History of International Relations
Ph.D. in History of International Relations, Department of History, Sociology and Public Law.
Programme director: Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel — Scientific Direction.
University of the Alliance of Civilizations between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe
Louisiana
Saint-Louis – Université Méditerranéenne des Nations
Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations carries out four missions: research, continuing and professional education, university publishing, and cooperation between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe.
Research DivisionContinuing & Professional EducationPublishing DivisionCooperation & Partnerships
2026 Intake
Programmes for the 2026 intake
Six programmes open for the 2026 intake, four degree-granting and two certificate. Each is placed under the responsibility of a named member of faculty; full programme details are given in the Academic Structures and Education sections of this site.
Apply — contact the university
Requirements, supporting documents and deadlines communicated on request, programme by programme.
Arabic
Degree programme in three tiers: Certificate, Diplôme, Bachelor — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre.
Programme director: Mustapha El Majdouli.
French and Business Studies
Degree programme in three tiers: Certificate, Diplôme, Bachelor — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre.
Programme director: Mery Benaroya.
Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence
Bachelor over three years and six semesters — AFFORDANCE Faculty.
Programme director: Abderahman Janati.
French as a Foreign Language
Levels A1 to C2, preparation for DELF, DALF and TCF certifications — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre.
Programme director: Mélanie Sathoud.
Professional English
Levels A2 to C1. A TOEIC preparation track is under review; arrangements and fees will be announced after the pre-term faculty meeting.
Programme director: Jyotee Mungu.
These six programmes also draw on a cross-cutting instructional support function, shared across all programmes and not attached to any one of them in particular.
Instructional Design — cross-cutting function
Afia Attolou — Instructional Designer
Needs analysis, design of digital learning resources, and support for learners in their use of digital tools.
A seminar also opens its new term in September 2026, outside the six programmes above; full details are given in the Education section of this site.
Practice of Philosophical Discourse Applied to Lived Experience — seminar, non-degree
Yigal Dawidowicz — Seminar Programme Director
New term in September 2026, ten three-hour sessions, in person.
A faculty member in security professions also joins the university, outside the framework of the six degree and certificate programmes above.
Security professions
Mr Mustapha Tahar — Faculty member
Arrangements and content to be announced after the pre-term faculty meeting.
University of the Alliance of Civilizations between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe
Louisiana
Saint-Louis – Université Méditerranéenne des Nations
Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations traces its origin to a double act : the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation and the Montpensier University Institute jointly opened, in May 1988, the enclosure of this university between Naples, Marseille, Saint-Louis du Sénégal and Casablanca. These four ports already carried their own intellectual commerce. Dispatches circulated there. Languages converged. Merchants, clerks and officers exchanged papers and learning, so that the shores they linked were, before any act of foundation, shores of the same understanding. The University draws from this precedence its charge : to hold open the paths that history has at times closed.
The custody of knowledge is the primary office. The University gathers the letters, the archives and the books that the centuries have deposited ; it ensures their conservation, then their study, then their transmission to the generation that follows. Conservation comes first. Study follows. Transmission delivers the deposit intact to those appointed to receive it. Knowledge that falls short of this end has served only the one who held it.
The three mottoes
Nobilitas Obligat
The responsibility of knowledge
The privilege of learning creates a debt toward those who will one day take delivery of the deposit constituted today. Nobility binds ; it charges.
Traditio Manet
The permanence of heritage
To transmit is to keep the relay active between ancient learning and present use. Tradition endures because successive hands carry it forward.
Sapientia ad Altiora
Elevation through knowledge
Knowledge tends toward a wisdom that orders the disciplines according to an end that surpasses them all : the service of the common good. That end measures everything else.
The university inscribes its action in the heritage of the studia humanitatis. This tradition, born of the encounter between ancient culture and Christian thought, placed at the forefront the study of letters, history, moral philosophy, rhetoric and languages. It did not form scholars withdrawn from the world, but men and women destined for councils, administrations, courts, academies and public office. Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations pursues this ambition through the humanities, the social sciences, law, international relations, artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
Our philosophy
Tradition endures, as the university's coat of arms proclaims: Traditio manet. Yet the digital professions have changed the bond between master and student. The university draws the consequences, without regret for the authority of former times, and six commitments now govern teaching across all its programmes.
1 · Mentoring
Comes et dux · the mentor, companion and guide
The master no longer dictates from the chair. He accompanies the student, guides him, starts from what he already knows and leads him to independent judgement. The deposit of knowledge still passes from one generation to the next, from hand to hand, at the pace of the one who receives it.
2 · Artificial intelligence, an instrument
Intellegentia artificialis instrumentum est fundamentale, et instrumentum manet · artificial intelligence is a fundamental instrument, and it remains an instrument
Artificial intelligence enters learning as a first-rate instrument. Students learn to use it without ever surrendering to it the task of thinking.
