Contenu du sommaire : Internet, outil de puissance

Internet Governance: Current Tensions, Possible Outcomes
Internet has become a major issue in international relations. The debate concerning its governance shows the opposition between two main governance structures. One of which is governance organized around national sovereignty or interstate multilateralism. The other, a multi-stakeholder approach, is broadly inclusive to all civil society actors. New governance can only arise after the elimination of the over-simplistic debates that have appropriated the terms of a “new Cold War”.

Internet, Civil Society, and Governments: Cohabitation or Culture Shock? Internet governance will be the subject of major debates in the coming years. Will it continue along the path of free and open Internet or will it be more oriented towards an Internet regulated by national policies or economic interests? It will be necessary to establish new, collaborative, non-hierarchical relationships between public institutions and civil society actors. Only then could Internet be able to go on developing as a place of freedom for the global community.

Russia: Will the Web Reinvent Policy? The Web has seen a spectacular development in Russia, opening an intermediary political space through which protesters against the regime have been able to coalesce, as shown by the events in late 2011 and early 2012. As use of the Web in this way becomes more common, authorities are adapting by working to integrate digital means into the governance of the country through sophisticated network controls. In Russia in 2012, policy goes digital and digital gets politicized.

China: Internet, a Tool for National Power Internet has become part of the Chinese strategy for development and national affirmation. This strategy, however, supposes that China has digital sovereignty, itself secured by control over Internet governance. For this reason, Beijing favors the hypothesis of interstate multilateral governance through the UN, while it adopts flexible positions within international forums, a stance which allows it to defend all of its interests, especially those relating to economics.

Cyberwar Will Not Happen, but We Must Be Prepared Even if no independent cyberwar has ever taken place, “cyberspace” has nonetheless become an important dimension of current conflicts. States – including France – must be prepared to conduct operations in cyberspace. A purely defensive strategy would consist of building a 21st century Maginot Line. However, it is necessary to adopt an offensive approach, much like the Americans or the Japanese.

Should Armies Fear Social Networks?
Many soldiers have private accounts on social networks like Facebook. It allows them to keep in touch with their families from the theater of operations. Possible risks, especially leaks, exist but are still limited. However, focus on this subject should not be solely limited to the risks but should also consider possible benefits: social networks are public relations tools and could provide effective recruitment services for the armed forces.

Asia: A Geopolitical Reconfiguration
The Asian “super-complex” has taken shape: this is evident within the cross-membership model to Asian intergovernmental organizations and through the appearance of political counterweights to China, particularly in India. The United States' engagements in East and South Asia are also part of this super-complex. The hardening of Beijing since 2008 has helped maintain US influence in Asia, despite Washington's decline on the international stage.

Is Asia “Sino-Centric”?
In Asia, Beijing wants to weaken America's power and occupy a more dominant position. In order to do so, as well as attain more local objectives, China is playing its economic and military cards. Reactions within the region are diverse, but go neither towards alignment with Beijing or towards outright opposition. The regional geopolitical landscape is diverse, and somewhat enigmatic, as is the nature of Chinese power: is it a regional power or a global power in the making?

India in East Asia: Commitment Subject?
As part of its “Look East” Policy, India has spent 20 years working to integrate itself into East Asian trade. In strategic terms, New Delhi has remained very prudent. As India has become closer to the United States and its allies in the region, it has begun to have more weight within the region. India is careful, however, not to degrade its relationship with China, who could challenge Indian interests in their shared border areas.

Islam, Nationalism, and Vendetta: The Insurgency in the North Caucasus
During the last decade, the insurgency raging in Chechnya has spread to other regions of the Caucasus, Dagestan and Ingushetia in particular. Secular nationalism, a potential trigger of ethnic clashes, has given way to jihad as a unifying principle of the struggle against Russia. Other factors have also fueled the insurgency, including the culture of the vendetta.

Darfur: Who Are the Janjaweed?
In Darfur, the Sudanese government partially delegated the counter-insurgency struggle to local militias, the Janjaweed. The alliance between Khartoum and the Janjaweed was mainly due to President Omar al-Bashir's lack of confidence in his army, of which many officers were originally from Darfur. Over time, this alliance has eroded and the empowerment of Arab militias has made the situation in Western Sudan particularly volatile.

When the Crisis Threatens the Foreign Policy of the European Union
The European Union's foreign policy is in crisis. Europe is in the process of demilitarization and still depends on NATO when it comes to conducting major operations. In terms of soft power, the EU has lost its aura, something that has become evident through observation of the “Arab Spring”. In this difficult context, the European Service for External Action struggles to produce convincing results.

French Interventions in Africa: The End of Europeanization?
During the first decade of the 21st century, France launched several military operations in Africa alongside its European partners. This Europeanization has not yielded the expected results, mainly because of reluctance from Berlin and London. France, therefore, has returned to a more unilateral approach (although sometimes tinged with UN multilateralism), as illustrated by the case of the intervention in the Ivory Coast in 2011.