Contenu du sommaire : Les enjeux de la Revue stratégique

The strategic review highlights the fact that the considerable commitment of France in an unstable and uncertain world carries with it responsibilities that have to be faced. France needs to have armed forces with a wide range of capabilities in order to act autonomously and remain sovereign. It needs to have a European outlook, to be capable of innovation and of offering an overall vision for its defence.

The strategic review is more than a simple exercise in style-it is a realistic analysis of our environment with the clearly stated intention not to push difficulties to one side. The work conducted by the committee was in the context of a broad vision of the challenges faced whilst at the same time avoiding excessive focus on the short term. It now remains to put into practice the resulting political decisions.

The Srategic Review gives a clear statement of threats, yet it also advocates armed forces with a full range of capabilities. It follows that significant reorganisation of the defence effort is required. That is now the challenge facing the next military programming law, a condition being that the means are provided from the outset for the real increase in capability that is needed to guarantee the security of France.

The Strategic Review describes a more uncertain and therefore dangerous world. The degradation in the international situation means we have to restore the capability of our armed forces, currently somewhat worn out as a result of the many demands put upon them. We have now to look to the future and find scope for manoeuvre in order to achieve better sharing of effort by all concerned.

The Strategic Review, though interesting, lacks lateral thinking and obscures a number of essential issues. Despite its weaknesses in both form and function it nevertheless shows clear aims yet at the same time demonstrates lack of vision and fear of taking risk—fear also of accepting political responsibility for risk. The result is an absence of effective options.

As the current Strategic Review is being studied, it is enlightening to re-read what General Ailleret wrote some fifty years ago. General Ailleret was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1962 to 1968, when he died on duty in an aircraft accident, and his words explain the defence policy sought and set in place by general de Gaulle that remains even today the conceptual pillar of French defence. The text presented here is the strategic defence review of 1967.

The South Korean Navy is seeing major changes, with an increase in its role in the security arrangements facing North Korea. Seoul's naval ambitions look set to grow with the project for the development of SSNs for its submarine fleet.

Borders around the Indian sub-continent remain contested and highly militarised, a particular case being that between India and China. The complex geography serves to add to the difficulties, the more so given that maintaining a check on crossing points is far from simple, especially in mountainous areas in which frequent clashes take place.

The high seas, exo-atmospheric space and cyber space are common spaces that are increasingly coveted by emerging powers. There exists a desire to militarise these spaces and therefore to control them to the detriment of free use. Europeans need urgently to take note of this if they are not to see themselves marginalised in the future.

The freedom of action of the Navy in littoral areas is being called into question by the development by hostile actors of access-denial assets. It is important to regain a capability for engagement by enhancing protection systems on new generations of warships.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has succeeded in penetrating most of our activities, private ones included. Algorithms are capable of analysing the information accumulated in Big Data and can supplant human activity by limiting the risk of error. How, though, should AI be regulated and how should we preserve what is dear and in common to humanity?

Cyber crime is continually on the increase with new and ever more malevolent uses, and better-organised actors who produce increasingly destabilising effects. Responses to this need to be more innovative and able to keep pace with changes. The gendarmerie and other state organisations are increasing their effort in this field.

In its peace maintenance operations, the UN is confronted by the sensitive issue of sexual violence committed by members of its own Blue Helmets. To combat this scourge the organisations for prevention, enquiry and repression have been completely revised. This new policy against sexual abuse looks set to be effective in the long term.

The setting up of Kosovo Specialist Chambers by the European Union is a new stage in the field of international criminal justice and is supported by experience gained from other special tribunals. It carries with it the risk of hindering the reconciliation process on a political level.

Exercise Zapad, which was held this summer, was revealing of Russian ambitions and has aroused a degree of concern within NATO. The message sent by Moscow is mainly political, and yet Zapad is a good indicator of how the modernisation process of Russian armed forces is advancing.

The failure of the 15 July 2016 putsch led to fundamental restructuring of the armed forces in Turkey and a massive purge that has affected the command structure. Direct political control has been enhanced under the leadership of president Erdogan. It now remains to be seen what the true operational level of the forces might be.

Yemen has been in chaos for three years. The current conflict is sparing nobody and is inextricable wrapped up in the Shiite-Sunni rivalry nourished by Riyadh and Tehran. Such a scene of desolation is nevertheless fertile soil for the Islamic terrorism which finds refuge there and turns Yemen into a sanctuary from which it can organise its attacks in the world.

The date of 19 March remains so controversial in French history that little is likely to be achieved on reconciliation of the Algerian question. It remains an open wound, particularly for the communities of white French who lived in Algeria (the pieds noirs) and those Algerians who served the French authorities (the Harkis), and leaves nothing but impossible options. The massacres that took place after 18 March 1962 cannot be erased from national memory.