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
The War in Ukraine: Echoes of Korea?
The war in Ukraine has revived discussion about the Washington-Beijing-Moscow triangle as well as Europe’s place in the geopolitical power struggles.
Chinese Nuclear Force Modernization and Doctrinal Change
Dating back to the first test in 1964, the Chinese nuclear force modernization process is motivated by other nuclear powers’ modernization across the years, mostly from the United States and the Soviet Union, but also by domestic factors such as economic debates and tensions in the scientific community.
Le retour de la haute intensité en Ukraine : quels enseignements pour les forces terrestres ?
After twenty years of counter-terrorism, the Ukrainian battlefield marks the renewal of so-called “high-intensity” warfare. It constitutes a major strategic turning point, reversing the contemporary model of wars involving the West.
After support for Ukraine, Kishida aims for NATO unity on China
When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida becomes the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO leaders summit on Wednesday, he’ll be looking to stress the need for unity in preventing China from taking the “wrong lessons” from the Ukraine war as the bloc looks to expand its footprint in the Indo-Pacific.
First Nuclear Lessons from the War in Ukraine
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces on February 24th displays undeniable nuclear attributes. The purpose of this text is to analyze the initial lessons of this conflict, with regard to the balance of forces between nuclear powers.
Quelle stratégie pour l’aide civile en Ukraine ?
Ukrainian institutions have overall withstood the shock of the war: the central government and local authorities benefit from a real legitimacy and a solid ability to govern.
Russia's air force makes the difference in Donbas breakthrough
The frantic rate of attacks from the air seems to have contributed to the recent retreat of Ukrainian forces on the Donbas front.
War in Ukraine: Schumpeter in Sovietland ?
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Moscow’s initial plan was to use a “shock and awe” approach to conquer Kyiv quickly.
French Special Operations What Is Their Role in the Context of Great-Power Competition?
The year 2022 marks thirty years since the creation of the Commandement des operations spéciales (COS, Special Operations Command). Those three decades have been dominated by missions carried out in volatile environments, most often against irregular adversaries, primarily terrorist groups.
Deus ex machina : les enjeux de l’autonomisation des systèmes d’armes
While the automatization of machines is part of an already long historical, conceptual, and technical trajectory, the exponential progress of artificial intelligence techniques, robotics and their military applications suggest the emergence of systems that integrate more autonomy. Indeed, despite campaigns calling for a moratorium on autonomous weapons, most military powers are developing programs focused on autonomy.
The Defense Budget in France: Between Denial and Decline
Although defense spending is the fourth budget item in France, it is rarely a matter of public debate. During the past three decades, defense has been affected in turn by the desire to rip the benefit of the post-Cold War “peace dividend”, the professionalization of 1997, and the increase of overseas operations after September 11, 2001.
Libya: Old or New Picture? Risks of political uncertainty for the gas and oil business
Libya has an opportunity to get back on track. The end of embargoes and sanctions after the conclusion of the “February Revolution” is favoring a fast production growth.
Command and Control in a Nuclear-Armed Iran
In the long standoff regarding its nuclear ambition, Iran has cultivated ambiguity and been loath to reliably assure the international community of its ultimate intentions, complicating Western efforts to understand, let alone constrain, Tehran’s endeavors.
Helicopter Warfare: The Future of Airmobility and Rotary Wing Combat.
Military helicopters have evolved into technologically sophisticated weapon systems. Originally designed to counter Soviet armor, attack helicopters now have to cope with a wide spectrum of threats, some of them bringing them back to their counterinsurgency roots.
Security Partnerships in Japan's Asia Strategy: Creating Order, Building Capacity and Sharing Burden
During the last decade, Japan has sought partnership with many Asian nations - the drive remaining strong regardless of ruling parties. Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is to continue this trend under the name of ‘value diplomacy".
Dancing with the Bear: Managing Escalation in a Conflict with Russia
"Escalation", the tendency of belligerents to increase the force or breadth of their attacks to gain advantage or avoid defeat, is not a new phenomenon. Systematic thought about how to manage it, however, did not crystallize until the Cold War and the invention of nuclear weapons.
China's Fortress Fleet-in-Being and its Implications for Japan's Security
This paper analyzes the rise of maritime China and its implications for Japan’s security policy.
Economic Constraint and Ukraine's Security Policy
Since winning the 2010 presidential elections in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych has worked hard to repair Kyiv's relationship with Moscow.
Cruise Missiles and NATO Missile Defense: Under the Radar?
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the threat of cruise missile proliferation is as equally challenging to NATO as the threat of ballistic missiles. Over the last two decades, the emergence of cruise missiles and UAVs as a threat has been slow, and governments, particularly the United States, have invested much less in cruise missile defenses than in ballistic missile defenses.
The Primacy of Alliance: Deterrence and European Security
Since the end of the Cold War, the international security environment has been transformed and nuclear weapons have been marginalized in the West. However, the NATO security policies remain almost unchanged: deterrence is still considered as a principle guiding the Atlantic Alliance, even though the actual policy statements lack target, direction and urgency.
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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.