What we read
The ball of illusions. What France believes, what the world sees
This book is the result of a survey on the image of France abroad: by asking people all over the world about their vision of the country, we were able to find out how France is perceived abroad.
Between wars
In this autobiography, General Lecointre, former Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, recounts his military career, from the battlefields of Rwanda to Sarajevo and Afghanistan.
The Indo-Pacific. The new centre of the world
This book shows how the Indo-Pacific is a major geostrategic challenge for the 21st century: an economic engine driven by China's ambitions and the emergence of a global economy.
A world at war
The various contributions in this volume examine the war in Ukraine using tools from different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
The war on sport
This book takes stock of the political instrumentalisation of sport. To do this, the authors look back at key events such as the
The battle of Dien Bien Phu
Using 165 images from French army archives, Pierre Journoud tells the story of the battle of Dien Bien Phu. More specifically, he looks back at the
Our publications
After AUKUS: France in the Indopacific
On 15 September 2021, after eighteen months of confidential negotiations, the "AUKUS" tripartite military alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia was made public. This alliance involves the development of trilateral cooperation in many areas of defence, including cyber and artificial intelligence. As part of this project, the Australian Navy's acquisition of American- or British-built nuclear attack submarines effectively puts an end to the €56 billion contractual commitment made with France in 2016.
The situation in Afghanistan
"Historians date the birth of contemporary Afghanistan back to the 1880s, when the country's borders were largely the result of Russian-British colonial commissions. The first emir, Abdur Rahman, theorised what was to become Afghan politics for almost a century.
MARITIME VIEWS
5e NATIONAL SESSION ON MARITIME ISSUES AND STRATEGIES 2019-2020
For its fifth national session on "Maritime Challenges and Strategies" in 2019-2020, IHEDN has chosen a particular focus: the impact of climate change and protection of the marine environment on defence and security issues.
Armaments and the defence economy
La Revue Défense Nationale - January 2021 - "The great powers are realising that they must practice their armament manoeuvres on a permanent basis". Pierre Marie Gallois European Union and defence issues: the challenges of European strategic autonomy - It is a real challenge to define European strategic autonomy, given the divergent approaches of EU member states.
our contributions
The «Lobster War» as seen by two Brazilian and French researchers
In this joint interview, Vinicius de Carvalho, associate professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and Frédéric Fogacci, director of studies and research at the Charles de Gaulle Foundation and lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, discuss the circumstances and lessons to be learnt from this diplomatic crisis between their two countries.
The «lobster war»: when sovereignty is at stake on the continental shelf
In 1961, a dispute between fishermen off the Brazilian coast escalated into a major diplomatic and military crisis between Paris and Brasília. At the heart of the debate: does the lobster walk or swim? Behind this scientific dispute lies a pioneering clash over the law of the sea, the projection of power and the definition of maritime sovereignty.
The three Baltic states in the world of 2026: a European perspective, new threats and global defence
As the NATO summit gets underway in Ankara, the École Militaire has brought together the ambassadors of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to France to discuss the major security challenges facing Europe’s eastern flank. In the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine and shifts in transatlantic relations, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are establishing themselves as testing grounds for a model of sovereign resilience and a highly integrated «comprehensive defence».
Mathilde Velliet: «The very forces that were driving the United States towards openness are now pushing it towards isolation»
Mathilde Velliet, a researcher at IFRI and winner of the 2026 IHEDN thesis prize, shows how, in the field of strategic technologies, the United States has resolved its dilemma between prosperity and security in relation to China. Increasingly, from Obama to Trump, as one senior official put it to her, «we all started out as doves and ended up as hawks». Interview.
Opening of the 37e European Session of Senior Armament Officials (SERA)
La 37e The European Session of Senior Armaments Officials (SERA37) kicked off on Monday 2 March, with a first week organised in France and Brussels, launching this session which aims to strengthen joint reflection on the industrial, capability and technological challenges facing European defence.
14 July 2026: a symbol of unity and a showcase for Europe’s strategic reawakening
With this year’s National Day parade centred on the continent’s strategic autonomy, the event will highlight the national security continuum, as well as the flags of the European Union, NATO and the forty or so countries participating in the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine. Here is a detailed overview.
