It will have escaped no-one's notice that over the last few years, our world has been reshaping on all fronts: strategic, technological, geopolitical... True to its maxim, "understanding in order to act, understanding in order to act together", the IHEDN is organising four forthcoming events at the École Militaire, each in its own field, to help decipher these upheavals.
23 NOVEMBER: DISINFORMATION, CYBER ATTACKS... THE INVISIBLE WARS
On 23 November at 6.30pm, diplomat Nathalie Loiseau will present her book "La guerre qu'on ne voit pas venir" (published by L'Observatoire) as part of a strategic debate. Minister for European Affairs from 2017 to 2019, former director of ENA and now a Member of the European Parliament, the author looks at the invisible threats facing Western democracies today.
Disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and interference in election campaigns and political life have multiplied exponentially in recent years. Disseminated by means of fake news and legions of trolls, the infox now touches on everything from Covid to women's and minority rights, via the war in Ukraine. European democracies are being harassed, criticised and slandered, so that their foundations are shaking and their influence is waning.
How can we win these invisible wars and defend democratic values? These are the questions that Nathalie Loiseau seeks to answer in her book, which focuses on Vladimir Putin and contemporary Russia, but also on China and Turkey.
To follow the debate at face-to-facePlease register below.
It will be possible to follow the debate live below.
4 DECEMBER: ARE VLADIMIR POUTINE, BACHAR EL ASSAD AND KIM JONG-UN UNACCEPTABLE?
4 December at 6.30pm, Manon-Nour Tannous and Jean-Pierre Bat will be presenting the book Fréquenter les infréquentables (published by Biblis), edited by Manon-Nour Tannous, as part of a strategic debate.
Manon-Nour Tannous has a doctorate in international relations and is a lecturer at the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne. She is an associate researcher at the Collège de France (Chair of Contemporary History of the Arab World) and at the University of Paris 2 (Thucydides Centre), as well as editor-in-chief of the journal Mondes arabes. Jean-Pierre Bat is an associate professor and doctor of history, specialising in Central Africa and French decolonisation policy, and is a researcher affiliated to the CNRS.
Should we talk to Vladimir Putin? Negotiate with Bashar al-Assad? Compromise with Kim Jong-Un? These are the questions the authors attempt to answer. Using a number of examples from contemporary history, they introduce the criteria for 'associability': embodiment of the State, representation of the people, respect for human rights, etc. Going back over the dilemmas of diplomacy and the relationship with the Other, the researchers highlight the fact that, like any discursive strategy, labelling produces effects (both material and symbolic costs).
To follow the debate at face-to-facePlease register below.
It will be possible to follow the debate live below.
7 DECEMBER: LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL DEFENCE YEAR
On 7 December at 7pm, the IHEDN and the government's Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (DILA) will be presenting the first edition of theNational Defence Year.
The resurgence of high-intensity warfare in Europe, the toughening of strategic competition and the weakening of Western economies and democracies are putting defence and security issues back at the centre of national concerns. At a time when France is strengthening its sovereignty and partnerships, theNational Defence Year presents the keys to understanding a changing world, the challenges it faces and the major directions it is taking, both military and non-military.
ADN 2024 puts into perspective a selection of major events that took place in 2022, the effects of which will have a profound and lasting impact on the development of defence and security issues beyond 2023. These events are systematically accompanied by a reference document, a founding speech or an official statement, and are analysed in an educational and synthetic way by the best specialists in the field.
Based around four circles (military defence, national defence, national security and international security), this first edition of theNational Defence Year helps to promote and disseminate useful knowledge in this area.
Following presentations of the book by the Director of the IHEDN, Lieutenant General Benoît Durieux, and the Director of the DILA, Anne Duclos-Grisier, a round table discussion chaired by Guillaume Lasconjarias, Head of the Studies and Research Department at the IHEDN, will bring together Major General Vincent Breton, Director of the Centre interarmées de doctrines, concepts et expérimentations (CDICE), Isabelle Facon, Senior Research Fellow at the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique (FRS), and Nicolas Regaud, Climate Advisor to the Major General of the French Armed Forces.
To attend the event, please register below.
8 DECEMBER: THE FOUR FRONTS OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE
On 8 December from 9.30 a.m., the IHEDN and the think tank Eastern Circles is organising a day of meetings dedicated to the war in Ukraine.
After more than 600 days of war, marked by violence, massacres and fierce resistance, Ukraine has impressed the world. President Zelensky was named "Man of the Year" by Time magazine, lawyer and activist Oleksandra Matviichuk was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Ukrainian army emerged as the country's strongest institution, while volunteers and conscripts, both men and women, filled the ranks.
In almost two years of war, Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to resist, to transform its defence sector and to develop new industries such as drones. This success is the result of cooperation between public institutions, the private sector and civil society in support of the war effort. During the war, Ukraine is modernising and reforming its institutions, particularly in the fight against corruption, in order to become a candidate for EU and NATO membership.
This conference seeks to explain how the country has transformed itself while at the same time fighting on the information, economic, diplomatic and military fronts of a new global war.
It will therefore be structured around a series of round tables devoted successively to these four fronts, with speakers from Ukraine of course, but also from Africa, India, the United Kingdom... Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2022, will be the closing speaker. The names of the other speakers will be announced shortly.
To attend the event, please register below.
