DÉCRIPT: seven years to decipher contemporary civilizational narratives, their temporalities and the effects of their circulation

Mobilizing a consortium of excellence

Jean-François Huchet, President of Inalco, recalled the genesis of this seven-year funded program, underlining the centrality of its theme for the establishment. The consortium brings together ten higher education establishments (Sciences Po Bordeaux; Sciences Po Lille; Sciences Po Paris; Université Bordeaux Montaigne; Université de Strasbourg; Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; Université Paris 8 Vincennes - Saint-Denis; Université Sorbonne Nouvelle; Université Paris Panthéon-Assas ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)), two national research organizations (CNRS and IRD), the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the Diplomatic and Consular Academy of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, alongside some 40 international stakeholders or representatives of society and public policy players (see full list).

Philippe Baptiste, Minister for Higher Education and Research, and Guillaume Bordry, SHS advisor to the Secrétariat Général pour l'Investissement (SGPI), both stressed the importance of the human and social sciences in informing public decisions in the context of the current "civilizational din".

An ambitious scientific approach

Delphine Allès, scientific manager of DÉCRIPT, outlined the program's central problem: analyzing the articulation between the "short time" of political mobilizations of civilizational narratives and the "long time" of civilizational sedimentation. This resolutely multidisciplinary approach aims to grasp structural dynamics beyond conjunctural factors generally highlighted in times of crisis.

Professor Sanjay Subrahmanyam's inaugural lecture gave substance to this perspective by placing the construction of civilizational and imperial narratives in a long, connected historical perspective, highlighting the contradictions inherent in their contemporary mobilizations.

Articulating research, pluridisciplinarity and public action

Ambassadors Didier Le Bret (Director of the Diplomatic and Consular Academy) and Véronique Vouland-Aneini (Deputy Director of Geographies at the French Development Agency) highlighted, in light of their experience of diplomacy and development policies, the resonances between the program's theme and public action.

The program's first five postdocs - Louise Beaumais, Alexandre Gandil, Zoé Quétu, Pierre-Louis Six and Jan-Markus Vömel - presented the premises of their research projects, testifying to the program's diverse disciplinary, areal and thematic perspectives.

The afternoon's thematic workshops provided an opportunity to engage in a dynamic process of collective reflection with researchers and practitioners interested in the program's various axes. Their conclusions were reported at a final session opened by Rima Sleiman, Inalco's Vice-President Research, outlining the avenues that will guide reflections during the program's first year.

Next steps

Seminars for the various workstreams will begin in the autumn, before the first calls for research and valorization projects involving several consortium members are announced. An ambitious program of invitations from international researchers will also begin in 2026.

The DÉCRIPT team and consortium members will build on this momentum to roll out the next stages of the program, which will continue until 2032.

Stay informed about upcoming DÉCRIPT activities and publications: