Theses
My research looks at France’s role in the Indo-Pacific maritime region from a foreign, security and defense policy perspective. As the only and current nuclear power in the EU with 93per cent of its EEZ located in the Indo-Pacific, my research questions if the attention, security and defence policy France is allocating towards its sovereign territories in this region is sufficient or robust enough to cater for the increasing geopolitical security tension this region is facing. Considering that this region is home to most of the nuclear powers, strategic trade routes, some of the largest and fastest growing economies which contributes to 60per cent of the world’s GDP, the complexity of the associated security threats could take on a different level making this region ripe for miscalculation at any time. The assertive nature of China’s rise questions and challenges the rules based order system that France including the EU value as norms which works in harmony with the UN’s international law, democracy, human rights and adherence to a rules based order society. However, with the increase in innovative technology, globalisation, trade demand and security threats from non-state actors such as piracy, terrorism and asymmetrical warfare, nation states including states with hard power capabilities have to grapple with the reality that weapons and weapon systems have become sophisticated enough to threaten their very existence. My research hopes to analyse if the implementation of policies created in Paris is able to withstand the uncertainty and pressure of the security landscape this region is facing. In other words, how can these policies be effectively implemented if the temperature on the ground is different? What if the perspective from Paris is different from the view on the ground? Ranging from defence budgets, domestic political pressure, global commitments to logistics on military hardware and personnel, this research looks at Tahiti and New Caledonia as case studies.
