Le dessous des cartes

Mit offenen Karten

Mapping the World

El revés de los mapas

Na rewersie mapy

Dietro le Mappe

<p>Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has led to many European countries wanting to stop importing Russian oil and gas. Mapping the World looks at the complex world of oil and gas exports and how they feed into the energy mix of Europe and the world.</p>

Gas, Petrol and the War in Ukraine

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has led to many European countries wanting to stop importing Russian oil and gas.

Ever since ex-US President Barack Obama oriented US foreign policy towards Asia under the slogan "Pivot to Asia," Sino-US rivalry has come to the fore. Two major powers collide over trade, military might and diplomacy.

The Pacific: Centre of the World

Two major powers collide over trade, military might and diplomacy.

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people. Mapping the World takes a look at this country of volcanoes, fishing and geothermal energy.

Iceland: 100% Green

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. One year later, the war continues, destroying a country situated on the border between two worlds, between Russia and the European Union. A focus on the geopolitical history of a country now associated with conflict.

Ukraine: A Country at War

 A focus on the geopolitical history of a country now associated with conflict.

After a year of conflict in Ukraine, Mapping the World leaves the studio to visit the Baltic, a cold sea that is heating up with NATO-Russian tensions. Emilie Aubry goes aboard a French navy frigate to understand the challenges of this geostrategically important region.

24 Hours in the Baltic

After a year of conflict in Ukraine, Mapping the World leaves the studio to visit the Baltic, a cold sea that is heating up with NATO-Russian tensions.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were once little-known countries nestled away in northeastern Europe, but they now have a front row seat to the invasion of Ukraine. Former members of the Soviet Union and neighbours of Russia, they see the war as a threat to their own security. They fear that they'll be next.

Baltic States: On the Edge of War

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania view the Ukraine war as a threat to their own security.

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Being at the centre of so many worlds is both a blessing and a curse for Ankara, automatically making it a key player in regional geopolitics whether it would wish to be or not. It's a complex chessboard which Recep Tayyip Erdogan knows how to navigate with skill.

Turkish Geopolitics

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban has been working on his model of "illiberal democracy" since 2010: restrictions on press freedom, restrictions on the independence of the judiciary, homophobia, and xenophobia. But how far will Budapest go? And up to what point does the EU have to step in, and remind the member state of its commitment to European values?

Hungary: Between East and West

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban has been working on his model of "illiberal democracy" since 2010.

The creation of an independent Palestinian state seemed possible in 1993, but thirty years later it feels like a distant prospect. The two-state solution has yet to materialise, and recent years have been marred by political assassinations, violent uprisings, extremism, terrorist attacks, and police repression.

What Future for Palestine?

The creation of an independent Palestinian state seemed possible in 1993, but thirty years later it feels like a distant prospect.

Huge territories, communist legacies, authoritarian leaders: China and Russia have much in common, as the good personal relations between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin seem to show. Mapping the World demonstrates that behind the façade, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

China and Russia: Firm Friends?

Behind the façade of friendship, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

In his memoirs, the founding father of the European project, Jean Monnet, wrote: "Europe will be forged by the crises it faces, and will become the sum of the solutions it finds during those crises." A prescient sentence that has never been more apt than during the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks and is more unified than it has been in years.

The EU and Crises

During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks.

Egypt is the country of the pharaohs and Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, at the head of the country for almost a decade, often likes to hark back to this glorious past. This nostalgia is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt, from Mehmet Ali, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, to Morsi. 

Egypt's Pharaoh Syndrome

Nostalgia for a glorious past is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. One of the richest countries on the planet due to vast oil and gas deposits, Qatar has invested heavily in soft power projects such as education and communication.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. 

Qatar, World Cup Host

The two main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of a growing global taste for sweet treats. On the one hand there are multinational corporations that control the entire value chain, on the other, small cocoa producers trying to support their families.

Cacao: Who Profits from Chocolate?

The main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of growing global demand

Qatar has long relied on football to increase its prestige, from buying French club Paris-Saint-Germain to sponsoring Barcelona. With TV rights selling for astronomical amounts, football is much more than just a sport.

