Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Le 17 mai, l'Ukraine, la Géorgie et la Moldavie ont officiellement constitué un "trio d'associations" afin d'établir une coopération renforcée en matière d'intégration européenne. Ils ont réitéré leur objectif de devenir membres de l'Union européenne.

Le 20 mai, les ministres des Affaires étrangères des 8 pays du Conseil de l'Arctique (Russie, Etats-Unis, Canada, Danemark, Suède, Finlande, Norvège, Islande) réunis à Reykjavik ont signé la Déclaration dans laquelle ils réaffirment l'engagement du Conseil à maintenir la paix, la stabilité et une coopération constructive dans la région, et l'importance de lutter immédiatement contre le changement climatique. Ils ont également adopté le premier plan stratégique du Conseil pour la prochaine décennie. Enfin, la présidence du Conseil a été transmise à la Russie pour les deux prochaines années.

La Commission a publié le 20 mai un rapport sur l'économie bleue de l'Union, qui donne un aperçu de la performance des secteurs économiques de l'Union liés aux océans et à l'environnement côtier. Les deux secteurs employaient directement près de 4,5 millions de personnes en 2018 et ont généré environ 650 milliards € de chiffre d'affaires. Le rapport fait état des tendances observées dans l'Union en matière d'économie bleue, telles que l'accélération de la croissance du secteur entre 2013 et 2018, de la stabilité de l'emploi, d'une diminution des investissements bruts en biens corporels, et d'une émergence des énergies renouvelables marines.

La Commission européenne a publié le 18 mai son rapport annuel sur la fiscalité dans l'Union. Elle félicite les États membres pour leur soutien aux ménages et aux entreprises durant la crise mais note que les revenus fiscaux vont diminuer dans l'après-crise. Le rapport insiste sur l'importance de la fiscalité comme instrument de la relance économique pour soutenir la numérisation, la transition énergétique, l'emploi et lutter contre l'évasion fiscale.

Le Prix de littérature de l'Union (EUPL), composé d'experts dans les domaines de la littérature, de l'édition et de la librairie dans 41 pays participants, a annoncé le 18 mai les 13 lauréats pour 2021.

Le 23 mai, la Sud-coréenne Yeon-Min Park a remporté la première place au piano du concours de musique international George Enescu. Le jury l'a également récompensé du titre de la meilleure interprétation d'un sonate d'Enescu. La première place au violon a été attribué au Roumain Valentin Serban et la première place au violoncelle au Sud-coréen Jaemin Han, qui est à 15 ans le plus jeune lauréat de la compétition. Depuis 1958, ce concours est périodiquement organisé en l'honneur du célèbre compositeur roumain George Enescu.

Le musée Berggruen à Berlin propose jusqu'au 8 août l'exposition Picasso & Les Femmes d'Alger. Longtemps disséminé dans le monde entier, cette exposition rassemble la plupart de ces peintures à l'huile de Picasso après 1954 pour la première fois en Allemagne depuis 65 ans. Cette série de tableaux propose une nouvelle perspective sur la peinture et est unique dans l'œuvre de Picasso par sa variation artistique.

Jusqu'au 19 juillet, le musée de l'Orangerie de Paris en collaboration avec les Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, propose l'exposition "Le surréalisme en plein soleil" qui regroupe une soixantaine de peintures et une quarantaine de dessins confrontant René Magritte aux oeuvres d'Auguste Renoir qui l'ont inspiré.

Le musée Thyssen-Bornemisza de Madrid met à l'honneur la passion des océans de l'artiste suisse Claudia Comte dans "Après la nature", une exposition d'art contemporain présentée jusqu'au 22 août. L'exposition rassemble une série de sculptures reflétant le rôle fondamental des récifs coralliens dans la production d'oxygène sur la Terre. Elle est complétée par une peinture murale qui, par son graphisme, ses formes et ses matériaux, favorise l'immersion du spectateur.

Jusqu'au 3 octobre, le Palais Barberini de Rome présente Le Temps baroque, une exposition de 40 œuvres de grands protagonistes de la culture baroque, de Pierre de Cortone à Nicolas Poussin ou du Bernin à Guido Reni. Le fil conducteur de l'exposition est le temps, un concept étudié sous toutes ses formes et déclinaisons à travers des chefs-d'œuvre d'artistes italiens et étrangers, dont la plupart ont vécu à Rome au XVIIe siècle. 

La galerie d'art Zacheta à Varsovie présente du 27 mai au 19 septembre "La révolution froide", une exposition sur la mise en place des dictatures communistes en Europe de l'Est à travers plus de 400 photographies, peintures, films et autres pièces.

