Applied Research Centre
of the School of Economic Warfare

CR451

WHAT DO we do?

We have three applied research activities:

  • Economic warfare
  • Information warfare
  • Cognitive warfare

The centre prioritises an applied research approach, where the ambition is not only to describe, but to build tools, support decision-making in contexts of multi-domain and multi-actor confrontation, and anticipate the adversary’s strategies.

Born of an assessment formulated by Christian Harbulot, co-founder of the School of Economic Warfare, CR451 is based on a simple but structuring observation: contemporary conflicts now unfold continuously across economic, geopolitical, societal and informational arenas, to the point that systemic economic warfare has emerged as a central paradigm of how the world operates. The training experience, although proven and widely delivered to several thousand students, was not sufficient to trigger comparable awareness among a large proportion of decision-makers, making an additional step necessary—more doctrinal, better tooled, and more directly action-oriented.

CR451 was established in autumn 2021. Its name, in tribute to Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”, refers to the loss of memory symbolised by the destruction of books by fire.

Our Work

Research Fields

Find the latest CR451 case studies and dossiers on information warfare, economic warfare, and cognitive warfare.

Publications

Find the latest CR451 publications: research notes, annual volumes, seminar reports, and articles.

50 years of Information Warfare

In this podcast series produced by CR451 and led by Nicolas Moinet, Christian Harbulot analyses 50 years of information warfare.

DST Series (Danger, Surge, Transmission)

In these podcasts, we bring to light what constitutes a danger that requires a reaction (an awakening) and must be made public (transmission).

Civil culture of information warfare series

Christian Harbulot revisits emblematic cases of civil information warfare observed since the beginning of the 20th century.

DOCUMENTARY SERIES ON Economic warfare

Documentaries and interviews based on our book: ECONOMIC WARFARE: HOW TO WIN?

All articles

Mature Medicine: The Blind Spot of Health Sovereignty

To download the report: mature-medicines-report-23-09-2026 The report begins with an observation of scale. Specialties marketed for more than ten years represent 68% of the turnover of reimbursable medicines sold in pharmacies (DREES, 2024). Mature medicine is...

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Ascending in successive stages leads to the objective, provided each step is measured and evaluated.

Gaining Perspective for Action

By General Jean-Claude Gallet and Christian Harbulot Several recent crises have highlighted the difficulties faced by French elites in defining a power politics and the stance to adopt in confronting power dynamics. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has added a new...

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The stakes of economic warfare

In France, the concept of “economic warfare” is difficult to grasp. Most business leaders still focus on innovation-related issues, the watchword of engineering culture. Economic confrontations between powers and their concrete consequences remain a field they leave...

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