. Parallel to the treaties’ evolution however, the EU’s competences never stopped expanding to new fields, bringing it ever closer to space and its various applications. Creativity and dynamic uses of these existing competences have allowed the EU to progressively interfere with the space sector and to get closer to ESA.
The Religious Diplomacy of the Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is shaping its religious diplomacy (i.e., in brief, the use of the religious factor in foreign policy) and exercises it with a growing efficiency. This is, to a certain degree, a consequence of processes taking place in Russia, namely, first and foremost, the solving of the crisis of identity and values, and, closely connected with this, the renaissance of religion in Russian political and social life.
Governing the Geostationary Orbit: Orbital Slots and Spectrum Use in an Era of Interference
Outer space, particularly in the telecommunication sector, is benefiting and becoming accessible to more and more actors. But with this trend comes also a reality that is every day more compelling: no meaningful development can be achieved without a clear, stable and predictable interference-free environment for the use and control of all satellites that depend upon ready access to radio frequencies and appropriate geostationary orbital slots to function properly.
Establishing the Rule of Law: the U.N. Challenge in Kosovo
Created on the 10th July 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK was responsible for restructuring the institutions of a country devastated by war and establishing democratic governance. The security of people and goods and the existence of a legal system trusted by the population were two crucial prerequisites to the state-building process.
Is Africa's Recent Economic Growth Sustainable?
Hardly a week goes by without an African investors’ conference or growth summit.
Globalization of Japanese firms: Long-run Trends, Cross-sectional Variations, and Policy Implications
Japanese firms are increasingly involved in various global business operations - not only in traditional international trade in goods, but also in offshore production and the new mode of globalization: offshore outsourcing.
The Governance of Energy Poverty in Southeastern Europe
This report presents the outcomes of a recently-completed research project1 aimed at uncovering the different ways in which energy poverty – understood as a condition wherein the domestic energy services available to a household are below socially and materially necessitated levels – is produced by, and mitigated through, the interaction of relevant decision-making institutions in the energy, social welfare, health and housing domains. The project focused on conditions in Southeastern Europe, where energy prices have been recently on the rise despite falling incomes and poor access to efficient and adequate energy services.
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