Security - Defense
As a result of global strategic competition, security and defense issues are marked by the return of major wars and nuclear deterrence, the transformation of terrorism and the race for military technologies.
Related Subjects
Country Risk Analysis: More than a Postmodern Discipline
Methodological debates about the stages of growth and the way in which a country goes through political modernization are long-established and manifold.
The Nagging Problem of State Insolvency
Historically, states have indebted themselves to finance military campaigns. They do so nowadays for other reasons such as financing productive investment.
On the Strategic Value of Ballistic Missile Defense
The strategic value of missile defense remains in considerable debate in Europe but less so in the United States.
Les chausse-trapes de la remontée en puissance : Défis et écueils du redressement militaire
A process of military resurgence shows a government’s will to strengthen its defense apparatus, either to face new strategic challenges or, more frequently, to reverse decline of its capabilities.
Ukraine : the crisis begins
Il y aura un avant et un après. En Ukraine, en Russie, dans toute l’Europe, ailleurs.
La disparition de l’Ukraine comme entité souveraine – on en est plus près que jamais – serait un coup de tonnerre en Europe. Parce que l’espace qui lui survivrait serait très difficilement gérable, ouvrant le risque d’une longue guerre civile dans le style Balkans- années 1990. Et parce que la Russie est incapable de gérer seule cet espace où les Occidentaux n’ont guère l’envie de s’investir profondément.
Une Europe aux abonnés quasi-absents. La crise prend à contre-pied une Politique européenne de voisinage (PEV) brouil- lonne, éclaire l’impuissance militaire de l’Union de Lisbonne et son incapacité à s’entendre sur une stratégie commune face à un pro- blème fondamental dans son voisinage, tant demeurent prégnants les intérêts nationaux, et non politiques les mécanismes bruxellois.
Et loin, très loin, l’Amérique... Une Amérique finalement assez peu présente dans la crise, mais qui se voit, en un temps d’incertitude sur son propre positionnement stratégique, renvoyer la question fondamentale de ces 20 dernières années – qu’elle n’a pas plus que les autres les moyens de trancher : le système international retourne- t-il à grande vitesse vers une structure d’affrontement classique dont Moscou pourrait, avec Pékin, constituer l’épicentre ? Ou, bon an mal an, reste-t-il stable, avec de bons moyens d’amortir les cahots ici ou là inévitables ?
Sur l’ensemble de ces thèmes et bien d’autres encore, l’Ifri présente ici quelques brèves introductions à l’ensemble des débats ouverts par les événements ukrainiens. La crise ukrainienne ne fait que commencer.
La réforme du secteur de sécurité, entre bureaucraties et stratégie
The concept of Security Sector Reform (SSR) was developed during the 1990s as a response to several problems chiefly faced by countries in post-conflict transitions: weak new governments; conflicting civil-military relations; ill-defined division of tasks between the armed forces, the police, and the judiciary system; and tension between the requirements to stabilize the country and to establish the rule of law.
World War I, in Theory
The First World War gave rise to the emergence of the discipline of international relations, but it was the Second World War and the Cold War that fostered its development.
The Impact of the First World War on Strategy
The First World War helped redefine the notion of strategy, giving it a political dimension that it previously lacked.
The United States and the ‘Demilitarization’ of Europe: Myth or Reality?
The criticism leveled by Americans at Europe’s neglect of its commitment to defense is not new, and is often exaggerated.
Support independent French research
Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.
Related centers and programs
European & Transatlantic Security
The European & Transatlantic Security Program aims to contribute to the strategic debate by developing analyses around three main axes: European defense and the security architecture of the European continent, institutional and strategic links between the Treaty Organization of North Atlantic (NATO) and the European Union (EU), as well as the evolution of the transatlantic relationship.
Internal Security
The distinction between internal and external threats is often exaggerated, as the borders are so porous. Conflicts taking place thousands of kilometers from France can have tragic resonances on national territory. Radicalization, terrorism and even organized crime have an international dimension that cannot be ignored.
Deterrence and Proliferation
The conflicts in Europe, Asia and the Middle East demonstrate a return of nuclear power to the balance of power. Arsenals are being modernized and expanded, while arms control is collapsing. This research program aims to analyze these phenomena.
Observatory on Future Conflicts
The Observatory of Future Conflicts is a research program carried out by the French Institute of International Relations and the Foundation for Strategic Research on behalf of the three army headquarters aimed at studying developments in tensions and armaments at the horizon 2040 in a transversal perspective, taking into account the issues of each army.
Security Studies Center
Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.
Defense Research Unit
The Defense Research Unit is a program that aims at stimulating the strategic debate by dealing with subjects at the junction of the “technico-operational” and the “political-strategic”. A unique structure in France, it brings together civilian researchers and “military fellows” from each of the three armies to produce work on defense policies, the capability and strategic adaptation of armies, and foresight on tomorrow's conflicts.