Contenu du sommaire : Réflexions stratégiques

In 1914, the French Navy had been greatly influenced by technical and doctrinal thinking of the young school, and was no longer able to fulfil France's strategic needs. That was in contrast to the Royal Navy, with its Dreadnought battleships, and to the Kriegsmarine. The lessons learned from the failures of the young school remain as pertinent as ever-the more so since command of the sea has again become a significant factor of power.

The French Strategic Review published last autumn continued the process of definition of the terrorist threat by emphasising how real it is and by specifying its nature. Of particular concern is Islamic terrorism, which continues to spread, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, despite recent losses by Daesh. The unequivocal definition of this enemy is framing our strategy.

The French Strategic Review was an effective and well-conducted exercise in style. Nevertheless, numerous issues have yet to receive responses worthy of the name beyond expressions of political intention. The true ambitions of the Review will never be achieved unless the future military programming law gives them the necessary budget and that that law continues to be applied over the long term.

General Ailleret perished fifty years ago in an aircraft accident. As Head of the Defence Staff, he was one of the founding fathers of the deterrent force, and contributed directly to defining its doctrine as it was developed with the political support of General de Gaulle. The works of Ailleret are as pertinent as ever and worth re-reading.

The Russian Empire entered the war in the summer of 1914, and seemed the most powerful ally of the Entente, if only by the vast number of soldiers it had mobilised. The structural weaknesses of the army ultimately proved fatal and went as far as provoking the fall of the Tsar and the establishment of the Bolshevik regime, which was able to flourish from the crisis of 1917.

It can hardly be said that the security situation in Mali is encouraging, despite the great efforts of our various forces. Multinational action has been ineffective, useless even, in the face of the deficiencies in a regime incapable of reforming itself. That said, to put down arms would leave the field free for destabilisation that would cause chaos in the region and in Europe.

The Arctic is an area harbouring high strategic and economic stakes. Following a period of excess, it continues to attract attention and to incite often-opposing interests, yet also cooperation-in the scientific field in particular. The region is one in which balance of force will remain an important factor.

Dupuy de Lôme was not only a great marine engineer, he was also an active politician in the Second Empire and was committed to the service of private industry, where he encouraged the transfer of innovative technologies that had been honed for use in military naval service. In his professional activity he embraced modernity, leaving a remarkable heritage.

The launch in December 2017 of HMS Prince of Wales, the second aircraft carrier, is the opportunity to have an all-round look at the CVF programme, one which has seen many unknown quantities. The Royal Navy has now recovered a major capability but one which will continue to demand a lot of effort-to begin with, the formulation of a doctrine for use.

Chinese naval power is seeing an unequalled growth in all its components, and Beijing is putting more effort than ever into long-term projects that will eventually lead to an imposing worldwide presence.

The Japanese Navy continues to improve its power by developing large aircraft-carrying ships. Given its plan to build a fleet of aircraft carriers, China's ambition is clear: faced with that, Tokyo could go further, especially if it chooses to acquire F-35 aircraft.

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), or more simply-if somewhat sensationally-‘killer robots', constitute a real challenge, given that progress in artificial intelligence is accelerating the development of such weapons. Debate in Geneva is vital in order to arrive at a definition of the threats that LAWS pose and to promote an applicable international law to cover such devices.

Artificial intelligence (AI) employs coding algorithms which use only 0 and 1 to manage and exploit Big Data. However coding is not language-at least, not as humans know it. Beyond that which may be calculated or analysed AI has to retain those attributes that are special to man: freedom of choice, to dream and to be irrational.

The expression cold war has returned to describe the increasingly difficult relationship between the West and Russia, the latter still influenced by its heritage of the defunct Soviet Union. Whilst there are certain similarities is current tensions, we should nevertheless remind ourselves of what the Cold War was in reality, particularly in terms of the ideological confrontation.

The laborious search for a new coalition has put Germany at the very heart of current European politics. A number of recent works offer better understanding of our neighbour across the Rhine by spotlighting the recent history of a Germany so envied for its economic successes yet having so unattractive a lifestyle.