Le Festival de littérature de Hay-on-Wye, au Pays de Galles, se déroule en ligne cette année, du 26 mai au 6 juin. Des vidéoconférences sur la littérature et la nature sont proposées, ainsi que des ateliers et des lectures de livres par les auteurs pour les enfants.

Le 22 mai, un nouveau musée d'art contemporain a fait son apparition à Paris. Installée dans l'édifice historique de la Bourse de commerce, la collection de l'homme d'affaires François Pinault regroupe environ 10 000 œuvres de 350 artistes différents pour représenter la création sous toutes ses formes (sculptures, peintures, vidéos, photographies) de 1960 à nos jours.

Dans l'exposition "Dessiner pour Napoléon", les Archives nationales de Paris présentent jusqu'au 19 juillet les trésors de la secrétairerie d'Etat impériale, rouage administratif au coeur du pouvoir napoléonien. Plus d'une centaine de documents sont exposés ayant servi à remporter l'adhésion de Napoléon à plusieurs projets liés au développement des communications et de l'industrie, l'aménagement du territoire et bien d'autres sujets. Certains sont tracés par les peintres Jacques-Louis David ou Jean-Baptiste Isabey, et par le graveur Dominique-Vivant Denon.

Jusqu'au 6 septembre, le musée national du Château de Malmaison, dans lequel il a vécu, organise l'exposition "Napoléon aux 1001 visages", qui permet de partir à la découverte du visage de l'empereur, en suivant l'évolution de ses traits tout au long de sa vie et dans les représentations après sa mort.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected armed conflict and political violence within countries? Focusing on Africa, a continent with a particularly high number of ongoing conflicts, this policy brief analyses the immediate and long-term implications of the pandemic on conflict and reflects on its implications for international peacebuilding efforts.
In the short term, conflict patterns on the continent are marked more by a continuation of previous trends than by a strong direct impact of COVID-19. Regarding armed confrontations, there was a rise in conflict intensity in some countries and one new war erupted in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in November 2020. As to lower-scale political violence, especially in the beginning of the pandemic, many states used excessive state violence against civilians when enforcing Corona measures.
Perhaps more important than the immediate effect of the pandemic, the consequences of the pandemic are very likely to accelerate violent conflict in the medium to long term. This is firstly because the pandemic exacerbates structural weaknesses, including the sharpening of societal divisions, severe disruptions in the education sector and deteriorating socio-economic circumstances. Secondly, the pandemic has curtailed actors and institutions that might be able to reduce the risk of violent escalation. Trust in the state and security institutions has suffered in many countries due to dissatis-faction with the handling of the pandemic. Moreover, demo¬cratic processes are hampered by the postponement of elections and increasing levels of government repression. At the same time, international peace support is negatively affected by social distancing and further threatened by looming cuts of commitments in official development assistance.
Bringing together both the short-term and longer-term effects of the pandemic on conflict clearly shows the risk that the pandemic poses to peace in Africa. It is therefore vital for the international community to:
1. Stay engaged and stay alert. If the international community continues to focus on handling the domestic consequences of the pandemic rather than international challenges, conflict will further increase in intensity and spread geographically. COVID-19 has already led to a reduction in international peace support, including peacebuilding initiatives and mediation. However, these instruments are vital to foster peace and prevent emerging and renewed conflict.
2. Invest in conflict prevention. The adverse effects of COVID-19 on economic, social and political structures can, and very likely will, provide the breeding ground for larger-scale conflicts, both in least developed countries (LDCs) and middle-income countries. Thus, conflict prevention must be taken seriously, including the strengthening of open and participatory (democratic) processes that enable societies to deal with societal conflicts peacefully.
3. Pay special attention to post-conflict countries. Many African countries have experienced large-scale civil wars in their history and continue to be LDCs struggling with societal tensions. The risk of renewed conflict in these places is particularly high.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected armed conflict and political violence within countries? Focusing on Africa, a continent with a particularly high number of ongoing conflicts, this policy brief analyses the immediate and long-term implications of the pandemic on conflict and reflects on its implications for international peacebuilding efforts.
In the short term, conflict patterns on the continent are marked more by a continuation of previous trends than by a strong direct impact of COVID-19. Regarding armed confrontations, there was a rise in conflict intensity in some countries and one new war erupted in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in November 2020. As to lower-scale political violence, especially in the beginning of the pandemic, many states used excessive state violence against civilians when enforcing Corona measures.
