Groupe d’études géopolitiques: The chic Parisian think tank championing Europe
A youthful research institute formed by Parisian students offers a confidently pro-European stance in a continent in need of progressive ideas.
Groupe d’études géopolitiques (GEG) is one of those French phrases that don’t translate well into English. The Parisian think tank, founded in 2017 by three students from École normale supérieure (ENS), the grandest of France’s grand école universities, is much more than the “geopolitical studies group” of its name. In fact, it might just be the world’s coolest think tank – admittedly not the most crowded of fields.
To be fair, GEG’s name is an accurate description of the think tank’s birth. Its three founders – Gilles Gressani, Mathéo Malik and Pierre Ramond – who were at various stages of their degrees at ENS, began to organise debates devoted to geopolitics at the university. In 2019, Ramona Bloj joined the gang, who launched a complementary journal, Le Grand Continent, devoted to European politics. At a time when right-wing think tanks seem to be in the ascendant, what distinguishes GEG is its avowedly internationalist, pro-European and pro-EU outlook.
As French politics veers ever rightwards and the European project seems in decline, think tanks such as GEG could offer hope for intellectual renewal. It publishes three semi-annual journals, each in its own natty colourway: a red one devoted to law, green to the environment and blue to European elections. Contributors have included Emmanuel Macron, Kaja Kallas and Josep Borrell. This year, GEG launched a series of books, La Bibliothèque de géopolitique, with Gallimard, a publishing house almost synonymous with Gallic intellectual chic.
geopolitique.eu
This article is from Monocle’s March issue, The Monocle 100, which features our editors’ favourite 100 figures, destinations, objects and ideas.
Read the rest of the issue here.
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