The French White Paper on defence and national security
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY
In geographical terms, four areas are singled out as being critical with major implications for the security of France and Europe.
- The arc of crisis from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, characterized by a combination of instability, multiple sources of inter-state and non-state violence, the prospect of proliferation and the concentration of energy resources, against the backdrop of new and disturbing connections between the crisis-points of the region.
- Sub-Saharan Africa, where the existing problems of development are increasingly overshadowed by the combination of widespread state-failure, the scramble for raw materials drawing in new players, runaway urbanization and the consequences of climate change.
- The situation in the Eastern part of the European Continent with the ongoing quest for stabilization in the Balkans but also the consequences of the domestic evolution of Russia and the assertion of its political, strategic and economic role in EurAsia with knock-on effects vis-à-vis its European neighbours.
- The prospect of major conflict in Asia the key role of which in the global economy has not yet been matched by the emergence of robust regional institutions to mitigate and defuse the causes of strategic tensions in South and East Asia. The world’s strategic centre of gravity is shifting to Asia. Any conflict in the region would have vast consequences for our own prosperity and security.
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