Nicolas Tenzer is a French civil servant, academic, writer, and editor. He was the editor of the journal Le Banquet (1992-2015) and is the founding president of the Centre d’étude et de réflexion pour l’action politique (CERAP), a position he has held since 1986. He was a director of the Aspen Institute from 2010 to 2015 and has acted as its treasurer and president. He is also a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C.
Biography Born in 1961 to a Jewish Belgian diplomat, Martha Tenzer, he is a graduate of the École normale supérieure (1980–1982), Sciences Po (1980–1982) and the École nationale d'administration (1984–1986). He also holds a degree in history from the University of Nanterre.https://www.linkedin.com/pub/nicolas-tenzer/17/906/73
He has taught political philosophy at Sciences Po (1986–2004) and since 2014 he is teaching there Science of Government (Master of International Governance and Diplomacy). As a civil servant, Tenzer is the former head of the Commissariat général du Plan (1994–2002), a former member of the staff of France's minister of Economy and Finance (1987–1988), and a former rapporteur at the Cour des comptes (1991–1993).
Nicolas Tenzer is a member of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Views
Tenzer has stated seeks a middle path between two opposing viewpoints on French power: that France's status as a power and its role in world affairs are declining, and that France's role in world affairs is increasing. In a 2016 article for online policy platform Euractiv, Tenzer stated that the EU should focus on Romania, who he claimed was the last country in Eastern Europe with a pro-European leader.
Publications La région en quête d'avenir (La Documentation française, 1986). La crise africaine : quelle politique de coopération pour la France ? (with Franck Magnard, PUF, 1988) La société dépolitisée (PUF, 1990). Un projet éducatif pour la France (ed., CERAP, PUF, 1991). Le Spermatozoïde hors la loi : de la bioéthique à la biopolitique (with Franck Magnard, Calmann-Lévy, 1991). La politique (PUF, Que sais-je ?, 1991). Les élites et la fin de la démocratie française (with Rodolphe Delacrois, PUF, 1992). La République (PUF, Que sais-je ?, 1993) Philosophie politique (PUF, 1994, 2nd edition, 1998) Histoire des doctrines politiques en France (PUF, Que sais-je ?, 1996) Le tombeau de Machiavel: De la corruption intellectuelle de la politique (Flammarion, 1997) La face cachée du gaullisme: De Gaulle ou l’introuvable tradition politique (Hachette littératures, 1998) Les valeurs des Modernes: Réflexions sur l’écroulement politique du nouveau siècle (Flammarion, 2003) France : la réforme impossible ? (Flammarion, 2004). De l'esprit de décision. Contre l'approximation politique (with Michel de Fabiani, Gualino, 2006). Faut-il sauver le libéralisme ? (with Monique Canto-Sperber, Grasset, 2006). Pour une nouvelle philosophie politique (PUF, 2007) Quand la France disparaît du monde (Grasset, 2008, 3rd edition 2010) Le Monde à l'horizon 2030: La règle et le désordre (Perrin 2011) La fin du malheur français ? Pour un nouveau devoir politique (Stock 2011) La France a besoin des autres (Plon 2012) Resisting Despair in Confrontational Times (with Ramin Jahanbegloo, Har-Anand Publications, 2019) Notre Guerre. Le crime et l'oubli : pour une pensée stratégique (Editions de l'Observatoire, 2024) Fin de la politique des grandes puissances. Petits et moyens Etats à la conquête du monde (Editions de l'Observatoire, 2025) The Road to Chişinău: The European Political Community Report (CEPA, 2023) Macron Signals a Transformation in Security Policy (CEPA, 2023) NATO's Summit Fails Ukraine (CEPA, 2023) Without the United States, Europe Is Lost (CEPA, 2023) Security Expert urges NATO and EU action in Ukraine: a call for increased support and strategic measures (dniprotoday.com, 2023)
References
External links Personal website