This project implies a further development of French expertise in Russia - expanding knowledge about what defence policy of the Fifth Republic as one of the leading NATO powers is at present stage, and what challenges it entails for Russia. It is planned to enlarge theoretical and methodological base of French studies in Russia, using the background of modern theory of international relations, to find the most fruitful approaches to the topic and on their basis to analyze practical forms of Paris' defence doctrine. Special attention is supposed to be paid to new, still insufficiently studied phenomena - for example, French policy in such fields as space, cyber and infromation security, for which the government of the Fifth Republic has recently begun to take noticeable actions (adoption of relevant strategic documents, allocation of human and financial
resources, etc.).

The resolution of the indicated problem seems relevant due to at least two circumstances.
Firstly, with an extremely tense political situation in Europe, the need for a more detailed study of military capabilities of the EU and NATO states by Russian researchers is only growing. In recent years, France has repeatedly shown the ability, albeit with varying success, to back up its interests with hard power, deploying military contingents or using military demonstrations in various regions of the world. This applies not only to Africa or the Indo-Pacific, but also to Eastern Europe, where Paris has continued to participate in NATO forces in the Baltic states, and in early 2022 has sent additional troops to Romania. Also, the
government of the Fifth Republic has repeatedly tried to advance the process of defence integration in the European Union by initiating various formats (activating PESCO program, European Intervention Initiative or mission "Takuba"). Unlike many Western states, the French armed forces try to be able to perform almost the entire range of tasks using modern technology and equipment (from nuclear deterrence to struggle in cyberspace), which makes them quite strong potential adversary. Hence, there is a need for an adequate assessment of their capabilities, identifying strengths and weaknesses that could be taken into account by Russian side to develop our own strategic line in general and policy toward France in particular.
Secondly, despite a consistently high interest of Russian researchers in France, a relatively little attention is paid to its defence policy compared to civil topics - party politics, economic reforms, or diplomatic actions. Often, defence agenda is
studied only in the context of some other problems or on the basis of only one example or dimension (such as French deployments in Africa). Meanwhile, since 2017, in this field French government has made many long-term decisions requiring a separate study. Such decisions include, among other things, a consistent increase in defence budget, stopping personnel cuts, allocating funds for promising types of weapons (next generation of submarines, a new aircraft carrier, armored vehicles, etc.), and intensifying export activities. France has adopted its first cybersecurity strategies, space defence doctrine and Indo-Pacific security concept. These and many other innovations remain poorly studied today and need some kind of generalization. Hence, the planned articles and monograph could significantly enrich Russian expert knowledge on
France.

By this project it is supposed to comprehensively (as far as possible, relying on open sources) study defence policy of modern France from 2017 to 2024 in its various aspects including:
- France's main views on strategic environment and an expected role of the armed forces in current and future conflicts;
- general outlines of the system of defence decision-making in France (the powers of individual figures and departments, crisis-management mechanisms, the influence of experts);
- structure of the armed forces of the Fifth Republic by types of troops, geography of basing. The main provisions of the nuclear doctrine;
- the situation in defence industry: key enterprises, ways of state support, cooperation within the European Union;
- the acting law on military planning: quantitative parameters of the state order, the most notable accents (by type of equipment);
- arms exports: France's approach to promoting its products, the most important partners and profitable equipment;
- French forces in overseas operations and missions: main formats and difficulties;
- Paris' participation in defence integration within the EU and its current role in NATO;
- French cybersecurity policy (priorities, resources, foreign partners);
- space defence policy of the Fifth Republic (fundamentals, scientific and industrial base, international cooperation);
- humanitarian activities of French troops. The armed forces and climate agenda. The armed forces and society in France.
In each aspect, the goal is to identify the challenges France's policy creates for Russia (for example, the active policy of Paris in the field of arms exports is equal to the competition with Moscow in Middle Eastern and Asian markets) and to suggest possible reactions from Russian side.

The academic novelty of the project is that it will be one of the first in Russian science detailed works on France's defence policy taking into account Russian interests as well. It is supposed not only to explore various practical dimensions of this policy, but also to choose a general theoretical framework suitable for this, which is not usually done by all researchers in French studies. The emphasis is expected to be made on the most relevant phenomena and examples, as well as on using new sources of information (strategic documents, statements of top officials, etc.). The task looks quite achievable because
the author expects to rely on his own developments (see 4.7), adding and updating them as the project progresses.

