The purpose of this section is to present and publicize ideas resulting from research carried out in the various organizations within the French Ministry of Defence.
Each month, when a publication appears or an event occurs, researchers and service personnel will set out the key strategic-planning issues and report on current research within their organization.
At a time when the United States has come up against strategic circumstances imposed by counter insurgency, its generals are, like Lieutenant-Colonel Galula, seeking inspiration in a number of French sources. But this is a detail that obscures the bigger picture. French strategic thinking forms part of a long tradition, and the study of “small wars” (if this is an appropriate description) represents only one of its many facets. The evident richness of this military reflection accounts for its influence on the development of Western strategic thinking. As examples, French theorists have contributed to better research into manoeuvres (Castex), nuclear strategy (Aron, Poirier and Gallois), and, more generally, the nature of action in wartime. Their contributions gave the philosophers an opportunity to propound their ideas, occasionally even within the French Military Academy itself, and the work of Aron and also Jean Guitton is still important there today. In France, it is normal for service personnel to engage in more than just action in the field. They also place weight on thought. Today, it is important to maintain this legacy and use it to achieve results, and officers of all generations are active in doing so, attempting to extend the lines opened up by their predecessors. Academics are not sidelinedside-lined, and are working with them in the same sense. It is a direction that offers new constraints and characteristics, all of which stimulate thought.
The first constraint is an orientation towards America when defining the priorities and broad directions for research. The United States has succeeded in preserving and strengthening the community researching strategic issues. Key features of this community are the number of producers and the critical mass of its publications. American research now occupies a dominant position in the academic arena. This means that the underlying ideas and the ways of conceptualizingconceptualising recourse to force frequently present a technological aspect that dominates other perspectives. The study of the terrain (historically the source of research into war) has been extended in the United States by technical progress that tends to relegate the human and psychological aspects.
A second constraint is imposed by changes to the international political configuration. Although the move towards multipolaritya multipolar world is not yet complete, it is raising a number of questions: how do the emerging powers define their defence policy? whatWhat impact does the financial crisis have on conflicts and on military capacities (and this draws in major questions of international political economy)?
A third constraint is posed by the crystallizationcrystallisation of a debate between Ancient and Modern. The initial objective of strategic thinking is to study military power and its relationship to policy. As soldiersoldiers' missions broaden to include crisis areas and soldiersoldiers' actions become more diverse, differences between Ancient and Modern have crystallizedcrystallised. Ancients defend the original concept, viewing strategic thinking as a military science. Moderns are in favour of a radical change, in which military science is replaced by security studies.
In addition to these constraints, France has one special feature and one imperative. The special feature is its nuclear deterrent, which had a profound effect on the drafting of the first French White BookPaper on defenceDefence in 1972. Now that the Obama Administration is seeking a new dialogue on nuclear issues, the deterrent argument is up for discussion. French military personnel and researchers need to express their views and contribute to the debate. The French imperative is its membership of Europe. Missions linked to the European Security and Defence Policy (now the EU Common Security and Defence Policy) have expanded since 2003. But over and above the deployment of forces in a civil and military setting, and the management of the relationship with NATO, the key question is the European Union’s strategic stance as a global player. French researchers and military personnel need to work to redefine it.
The stakeschallenges are substantial, but commensurate with the strength of the French tradition that it is important to keep alive.
Frédéric Ramel, Scientific Director of the IRSEM
The Strategic-Research Institute of the French Military Academy (Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l'Ecole Militaire – IRSEM)
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/irsem
The IRSEM was created under the constitution of the French Military Academy. It is a University Centre for Defence, the precursor of a true European and international university discipline in this field, and also covers geopolitics, strategy, armaments and the defence economy. The IRSEM results from the reform process that began with the creation of the French Higher Council for Strategic Training and Research (Conseil Supérieur de la Formationet de la Recherche Stratégique- CSFRS). It works through the French Consistency Committee for Strategic Research and Forecasting (Comité De Cohérence de la Recherche Stratégiqueet de la Prospective- CCRP) and is responsible at the French Ministry of Defence for steering and facilitating the approach to forecasting and strategic research.
French Directorate for Strategic Affairs (Délégation aux Affaires Stratégiques - DAS)
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/das
The DAS advises the Minister on the French stance on issues affecting defence. The Director responsible for strategic affairs represents France at European-Union and NATO meetings of Defence Policy Directors.
French Joint Forces Centre for Core Concepts, Policies and Testing (Centre Interarmées de Concepts, de Doctrines et d’Expérimentations – CICDE)
http://www.cicde.defense.gouv.fr/
The CICDE reports directly to the French joint forces’ Chief of Staff. Its role is to carry out operational forecasting, and to develop and test concepts and principles involving all armed forces in a national and multinational context. It was created on the 21st ofApril 2005.
French Centre for Forces Deployment Policy (Centre de Doctrine d’Emploi des Forces - CDEF)