France and the countries on Europe's eastern flank: what defence relations?
Against the backdrop of the threat to European security posed by Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, France is reaffirming its commitment to its allies on Europe's eastern flank. With a military presence in the region, it is helping to strengthen their deterrence and defence posture. This note places this support within the more general framework of defence relations between France and the States on Europe's eastern flank. It shows that, despite historically divergent strategic priorities, closer defence ties between these countries are both possible and desirable.
Multilateralism is now in crisis
Multilateralism is failing to provide solutions to the various current crises. This situation has become even more acute since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. These are the findings of Jean-Vincent Holeindre and Julian Fernandez in their book, Nations désunies? The book brings together leading specialists in multilateralism to shed light on the various factors behind the decline of this central phenomenon in international relations.
Pierre Vimont: "Multilateralism must be reinvented".
Until the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Pierre Vimont was the French President's "special representative" in Russia. A witness to the collapse of the multilateralism created in 1945, he points to the inability of the major powers to take account of the agenda of those that have emerged: "the major global priorities (such as the climate, energy and food crises) require non-Western countries to be integrated into multilateralism".
