Contenu du sommaire : La gestion des crises internationales : l'expérience des armées.

The Development of the Notion of Crisis and Crisis Management Long considered to be a rupture in the international political balance, crises hâve been handled as opportunities to consolidate this balance ever since the blocs collapsed. In this changing world, France's crisis management has developed considerably. Its military intervention is now concentrated on rapid and efficient action in a sphere of influence corresponding to its previous colonial empire, enabling it to restore the general equilibrium.

Crisis Management in the United States : From Grenada to “Desert Storm”, the Lessons Learned For the leading world power, crisis can also be an opportunity to be seized in order to increase its influence. No matter how the crisis ends, its révolution evidences certain features spécifie to the American System : diversity of actors, meticulous organization, massive use of information gathering and processing, the décisive rôle of public opinion. These different aspects are illustrated through three examples : the 1983 intervention in Grenada, operation “Just Cause” in Panama in 1987, and Operation “Desert Storm” brought on by the Iraqi forces, invasion of Kuwait, in 1991.

Military Structures Under the Test of Reality More than other organizations, armies must manage a structurally contradictory situation : they must be capable of being immediately called upon in various types of crises while assuring that their daily life goes on in times of peace. The operation to liberate Kuwait has made it possible to analyse the capacities of military structures to adapt in times of large-scale crisis. Taking the three armed forces into consideration, the author examines the three levels of command : central level (general staff), theatre of operations and support services management.

Defense Ministry Specific Financing Procedures and their Adaptation in a Crisis Period The Ministry of Defense makes use of diverse procedures which derogate rules of public accounting in implementing its budget. These spécial procedures apply only to the armed forces and to military personnel, and concern only operating costs but cover 30 % of ail ministerial funds and 60 % of these operating costs as well. The author provides a discussion of four derogatory procedures to evaluate their adaptation in a crisis period.

Men for Crisis General Called upon to play an essential role in managing crisis situations, armies must ensure that their personnel are capable of adapting to the unforeseen. To accomplish this, they provide special training for both men and women, and implement structured organizations to facilitate human adaptability to events. The current development of our societies requires that they perfect their crisis management capabilities.

Day-to-Day Crisis Over the next few years, armed forces will undergo a profound change as their rôles evolve but also because of technical developments. They must adapt, using the opportunities offered by the technological environment to their best advantage, and make substantial efforts towards improving the three basis functions of information, logistics and information communication Systems.

Round Table : Humanitarian Missions and The French Army Within the current international context, the army is being used more and more in humanitarian type missions because it represents an available public service, originally created for destruction but endowed with substantial means and excellent logistics. The expansion of the army's traditional missions is not taking place without some ethical problems in terms of neutrality and universality. Moreover, the beneficient image resulting from these government operations could result in media overexposure of this humanitarian action. However, the actions of the NGOs and the armed forces are complementary as shown in the success of the “Libage” operation in Kurdistan.

Soldiers and Civilians Facing Crisis The aim of this article is to compare the experiences of armed forces and civilian authorities when confronting crisis situations. The two intervene, and most often cooperate, during crises in ways that are often similar, even if their roles are different. They provide mutual support which benefits civilian authorities in cases of major catastrophy (unforeseen natural or technical disasters) and armed forces in conflict situations. Both cases are discussed in this article.

Civilian Emergency Systems in Times of Crisis The role of the general practitioner in civilian emergency health services is inadequate in terms of relief planning. The SAMU-SMUR System provides appropriate assistance in disaster situations but its efficiency requires better coordination of means, on an international as well as a domestic level.

Industrial Mobilization : from a War Economy to Crisis Management The principles and procedures of industrial mobilization have also been designed to apply to cases of crisis management. It is not evident, however, that the solutions put to the test in past wars are always appropriate. The difficulties which arise are dependent on the type of crisis, as well as on the ways in which industry operates.

Round Table : Communication in a Crisis Period The relationship between information and secrecy has changed because most institutions today have opted for information and communication. A crisis situation, however, brings into question ail the criteria for evaluating information. A crisis situation leads to clashes and information research is confronted with some obvious obstacles. Public opinion has become a censor of information in this regard because the truthfulness of information — the legitimacy granted the press — depends largely on the cultural context in which it is received.

Epilog for a New World With the blocs collapse and the increasing number of strategic actors in Europe, conflict hypotheses are myriad. This upheaval requires redefining the main functions of our defense capabilities and the drawing up of a strategy for domestic consumption which would permit a new consensus of the French people with regard to the use of the armed forces and their relationship to foreign policy, aid to development, and disarmament to emerge.