RUSI-École de Guerre Series 2022

RUSI and École de Guerre have collaborated over the past six years, aiming to answer the most critical questions facing militaries today. The institutes work together to cultivate intellectual rigour when thinking about these issues. RUSI’s Military Sciences research group supports students around the world during their professional military education. This year we will be considering how we can redefine alliances to stabilise international relationships despite all of the current uncertainty in the world.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, although some old feuds have evolved or simply remained, new challenges and crises have emerged that are currently destabilising the balance of the world's alliances. This highly volatile political and military environment is marked by interdependencies, evolving interests and shape-shifting threats. The accelerating pace of these unbalanced realities challenge the core of relationships between states, organisations, and corporations. The purpose of this symposium is to address, investigate and reimagine the future of alliances in the 21st century.

13:30: Security check at the entrance of Ecole Militaire

14:00 - 14:10: Welcome address - Brigadier Auboin

14:10 - 14:30: Symposium Introduction - Madeleine Moon, former MP and former Head of the NATO Parliamentary Group

14:30 - 15:30: Inevitable Adaptations?
Does an alliance have to continually adapt in order to stay relevant and does it do that? What does Ukraine tell us about the need for Euro-Atlantic security? How should the events in Ukraine shape NATO's continual quest to adapt and remain relevant?

• Professor Katarzyna Zysk, member of Norwegian Institute of Defence Studies
• General (R) Jean-Paul Paloméros, Vice Chairman of the French-American Foundation – France and President of the Steering Committee of its Cyber Security Program - Former SACT
  Moderator: Ed Arnold, RUSI
   

15:45 - 16:45: Dying for Taiwan?
Is the INDOPAC the end of Western convergence of interests? Can a solid alliance be constructed only on values? What is the place of values in a political or military alliance?

• Dr Eugene B. Kogan, Harvard Business School
• Dr Antoine Bondaz, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique
  Moderator: Dr Sidharth Kaushal, RUSI
   

17:00 - 18:00: Build or End Alliances?
How to forge new alliances without jeopardising the former ones? How do you end an alliance properly? What brings you to the point of ending an alliance? Are the E.U.'s mechanisms to leave an alliance proof of maturity?

• Lord Ricketts, former UK Ambassador to France
• Bertrand Badré, former financial director of the World Bank
• Bruno Tertrais, strategist and FRS co-director
  Moderator: Dr Sarah Ashbridge, RUSI
   

18:00 - 18:05: Concluding remarks
Paul O'Neill, RUSI