"Who is the enemy?", This is the translated title of the last work I am reading: "Qui est l'ennemi?", Published by Nouveau Monde, first annual volume of the "Center de recherche 451", also led by Christian Harbulot director of the School of economic warfare (EGE) of Paris.
The EGE was born in 1997 and since then has been studying the phenomena related to influenza and economic warfare. In this work, the contradictions part of the Western world which sees several military allied states on some fronts and simultaneously competitors on the economic front.
To find the opinion of the scholars it is not necessary to read the whole book or interpret what is written "between the lines", but it is sufficient to get to page 3, where with an explanatory mirror with colored bars it is said who they are the top five economic "enemies" of France, or, in order:
- United States of America;
- China;
- Germany;
- Russia;
- United Kingdom.
As it is easy to see at a glance, three out of five states are military allies, but no less combative in the field of economic warfare.
In particular, the United States ranks first among France's economic "enemies".
In October 2021, the EGE published a report entitled: "Comment le Etats-Unis contribent-ils à affaiblir l'économie française?" (How does the United States contribute to weakening the French economy?) In which more than two hundred cases of economic influence exerted against French interests are presented, many of these have been used to construct a truly interesting chronological map, reproduced on page 44 and 45.
Interesting work, full of ideas on new forms of hybrid warfare and well-documented historical curiosities.
In France, in fact, we no longer speak of war or peace, but of three elements: "competition, contestation, confrontation", which develop through all fields of human activities (economic, military, technological ...) and not always in overt or coherent way. This means, just to give an example, that although allied militarily, the US has certainly not hesitated in opposing the Franco-Australian program on submarines.
A similar study focusing on Italy's economic enemies would be interesting, it would certainly help to look at things that happen to us and in the world from a different point of view ...
To learn more:
À lire: Guerre économique - Qui est l'ennemi? - Inter Ligere (inter-ligere.fr)