Football Power Play

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries: many European countries have legislated for same-sex marriages. However, in some parts of the world LGBT communities still face discrimination or persecution.  A focus on LGBT+ rights around the world.

LGBT+ Rights in the World

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries, while in others discrimination and persecution remain commonplace.

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.

Soft Power - Universities at War

Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified

With the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party taking place recently, Mapping the World dedicates a special extended episode to an analysis of China today.

Xi Jinping's China

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is in a war zone, and the area has been bombed. Damage to the plant, or cutting off its electricity, could mean a major radioactive leak at Europe's largest nuclear power plant. We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

Nuclear Energy - Past or Future?

We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

With a wave of strikes this summer and inflation at 10%, the UK seems to be in a febrile mood. Mapping the World examines the state of the British economy after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?   

UK: The Impact of Brexit

Mapping the World examines the state of the Britain after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?  

Russia views the former Soviet republics as its ‘near abroad’ and a strategic sphere of Russian influence. Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

Putin: Nostalgia for Empire

Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

Founded in 1948 after the trauma of the holocaust, Israel, where three-quarters of the population is Jewish, has gone through many crises and has tense relations with the Palestinian territories and neighbouring Arab states.

Israel: Endless Conflict, New Alliances

It is a vital shipping route that everyone in the region wants access to. But it is China that is muscling in to the South China Sea by insisting that it is Chinese territorial waters.

Power Play in the South China Sea

It is a vital shipping route that everyone in the region wants access to. But it is China that is aggressively imposing itself in the South China Sea by insisting that it is Chinese territorial waters.

The Balkans continue to be torn between West and East in politics, culture and religion. Mapping the World focuses on one of Europe’s most diverse regions.

The Balkans - Between East and West

Chile is a unique country with its atypical geography, its wealth of natural resources and its severe inequalities. Mapping the World focuses on the nation of Allende and Pinochet, which has recently moved to the left.

Chile: Hope for Change

Mapping the World focuses on the country of Allende and Pinochet, which has recently moved to the left. 

In the wake of the Ukraine war, Central Asia is more than ever a strategically important region. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have long since rediscovered their identity and historical roots since the end of the Soviet Union. What are the differences and similarities between these Central Asian countries, little known to the West?

Central Asia, a Global Crossroads

In the wake of the Ukraine war, Central Asia is more than ever a strategically important region.

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has led to many European countries wanting to stop importing Russian oil and gas. Mapping the World looks at the complex world of oil and gas exports and how they feed into the energy mix of Europe and the world.

Three days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 27 February 2022, Vladimir Putin announced that the nuclear deterrent would be put on ‘special combat alert’. Was this a threat of nuclear attack from the Russian president? Mapping the World takes a look at the geopolitics of  nuclear weapons from 1945 to the present day.

Ukraine: The Nuclear Option

Are civil rights and liberties under pressure in the 21st century? The show explores the global balance of power between democrats and autocrats, namely the Western democratic model and Sino-Russian authoritarianism. Democratic, geopolitical and digital challenges will be crucial in tomorrow's world.

Fragile democracies

Are civil rights and liberties under pressure in the 21st century?

The fishing sector has not escaped globalisation and industrialisation. Fish from all oceans find their way onto our plates, but this has consequences for biodiversity and the depletion of fish stocks. To better understand what is happening in our oceans, we go on a world tour of fishing.

Globalised Fishing

To better understand what is happening in our oceans, we go on a world tour of fishing.

The fall of the USSR destabalised the Caucasus, which is being eyed up by three autocratic regimes: Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Each country jealously guards its interests in this oil and gas-rich region. 

The Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Europe and Asia

The fall of the USSR destabalised the Caucasus, which is being eyed up by three autocratic regimes: Russia, Turkey, and Iran

Thirty years after the end of apartheid, South Africa has still not overcome its many problems: Endemic violence, economic and racial inequalities, state corruption. However, the rainbow nation has a lot to offer: tourism, natural resources and a leadership role on the African continent.

