"War in Ukraine: one year on, what lessons can we learn?" This was the title of the conference organised on 16 February at the École Militaire by several organisations, including the IHEDN and the IRSEM. Opened by Lieutenant General Benoît DurieuxThierry Burkhard, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, brought together specialists from a wide range of civilian and military disciplines, researchers, doctors and officers from the three services, who shared their analyses of the lessons to be learned from the conflict.
Here is a selection of rich, dense materialHere are some of the key points raised by five speakers over the course of the day.
Episode 4: Before the «Global South»
In this final instalment of our summer series, three leading intellectuals of the 20the These 20th-century figures analyse various aspects of what was then known as the «Third World»: the coiner of the term, the demographer Alfred Sauvy; the Senegalese statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor; and the historian Fernand Braudel.
Episode 3: French society
In this third instalment of our summer series, two original intellectuals of the 20the Two figures from the 20th century offer their analysis of various aspects of the country during their time, the late De Gaulle era: the journalist Françoise Giroud dissects the print media sector, whilst the philosopher Jacques Ellul paints a scathing portrait of French youth, from the ‘blousons noirs’ to the ‘minets’ and the hippies.
Episode 2: The School of Strategy
In this second episode of our summer series, two of the greatest French «strategists» of the 20the Two figures from the 20th century shed light on strategy and its relationship with politics: the philosopher Raymond Aron and General André Beaufre.
A look back at the 163e Youth programme in Île-de-France, in partnership with IHEMI
For the second time, from 6 to 10 July, the IHEDN and the IHEMI joined forces under the auspices of the ACADEM to offer a ‘Youth’ programme common to both institutes. Following the success of its first edition in 2025, this latest session once again demonstrated the synergy between state actors across the security-defence continuum.
SIALC 2026: IHEDN strengthens cooperation between Latin America, the Caribbean and France in the fight against illicit trafficking
From 29 June to 3 July, Martinique hosted the 10th International Session for Latin America and the Caribbean (SIALC), organised by the IHEDN in partnership with the Directorate for Security and Defence Cooperation (DCSD). The focus of this year’s session was on strengthening regional cooperation to combat illicit trafficking and consolidate collective security, following on from the Regional Security Conference held as part of France’s G7 presidency.
Episode 1: Historic Voices at the IHEDN
For this first episode of our summer series on the major speeches delivered to the Institute’s audience, we feature four prominent speakers: Admiral Castex and General Mast, our first two directors, and Presidents De Gaulle and Kennedy.
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.
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