Geopolitics - the focus of the second edition of EDHEC Vox Dialogues

This second edition of EDHEC Vox Dialogues, introduced by Emmanuel Métais, Dean of EDHEC, went under the heading “Re-inventing business to face new geopolitical challenges”. Led by François Miquet-Marty, Chair of Groupe Les Temps Nouveaux, the event featured round tables and individual interviews.

Designing the future of Europe

Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer of AXA, began by describing the current risks (economic, climate, digital, etc.) and the developments associated with them. “We’ve emerged from a model where crises were gradual (a financial crisis, followed by a period of calm, etc.), only to enter an era of permanent and inter-dependent crises”, he explained. He also mentioned Europe’s strengths, namely a “third model” in the world order, structured around values of solidarity and unity.  

The first round table, “The geopolitics of AI and future business strategies”, highlighted the strategic nature of AI for business and its place in the power games played between nations. Paola Fabiani, Spokesperson and Vice-President of Medef and Founding President of Wisecom and Vado Via, reviewed the obstacles to the deployment of AI in Europe (regulation, investment and training). Michelle Sisto, Associate Professor and Director of the EDHEC AI Centre, then outlined the contours of an optimal learning programme for AI (types of teaching structures, methodologies) and the manner in which France is fostering the acculturation of AI among new generations.

Also during the round table, David Krieff, Director of IT Systems, Groupe ADP, and Vice-President of Cigref, underlined that the biggest risk with AI was in doing nothing. To illustrate his point, he highlighted several European successes, such as Mistral or the OpenLLM France project. In his view, these initiatives show it is possible to design effective AI models, while respecting a demanding ethical and legal framework. An approach which he believes can give Europe a competitive edge.

This multipolar world and the ensuing power games have for several years fuelled the work of Laurent Gaudé, winner of France’s Prix Goncourt 2004 literary prize for Le Soleil des Scorta. Invited to participate in EDHEC Vox Dialogues, the writer discussed the way in which he uses reality — fragmented territories, shifting political orders — to produce dystopian fiction, such as his latest novel, Chien 51, a book in which Greece is bought by a consortium and reorganised into economic zones, reserved for the privileged or for the neediest. This combination of reality and imagination creates parallel worlds, infused by what he calls “black optimism” or, in other words, an unshakeable hope which nurtures the values of fraternity and solidarity, despite the violence of the surrounding chaos. Laurent Gaudé also mentioned his book, Nous, l'Europe banquet des peuples, a long poetic work that traces “the immense weight of history that Europe represents”, through the projects, battles, movements and victories that have shaped the continent’s history.

Reacting to growing risks
 

The second round table, “Geopolitical risks and future business strategies”, emphasised the importance of businesses being able to adapt to contemporary geopolitical upheavals. Bertrand Monnet, Director of the Criminal Risks Management Chair, discussed the various security threats weighing on businesses: predation (abuse of dominant positions), data theft and extortion (use of violence, threats or coercion to obtain a signature, a commitment, a renunciation, the revelation of a secret or the transfer of funds, securities or goods). He also underlined the criminal economy’s harmful effects on the legal economy, particularly money laundering, which the IMF estimates amounts to between $800 billion and $2.7 trillion a year.  

Marie-Pierre de Baillencourt, Managing Director of Institut Montaigne and Member of the Board of EDHEC’s Chair in Geopolitics and Business Strategy, continued the analysis by asserting that Europe is now in a state of "economic warfare", a situation that calls for a fundamental re-think of the idea of economic security. The roots of this situation lie in several convergent phenomena: the “weaponisation” of interdependencies or, in other words, the strategic exploitation of economic dependencies (supply chains, access to raw materials, markets) to exert geopolitical pressure; the extra-territoriality of laws, particularly American and Chinese, which represent a powerful tool for projecting sovereignty; and lastly, the vulnerability of European infrastructure to new forms of hybrid threats.

Paola Fabiani continued by questioning Europe’s ability to act as a coherent bloc in order to ensure its economic security. She underlined Europe’s "strategic downgrading" and the fact that it remains handicapped by its political and economic fragmentation, despite the EU’s status as the world’s largest market. She nevertheless qualified her words by emphasising that, despite the bloc’s structural difficulties, acting on a European scale was the only appropriate way of competing with America and China and of retaining significant geopolitical influence.

This second edition of EDHEC Vox Dialogues then moved on to a discussion between Pierre-Henri de Menthon, Editor in Chief of Challenges magazine, and the journalist Marc Semo. Together, they presented and analysed how geopolitics is dealt with in the media. This exchange explored specific challenges related to geopolitical journalism, e.g. handling the complexity of international power games, retaining objectivity on divisive subjects, and adapting editorial formats to new ways of consuming information.

Closing the event, Luc de Rancourt, General in the French Airforce and Military General Inspector, reminded the audience of the objectives of the Chair in Geopolitics and Business Strategy that he co-directs. The Chair’s mission is to train students and business leaders in the interactions between geopolitical dynamics and strategic business decisions, by sharpening their analytical thought processes, nurturing their critical capabilities and helping them develop the know-how needed to make informed decisions in complex and uncertain environments.