Mapping the World

Measured against the criteria of the 21st century, the railway offers numerous advantages: it is a means of transport that is networked worldwide and enables ever higher speeds. Transportation or travel by rail is far more environmentally friendly than by plane, car or truck. China is now relying on railways on a large scale, particularly with the "New Silk Road" initiative. "With open cards" tells the old story of the global railroad, which has a great future ahead of it. [arte]

From the North Sea to the Black Sea, the Rhine and the Danube form a link across Europe. Mapping the World navigates the history of the two longest rivers of the European Union.

Since 2021, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are rivals on the world stage with China now positioning itself to take the lead in all areas - economic, military, diplomatic, cultural and political. An overview of the Sino-American competition to be world leader, which could be decisive for the 21st century.

World Cup in Qatar 2022: Of flourishing business with the TV rights, corruption scandals and the stage for human rights activists [arte].

We look at Argentina to understand why this country with multiple resources did not live up to its promise. The missed opportunities are numerous: over-investment in agriculture, a singular political model, inequality, and corruption.

Places of learning, universities also have another role: to affirm the status of their countries and guarantee their cultural influence. Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified; especially between East and West.

Understanding geopolitics has never been more urgent. Mapping the World analyses Putin's unprecedented attack on Ukraine with a short history of relations between Russia and Ukraine. Political scientist Anna Colin Lebedev and the head of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), Thomas Gomart provide context.

Located in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus is a unique island divided into two states. As a result, Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is also crossed by a boundary wall. To the south, the Republic of Cyprus, of Greek culture, has its seat at the UN and is a member of the European Union. To the north, the Republic of Northern Cyprus, of Turkish culture, is recognized only by Ankara. Cyprus has always been torn between different influences – Byzantine, Ottoman, Venetian, British, Greek – before gaining independence. Since 1974, its northern part has been occupied by Turkey and a "green line", under UN control, separates the island in two. Turkish-Greek relations, exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean, underwater gas prospecting, etc.: the Cypriot imbroglio is responsible for many disputes in the region.

The two poles have in common the cold and huge expanses of ice, but they are very different: while the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents, the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by oceans. These two spaces are coveted by certain great powers to take advantage of their resources: new maritime routes, hydrocarbons, water reserves, etc. Russia, the United States, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, etc.: many states are located in the Arctic Circle and compete with each other on strategic, energy and commercial levels. At the same time, Antarctica has the status of an international territory dedicated to scientific research: any military installation or exploitation of resources is prohibited there.

It is the most populous country in Africa and the one with the largest GDP. Nigeria is a leader on the continent in more ways than one. Lagos, the country's main city, is a real commercial and financial powerhouse. Nigeria is also the beating heart of Africa on the cultural level, from Afrobeat to cinema, with Nollywood. An important diplomatic and military power in the region, Nigeria could become the third most populous country on the planet by 2050, just behind India and China. But before establishing itself on the international scene, the country still has many challenges to overcome: glaring inequalities, inter-ethnic rivalries, endemic corruption, jihadist violence, etc.

Rugby, kiwi, Maori culture, majestic mountains: many images come to mind when we think of New Zealand, but what do we really know about it? For example, did you know that it was the first country in history to grant women the right to vote? Or that there are five sheep for every inhabitant? Let's discover this curious country at the end of the world. New Zealand, a country at the antipodes of the Earth but with strongly European accents. Colonized by the British from the beginning of the 19th century, the archipelago only broke away from the tutelage of London in 1907. And even today, the country is a member of the Commonwealth and has Charles III as its sovereign. But New Zealand is also the Maori culture inherited from Pacific populations from Polynesia. On the geopolitical level, New Zealand tells the story of a pendulum movement between the West and Asia, and tries to take advantage of its position apart from the world.

A state with exceptional natural diversity, California is also among the most vulnerable, with its increasing number of megafires, seismic risk and chronic water shortages. Finally, California is also a land of inequality, where the constant rise in the cost of living pushes the poorest populations further and further away. Let's get out our cards.

With its location in the heart of the Black Sea and its quasi-Mediterranean climate, Crimea has always attracted covetousness. Greeks, Byzantines, Genoese, Mongols, Tatars and Russians have successively taken an interest in it. Since the 18th century, to its great misfortune, the peninsula has been tossed between Ukraine and Russia, at the whim of wars and changes of regime... It was there, in Crimea, that the Russian invasion of Ukraine really began in 2014, at the time of the illegal annexation of the peninsula by Vladimir Putin. Crimea, a strategic region because it allows control of the Sea of ​​Azov and offers an opening onto the Black Sea. But now also a highly symbolic territory, for Russians as well as Ukrainians: proof of the power regained for Moscow; symbol of the violation of its territorial sovereignty for kyiv from 2014, before the even more massive invasion of Russia in 2022.