3 · Speech and eloquence
Verbo et auditu discimus · we learn through speaking and listening
We learn by speaking, and still more by listening. Rephrasing a thought, defending it and answering another's objection remain the first exercises of education, in keeping with the university's programme “Speech, language and representation” and its colloquia of Marrakech (May 2023) and Casablanca (October 2023).
4 · General culture
Cultura clavis intellegentiae · general culture, the key to understanding
A mind nourished by history, letters, languages, law and philosophy can put an automatic answer to the test, measure its limits and discover what it leaves in shadow.
5 · Semiology and sociology of artificial intelligence
Signa legere, mundum intellegere · reading signs to understand the world
Artificial intelligence produces signs. Semiology teaches how to read what its answers say and what they leave unsaid; sociology asks who uses it, who profits from it and how professions are reshaped around it. Every discipline of the university receives this teaching.
6 · The vocabulary of artificial intelligence
Verba intellegere, liberum manere · understanding words, remaining free
Model, corpus, training, generation, prompt: artificial intelligence imposes its words. Teaching shows how to understand them precisely, so that everyone keeps the power to criticise them, shift them and, if need be, free themselves from them.
University life
News
15 June 2026
Registration of Saint Louis University Press
AFNIL publisher prefix 978-2-489285 assigned; each volume now receives its number before legal deposit at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
September 2026
New term for the philosophical practice seminar
In-person opening of Yigal Dawidowicz's seminar on the practice of philosophical discourse applied to lived experience.
October 2023
Colloque de Casablanca
LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN · LALITRA — La Parole, héritage, nouvelles cléricatures et crise de la représentation. Proceedings forthcoming.
May 2023
Colloque de Marrakech
Scientific event on speech and artificial intelligence, held in partnership with CERIPP.
Research
Research Division
Quaerendo invenietis — In seeking, you will find.
The Research Division brings together four distinct centres: LARHA – MC Federici, devoted to the humanities and applied research; CAEPRA, the Centre for Political Analysis, Study and Research on Africa; ORIENT, devoted to the Mediterranean world and the Middle East; and INTELEN, devoted to artificial intelligence, digital humanities and digital transformations.
LARHA – MC Federici
Research centre for the humanities and applied research – Maria Caterina Federici
Research centre attached to the Research Division. The laboratory bears the name of Maria Caterina Federici (1959–2024) in tribute to her scientific contribution.
HumanitiesHistoryLawSocial sciencesInternational relationsApplied researchArchives and corpora
INTELEN
Research centre for artificial intelligence, digital humanities and digital transformations
Work on digital corpora, natural language processing architectures, networks, information governance and digital transformations.
Digital corporaArchivesDataArtificial intelligenceInformation technologies
CAEPRA
Centre for Political Analysis, Study and Research on Africa
A distinct research centre within the Research Division. It conducts political analysis, study and research on African countries.
Political analysisCongo-BrazzavilleCongo-KinshasaCameroonEquatorial GuineaMaghreb
ORIENT
Research centre on the Mediterranean world and the Middle East · Director: Aziz Saidi
A distinct research centre within the Research Division. It conducts historical, political, social, religious and strategic study of the Mediterranean world and the Middle East.
HistoryIslamologyPolitical scienceHistorical sociologyAnthropologyHistory of lawInternational relationsStrategic studies
Research programmes of LARHA – MC Federici and INTELEN
Humanities, history, law and social sciences
The laboratory's disciplinary core: humanities, history, law, social sciences and international relations, grounded in the study of archives and corpora.
Digital corpora, archives and artificial intelligence
The work of the INTELEN centre: digital corpora, archives, data, uses of artificial intelligence and information technologies.
Speech, language and representation
The programme already carried by manifestations held: the Lexis et Logos Programme (2023), the Marrakech Colloquium with the CERIPP (May 2023) and the Casablanca Colloquium on La Parole (October 2023).
ORIENT — Research centre on the Mediterranean world and the Middle East
The ORIENT laboratory is a research centre devoted to the historical, political, social, religious and strategic study of the Mediterranean world and the Middle East.
The laboratory's approach is interdisciplinary: it draws on history, islamology — to which particular emphasis is given —, political science, historical sociology, anthropology, the history of law, international relations and strategic studies.
Research forms the laboratory's organising principle; teaching extends it. ORIENT carries specialised training programmes.
The relationship between research and teaching remains organic: students are trained in research methods and documentary analysis, then guided toward the dissertation, collective works or doctoral research. The expertise thus built can serve public institutions, international organisations and universities.
ORIENT is thus defined as the place where research, higher education and regional expertise devoted to the Mediterranean world and the Middle East converge.
Research programmes of ORIENT
Al-Khawarizmi Programme
Joint programme of ORIENT and the Cercle France-Irak · hosted by the Choiseul Faculty
Franco-Iraqi relations studied within the wider Middle East, its history and its heritage: a research programme, a France–Iraq Observatory of political and legal relations, and a Franco-Iraqi publishing series. President of the Cercle France-Irak: Prof. Dr Ala’a Gafouri.