In contemporary Russian science, the French problematics is explored in sufficient detail. In particular, the experts specializing in France at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences - Y.I. Rubinsky, S.M. Fedorov, E.A.
Narochnitskaya - enjoy unwavering authority. The focus of their research most often includes such subjects as the Gaullist legacy in foreign policy of modern France, the diplomatic course of Paris in certain areas (Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, the Middle East, etc.), or current political and socio-economic situation in the Fifth Republic. The specialists from other institutes are also conducting such research: for example, V.N. Chernega (INION) analyzed the initiatives of president Macron in the field of "Europe of Defense"; P.P. Timofeev (IMEMO) investigated the role of France in the development of the PESCO
program; V.R. Filippov (IAfr) and A.S. Sidorov (INION) explained the weaknesses of the operation "Barkhane". Prominent specialists continue to develop French studies in universities: in particular, E.O. Obichkina (MGIMO, foreign policy guidelines of Paris in the post-bipolar world), R.V. Kostyuk (St. Petersburg State University, left parties in France), T.V. Zvereva (Diplomatic Academy of Russian MFA, Russia-France relations), G.N. Kaninskaya (Yaroslavl University, party and political system of the Fifth Republic) and many others.
But, in spite of many interesting works on this country, France's defence policy and its significance for Russian interests has not yet been fully studied. As a rule, the authors are interested in one or another popular aspect such as French nuclear doctrine, overseas operation in the Sahel, the concept of "Europe of Defense", which rarely gives an opportunity to address broader issues (the decision-making system, military planning and defence order, scientific and technological potential of France, the role of special services, the development of new areas of defence policy (cybersecurity and space), etc.). It is significant that in both major collections of French studies (2017 and 2019, IMEMO and IE RAS), as well as at the last conference of French studies (2021), defence topics were briefly touched by just a few speeches and texts, in contrast to domestic political or purely diplomatic issues. In general, a similar situation is observed in well-known monographs on France (written by E.O. Obichkina, T.V. Zvereva, etc.), where military issues are usually considered as a supplement of foreign policy. The closest to the project is the work of the researchers from St. Petersburg (N.A. Vlasov, A.A. Malygina and A.Y. Pavlov) "Thought and Sword. The Evolution of Defence Policy of Western European Countries and the Development of Military Technologies in the Second Half of the XX - early XXI Centuries" - published, however, in 2013 and not reflecting later trends.
Accordingly, the proposed project including the preparation of a new monograph on French defence policy could take the existing niche and adequately complement the achievements of other Russian authors. The need for such work is all the more obvious if we take into account that the defence capabilities of Paris are being actively studied by foreign experts, among whom J.-P. Maulny (Institute of International and Strategic Studies, IRIS), B. Tertrais (Foundation for Strategic Studies, FRS), E. Tenenbaum (French Institute of International Relations, IFRI) or H. Kundnani (Chatham House) have to be mentioned.
Their research consists of quite rare topics that are now almost not covered by Russian science, but which could be discussed in a new monograph: in particular, the role of overseas territories in French defence strategy or arms cooperation with the states of Southern Europe.

The project involves the publication of four academic works in Russian language – one monograph and three articles in Scopus or WoS journals, as well as the participation in six national or international conferences and the extension of the author's expert and analytical studies on French topics.
Based on the two-year project implementation period, the first year (July 2022 - June 2023) will mainly be devoted to preparing for writing a monograph. To this end, several steps will be made:
a) collecting the materials for an upcoming research - the selection of appropriate acedemic publications, analytical papers, official documents, web-links to information from the websites of government departments, media articles, etc.;
b) developing a conceptual and methodological basis for research, a general perspective on the topic;
c) drawing up a detailed plan for a future monograph and searching for information on each item (see also 4.9).
Accordingly, the main areas of work during the second year of the project (July 2023 - June 2024) will be:
a) analysis, systematization and update of the prepared material, taking into account the latest news and events;
b) writing the text of the monograph according to the chosen plan including also an introduction, conclusion, list of references;
c) publishing the monograph;
d) informing the public about the issue of the research (through the University information resources, social networks, book presentation at the project manager's place of work, etc.);
e) distribution of copies of the monograph to academic libraries and scientific organizations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.
To test some of the developments made during the preparation of the monograph, several points will also be discussed in articles for scientific journals and reports at conferences. In such cases, the author will focus on some of the most relevant subjects from French defence policy, analyzing them as self-sufficient phenomena, but establishing their significance for the entire French strategy as a whole. Several topics for articles and reports are possible:
"The role of Overseas Territories in Defence Policy of Modern France";
"French Arms Export Policy: the Results of Emmanuel Macron's Presidency";
"Emmanuel Macron's Industrial Policy: the Impact on Defence Sector";
"Foreign Policy and Defense Issues in the Presidential Elections in France 2022";
"The "Maritimization" of France's Defence Policy: Reasons and Features".
Each article or report will cover the following aspects depending on the topic:
- a historical background of contemporary French policy in the choosen sphere;
- the most significant statements and actions of French authorities;
- strengths and weaknesses of their policies;
- opportunities for cooperation with NATO and Europe;
- impact on Russian interests.
The preferred scientific methods for articles and reports are comparative analysis, content analysis, event analysis, SWOT analysis, forecasting and scenarios, etc.
Moreover, during his expert activity the author plans to publish several comments on the relevant areas of French defence policy, depending on current news and events. The reason for this may be an interesting statement by the French leadership, the publication of new strategic documents, the beginning or end of overseas operation, etc. For example, the conclusion by Paris in 2022-2024 of new agreements on defence and technical cooperation with any of the Indo-Pacific countries may be a reason to consider French policy in this region as a whole; the launch of new satellites is an opportunity to talk about space policy of the Fifth Republic, and so on. Such comments will be published on the websites of customer organizations (analytical centers).