South Africa and its Demons

At the crossroads between China and India is Indonesia, an archipelago bursting with potential. The biggest Muslim country in the world became a democracy after years of dictatorship. It successfully curbed threats from Islamic extremists and enjoys the most dynamic economy in the region. Indonesia could well become a major player in international politics.

Indonesia: An Archipelago With Potential

At the crossroads between China and India, is Indonesia, an archipelago bursting with potential

Ten years after Gaddafi's fall, what state is Libya in? There's the official government based in Tripoli that is recognised by the international community, and rival forces controlled by General Khalifa Haftar.

Libya: A Global Power Struggle

Ten years after Gaddafi's fall, what state is Libya in?

With France holding the European presidency and with presidential elections on the horizon, a focus on the French nation. An assessment of its economic, cultural and military influence in the world today.

France: Still a Major Power?

 An assessment of France's economic, cultural and military influence in the world today.

"Hard power" means economic, military, and demographic power; "soft power" means symbolic, cultural, and informational power. And now there is also "food power": the weaponised production of food. Wheat, one of the most consumed grains and traded on the stock exchange, has become a geopolitical issue.

The Weaponisation of Wheat

 Wheat, one of the most consumed grains and traded on the stock exchange, has become a geopolitical issue

Mapping the World - The Geopolitics Programme

Romania has greater gas resources than most European countries. With its unexploited Black Sea gas reserves, it could theoretically free itself from gas imports and start supplying neighbouring countries. But Romanian legislation is not favourable to development. Even so, an oil rig has been built of the Romanian coast which has been extracting natural gas since June 2022.

A Boon for Romania?

Could Romania's Black Sea gas fields be the answer to Europe's energy problems?

Re: Black Sea Gas

As much of Western Europe worries about having enough gas for the winter, Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Winter of War

Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Tracks East

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 2,500 documents were leaked from Prigozhin’s servers by anti-Putin hackers, shedding light on this secretive group of mercenaries, a key element in the war in Ukraine.

Data Sources

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

The Prigozhin Papers

A quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Factory farming and extreme use of fertilizers and pesticides pollute our air, pollute our water and destroy our soil. Every year, 24 billion tons of fertile soil are lost worldwide. In Spain, two-thirds of the country is affected by desertification. But there are also soils further north that are similarly desolate. In this episode of Roots, science journalist Pierre Girard meets Remedios Arres in Andalusia and Johanna Häger in Brandenburg, the sandbox of Europe.

Fighting Desertification

What should Europe do about its damaged and depleted soil?

Roots

As a show of solidarity, Europe is displaying the colours of Ukraine, a country whose desire for democracy and freedom is perceived as a danger by Vladimir Putin's Russia. The pursuit of freedom is the subject of this episode of Twist. A desire shared by artists from all over the world.

The Pursuit of Freedom

The pursuit of freedom is the subject of this episode of Twist. A desire shared by artists from all over the world.

Twist

Why is it so important for some to show that they have money? Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all? We go to the streets of Berlin to talk to the people of the city about wealth, minimalism and freedom.

Become Rich!

Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all?

Streetphilosophy

Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

Many governments and organisations are wary of their employers using the social media TikTok. Does the Chinese company really serve Xi Jinping’s regime?

TikTok: A Chinese Threat?

Mapping the World Essentials

The new Windsor agreement between the EU and the UK is hoped to improve relations and solve the Northern Ireland issue.

Northern Ireland: Windsor Agreement

Bonuses and Extracts

Discover more

At once seductive and dangerous, historical myth and male fantasy, the femme fatale represents both erotic promise and a death trap to the male observer. Conceived at the end of the 19th century in the works of Gustave Moreau, Franz von Stuck and Lovis Corinth, the femme fatale was completely reinvented in the 20th century by many female artists.

Seductive and dangerous, the figure of the femme fatale in art was completely reinvented in the 20th century.

The Femme Fatale in Art

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating over the breakaway region of Transnistria, an investigation on how prepared Europe is for another summer of wildfires, and a report from the Dissident Club in Paris.

Tensions in Moldova / WildFires in Europe

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating with street protests and controversy over Russian secret documents.

