Xavier Carpentier-tanguy
Speaker, researcher-teacher, author, and consultant. Doctor in contemporary history from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). He conducted his research on influence, the circulation of ideas, and major political narratives in Berlin (Humboldt), Leipzig, at the European University Institute in Florence, and at the London School of Economics. A member of the doctoral college of the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, then a senior researcher at the University of Luxembourg, he joined French teaching and research in 2014 to create the first marine geopolitics courses at Sciences Po Paris. He is a reservist in the French Navy.
Anticipating and managing crises: what geopolitics changes for French companies. Energy disruptions, vulnerability of maritime routes, tightening of exchange modalities, competition of narratives, and industrial dependencies in the face of China: these issues are redefining the performance conditions of almost all structures today. Products arrive in the form of flows (by containers, by pipelines, by data) requiring monitoring of their density, flows, variables, and transit points. To make the right decisions and anticipate difficulties, one must be able to see what is happening, to see what may occur (competition, criticability, vulnerability, contestation) ... and to see, one must know. The triptych of power, seeing, knowing is essential. I propose a clear and structured intervention to help leaders decide in uncertainty and prepare when everything is (still) going well. By combining strategic analysis and crisis simulations (War Games), I provide your teams with the necessary keys to secure your flows and anticipate sovereignty shocks. Let's discuss.
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- Conference : 6500 €
- Animation : 5500 €
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His conferences
Empowerment: to see and to know.
The analysis of international power relations can no longer be limited to an inventory of resources or the measurement of GDP. At the dawn of this second half of the decade, influence lies in the deliberate management of a structural imbalance: asymmetry. I propose to explore how global actors organize this imbalance through three fundamental prisms: visibility (the See), expertise (the Know), and decision (the Power). Technical knowledge is embodied in the invisible infrastructures of globalization: communication networks and critical segments of industry have become conduits of asymmetrical empires. Here, the "Know" resides in the ability to weaponize interdependence. The capture of industrial know-how - for example in pharmaceuticals or the monopoly of rare earths (or specialty metals) constitutes economic, diplomatic, and strategic levers. The symbolic dimension of powers such as narratives - for example Chinese blockbusters, video games... - all the staging contributes to shaping the real. However, the real is made up of flows (energy, data...) and these flows can be constrained. The vulnerability of spaces was clearly demonstrated in Suez where the incident of the container ship 'Ever Given' paralyzed 400 million dollars of exchanges per hour. The case also applies to Hormuz where France sent nearly 80 percent of its military ships and the USA three aircraft carriers within hours to ensure security. It is therefore essential to understand the upheavals of the world. One must perceive vulnerabilities, risks, and weak signals. To do this, one must know where to look and who (or what) to listen to. This conference offers a toolbox, an operational box of tailored tools.
Atlantic: Strategic Reconfigurations and Interdependencies
Long regarded as the "liquid center" of the Western world, the Atlantic remains today a decisive space for understanding the power and dependency relations of the contemporary world. It connects the three Americas, Europe, and Africa, forming a system of exchanges where global trade, critical infrastructures, energy flows, and migrations intertwine. In the face of recent crises, the reorganization of military alliances, the rise of rivalries over African offshore resources, and the race to secure undersea cables and energy routes make the Atlantic a site of major strategic reconfigurations. The ambitions of emerging powers, the assertion of coastal African and South American states, as well as the increasing intervention of extra-regional actors like China, heighten the competition for control of this key space. At the intersection of the energy transition, migration issues, and digitalization, the Atlantic embodies the fragility and dynamic interdependence of contemporary balances, outlining the uncertain contours of 21st-century geopolitics.
The Seas of the World: Stage of Contemporary Power
Once mere communication routes, the seas have today become central spaces of strategic rivalries. They account for over 90% of global trade, house significant energy and mineral reserves, and support the global digital infrastructure, particularly through the essential submarine cables for data transport. Tensions are numerous: in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims contested areas; in the Black Sea, which has become a battleground again; in the straits of the Gulf, Suez, or Malacca, where even the slightest blockage has repercussions on the global economy. The oceans are experiencing diffuse militarization, marked by the development of Asian fleets, the modernization of the American navy, and the rise of autonomous naval technologies. Thus, the seas form the geopolitical horizon of the 21st century: a fluid and contested space, where power, dependence, and vulnerability intertwine. Understanding maritime geopolitics means grasping the very levers of globalization and its fragility.