"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.
Japan, a laboratory for contemporary economic security
On the occasion of the study mission to Japan of the Economic Defence and Security major of the national session of the IHEDN, focus on the far-reaching and innovative action of the archipelago state in this field. The first country in the world to create a dedicated ministry, Japan aims to achieve the subtle equation of protection without protectionism.
Geopolitics of Oceania. Shifting the focus to the Pacific island states
8 June 2026 | 18h00 at the École militaire
IHEDN, a driving force in the rapprochement of strategic cultures in Europe
To mark Europe month and 90e anniversary of the IHEDN, focus on its historical and current role in structuring a European strategic culture. This dimension, which has been present in our training courses from the outset, has continued to grow: today, the Institute designs and organises numerous training courses for European state and institutional partners, contributing to collective reflection on security and defence issues.
The Japanese concept of economic security
This fact sheet looks at Japan's approach to economic security. It begins by highlighting the way in which the country has succeeded in structuring a dedicated institutional ecosystem in recent years, then analyses the benefits and some of the limitations of this construction. It concludes by looking at the prospects for the development of Japanese economic security arrangements in a context of change at national and international level.
Elsa Vidal: «In the Russian elite, the party of silence is in the majority».»
A quarter of a century after Vladimir Putin came to power, what do Russians think of his governance, the state of their country and the war in Ukraine? Elsa Vidal, a specialist in the former USSR, answers this question in a rigorous and well-documented essay that looks behind the Kremlin's official communication and the clichés common in the West. Interview.
The contemporary transformation of the Japanese army
This fact sheet looks at the contemporary transformation of the Japanese army. It highlights the major increase in the country's military budgets in recent years, as well as the new desire to acquire offensive capabilities. It then analyses the reasons for and some of the limitations of these singular developments, before concluding with a look at the outlook for Japan, particularly with regard to its essential alliance with the United States.
possible games
PUZZLE quiz Crosswords Mixed words Fill-in-the-blank texts Match image/text 7 differences Before/after photo
Armaments training, a strategic contribution from IHEDN
To mark the Institute's 90th anniversary and the 19th Entretiens Armement & Souveraineté, we focus on one of the major themes of the national session: Armaments and the Defence Economy. Bringing together engineers, officers, business executives and legal experts, it covers all aspects of this field, providing a crucial forum for sharing views in the context of high-intensity warfare.
Europe, NATO, ministries: how the armed forces health service anticipates a possible conflict
How can we prepare for what the military call a «major engagement scenario»? The field of health is a good example of this: in recent years, the French armed forces' dedicated service has been stepping up cooperation at national, European and international interdepartmental levels. Focus on a resilience project.
Reinforcing the spirit of defence in higher education in the Paris region
The Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale, the Île-de-France Academic Region and the Paris Defence and Security Zone have signed an ambitious partnership agreement to develop the spirit and culture of defence among students in the Île-de-France region. A joint commitment to forge lasting links between academia, the armed forces and young people.