ARTE Europe Weekly

Highly influential indie rockers from Boston, famous for such tracks as Debaser and Where is my mind perform in Paris as part of a European tour for their latest album Doggerel.

Legendary and highly influential indie rockers perform in Paris as part of their European tour.

Pixies - Live at the Paris Olympia

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants and changed the course of European history.

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants. 

The Defenestration of Prague

Eclectic American singer-songwriter Ben Harper performs from his latest album, 2022’s Bloodline Maintenance. Filmed at Ground Control in Paris.

Ground Control

Eclectic American singer-songwriter Ben Harper performs from his latest album, 2022’s Bloodline Maintenance.

Ben Harper

At first glance, it's an image of innocence. A motherly milkmaid pouring out the milk in a kitchen, preparing snacks from our childhoods. But there's actually far more to her than meets the eye.

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A famous image that at first glance looks totally innocent, but is in actual fact full of innuendo

Look but Don't Touch

Lyubov, which means love in Russian, is 80 years old and lives alone on the shores of Lake Baikal. She bears witness to this wonder of nature and possesses and unbreakable bond with the world’s deepest lake in Siberia. Her life here is hard, especially in winter, but she would not live anywhere else.

On the shores of Lake Baikal, an old woman lives alone in a beautiful place that is dear to her heart.

The Old Woman and the Lake

Working her way out of poverty as a sex worker all while supporting her family in Romania. That’s Andrada’s goal. She speaks confidently and openly about her work in a red-light district in Germany’s Ruhr region.  
This programme by German channel ARD is part of The European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.

Portrait of a sex worker in the Ruhr region, Germany.  

Hard Life – I sell sex for money

Music director of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru takes his musicians on a tour of his homeland, Romania. A tour stopping in Timişoara, his hometown. On the programme: The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms with soloist Simon Trpčeski.

Concert from the European Capital of Culture 2023

Conductor Cristian Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne perform Brahms and Klaus Lang in Romania.

Cristian Mācelaru in Timişoara

France’s President Emmanuel Macron forced through an unpopular reform of the country’s pension system – and the French aren’t having it. We travel to Romania to find out about a possible law to ban gambling adverts, and look at how to protect Europeans from addictions.

France’s pension reform / Gambling / Photography

Protests erupt across France in response to the government’s pension reform bill, and we explore gambling across Europe.

A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Water

 A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Good News From Our Planet

In El Salvador, gangs have terrorised the country for decades. But when Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, becoming the youngest head of state in Latin America, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

El Salvador: The coolest dictator in the world?

When Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

ARTE Reportage

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot show another side of Israel. One with high-levels of social deprivation and strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s controversial judicial reforms.

Sderot - The Other Israel

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot is a different Israel with strong support for Netanjahu and high levels of social deprivation.

In Peru, every year, the people who live in remote mountain villages gather to build the Inca bridge of Q'eswachaka, a traditional structure of woven grass, and the last of its kind. This ancestral know-how inherited from the Incas, and the enduring spirit of community, enables the villagers to pull off a stunning feat of engineering, time and again.

In Peru, every year, villagers build the Inca bridge of Q'eswachaka from woven grass, and the last of its kind.

The Inca Grass Bridge of Q'eswachaka

With all the religious wars, the 17th century was a tense time in Europe. And in art one theme caught everyone’s imagination: the Virgin Mary.

Assumption of the Virgin - Nicolas Poussin

Look But Don't Touch

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years. Their sperm is smuggled out of prison to be used in IVF with their partners.

Israel-Palestine: Secret Babies of the Intifada

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years.

The literary source for Richard Strauss’s opera immortalizing the degeneracy of Herodes Antipas, King of Judea, and his step-daughter Salome, was supplied by Oscar Wilde. It tells of Herodes, who is keeping the prophet Jochanaan captive inside a cistern. Salome tries to seduce him and on being rebuffed, forces her stepfather to serve her the prophet’s head on a silver platter.

Directed by Christof Loy in Helsinki

Rejected by the prophet Jochanaan, Salome forces her abusive stepfather to exact revenge.

Mapping the World - The Geopolitics Programme