Perhaps more important than the immediate effect of the pandemic, the consequences of the pandemic are very likely to accelerate violent conflict in the medium to long term. This is firstly because the pandemic exacerbates structural weaknesses, including the sharpening of societal divisions, severe disruptions in the education sector and deteriorating socio-economic circumstances. Secondly, the pandemic has curtailed actors and institutions that might be able to reduce the risk of violent escalation. Trust in the state and security institutions has suffered in many countries due to dissatis-faction with the handling of the pandemic. Moreover, demo¬cratic processes are hampered by the postponement of elections and increasing levels of government repression. At the same time, international peace support is negatively affected by social distancing and further threatened by looming cuts of commitments in official development assistance.
Bringing together both the short-term and longer-term effects of the pandemic on conflict clearly shows the risk that the pandemic poses to peace in Africa. It is therefore vital for the international community to:
1. Stay engaged and stay alert. If the international community continues to focus on handling the domestic consequences of the pandemic rather than international challenges, conflict will further increase in intensity and spread geographically. COVID-19 has already led to a reduction in international peace support, including peacebuilding initiatives and mediation. However, these instruments are vital to foster peace and prevent emerging and renewed conflict.
2. Invest in conflict prevention. The adverse effects of COVID-19 on economic, social and political structures can, and very likely will, provide the breeding ground for larger-scale conflicts, both in least developed countries (LDCs) and middle-income countries. Thus, conflict prevention must be taken seriously, including the strengthening of open and participatory (democratic) processes that enable societies to deal with societal conflicts peacefully.
3. Pay special attention to post-conflict countries. Many African countries have experienced large-scale civil wars in their history and continue to be LDCs struggling with societal tensions. The risk of renewed conflict in these places is particularly high.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected armed conflict and political violence within countries? Focusing on Africa, a continent with a particularly high number of ongoing conflicts, this policy brief analyses the immediate and long-term implications of the pandemic on conflict and reflects on its implications for international peacebuilding efforts.
In the short term, conflict patterns on the continent are marked more by a continuation of previous trends than by a strong direct impact of COVID-19. Regarding armed confrontations, there was a rise in conflict intensity in some countries and one new war erupted in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in November 2020. As to lower-scale political violence, especially in the beginning of the pandemic, many states used excessive state violence against civilians when enforcing Corona measures.
Perhaps more important than the immediate effect of the pandemic, the consequences of the pandemic are very likely to accelerate violent conflict in the medium to long term. This is firstly because the pandemic exacerbates structural weaknesses, including the sharpening of societal divisions, severe disruptions in the education sector and deteriorating socio-economic circumstances. Secondly, the pandemic has curtailed actors and institutions that might be able to reduce the risk of violent escalation. Trust in the state and security institutions has suffered in many countries due to dissatis-faction with the handling of the pandemic. Moreover, demo¬cratic processes are hampered by the postponement of elections and increasing levels of government repression. At the same time, international peace support is negatively affected by social distancing and further threatened by looming cuts of commitments in official development assistance.
Bringing together both the short-term and longer-term effects of the pandemic on conflict clearly shows the risk that the pandemic poses to peace in Africa. It is therefore vital for the international community to:
1. Stay engaged and stay alert. If the international community continues to focus on handling the domestic consequences of the pandemic rather than international challenges, conflict will further increase in intensity and spread geographically. COVID-19 has already led to a reduction in international peace support, including peacebuilding initiatives and mediation. However, these instruments are vital to foster peace and prevent emerging and renewed conflict.
2. Invest in conflict prevention. The adverse effects of COVID-19 on economic, social and political structures can, and very likely will, provide the breeding ground for larger-scale conflicts, both in least developed countries (LDCs) and middle-income countries. Thus, conflict prevention must be taken seriously, including the strengthening of open and participatory (democratic) processes that enable societies to deal with societal conflicts peacefully.
3. Pay special attention to post-conflict countries. Many African countries have experienced large-scale civil wars in their history and continue to be LDCs struggling with societal tensions. The risk of renewed conflict in these places is particularly high.

Military installations have been attacked in various towns in Myanmar’s interior over the past few days. Among other things, military airfields that the air force had used to attack ethnic minority rebel bases in the east and north of the country were fired upon. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but it can be assumed that they are connected to the newly formed alliance between the former democratic government and ethnic minorities. In view of this development, the violent conflicts in Myanmar threaten to spread from the border regions to the entire country, in­cluding large urban centres. If the violence were indeed to escalate in the coming weeks, Myanmar would be further destabilised politically, economically, and socially.