Programme page (French) → · Arabic →History, islamology and historical sociology
The core of the centre's descriptive text, with the particular emphasis given to islamology among the disciplines it draws on.
Political science, international relations and strategic studies
The political and strategic study of the Mediterranean world and the Middle East, oriented toward expertise mobilisable by public institutions and international organisations.
Anthropology and the history of law
The two complementary disciplines of the centre's interdisciplinary approach.
Direction and associate researchers of ORIENT
Khadidja Maammeri
Associate researcher at ORIENT · Head of the English unit of the International Relations programme
Institutional profile →Colloquia and scientific events of ORIENT
Section under construction. ORIENT's colloquia, seminars and scientific events will be presented here as they are organised.
Publications of ORIENT
Section under construction. ORIENT's work and publications will be presented here as they appear.
Leadership of CAEPRA
Prosper Nganbai
President of CAEPRA — honorary function
Civilian life: President of CNPS Cameroon
Lionel Nzamba Nzamba
Secretary General of CAEPRA · Decentralised cooperation
Associate researchers of CAEPRA
Sébastien Magand Tardy
Consultant in African politics — specialist in Gabon and the two Congos (Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville) · Communication, qualitative and quantitative studies, political polling
Nestor Ndoudi
Director of International Cooperation of the University, associate researcher — specialist in Congo-Brazzaville, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea · Public policy expert, France–Africa, culture and memory
Khadidja Maammeri
CAEPRA associate researcher · English for international relations and international public policy
Institutional profile →
Christian Mouandjo
Associate researcher — specialist in Cameroon
Mourad Janati Cherkaoui
Associate researcher — specialist in the Maghreb and its diasporas · Geopolitical communication, social media, the role of influencers
Research programmes of CAEPRA
Political analysis by geographic area
Central Africa — Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea — and the Maghreb, the areas of specialty of the centre's associate researchers.
Political communication and public opinion
Polling, qualitative and quantitative studies, social media and the role of influencers in political communication.
Public policy, France–Africa cooperation, culture and memory
Public policy expertise on France–Africa relations and on culture and memory, carried by the centre's associate researchers.
Colloquia and scientific events of CAEPRA
Section under construction. CAEPRA's colloquia, seminars and scientific events will be presented here as they are organised.
Publications of CAEPRA
Section under construction. CAEPRA's work and publications will be presented here as they appear.
Figure of reference
Maria Caterina Federici (1959–2024)
Sociology · University of Perugia
Full professor of sociology at the University of Perugia and director of the Centre for Research on Human Security, Maria Caterina Federici (1959–2024) holds a founding place in the intellectual history of LARHA – MC Federici and accompanied from the outset the formation of the university project. The laboratory bears her name in tribute to her scientific contribution and her commitment to dialogue between disciplines, societies and the cultural spaces of Europe and the Mediterranean.
Sociologia della sicurezza. Teorie e problemi (ed. with A. Romeo), Morlacchi Editore · L'immaginazione sentimentale, Mimesis, 2016 · Un défi pour la sociologie : sécurité et formation, Sociétés, no. 147, 2020 · Dove fondano le libertà, Borla, 2000.
Academic Organisation
Academic Structures
The university is organised in faculties. The Baudouin de Courtenay Faculty of Knowledge and Professions brings together languages and professions; its linguistic division is the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre. The AFFORDANCE Faculty covers digital technology and artificial intelligence, with EC2LT in Dakar. Two further faculties are being established: the King Affonso I Faculty, for law and political science, and the Choiseul Faculty, for social sciences, humanities and international relations, which incorporates the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law. The International Relations programme is attached to the Department.
The faculties
First faculty · motto Signa docent
Baudouin de Courtenay Faculty of Knowledge and Professions
Languages and professions; its linguistic division, the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre, teaches Arabic, French and business studies, French as a foreign language and professional English.
Faculty page (French) →Being established · motto Rationis ordinatio ad bonum commune
King Affonso I Faculty
Law and political science, with the Institute of African International Law and Good Governance (IDIA-BG) in Dakar.
Faculty page (French) →Being established · motto Consilio, non vi
Choiseul Faculty
Dean: Ali Sedjari. Social sciences, humanities and international relations; it incorporates the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law, hosts the Al-Khawarizmi programme and works in partnership with the University of Baghdad.
Faculty page (French) →Being established · motto Ars agendi
AFFORDANCE Faculty
Digital technology and artificial intelligence, with the École Centrale des Logiciels Libres et des Télécommunications (EC2LT) in Dakar; it offers the Bachelor in Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence.
Faculty page (French) →Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations distributes its offices according to a settled hierarchy. Scientific direction constitutes an office in its own right ; to conduct research and to transmit a competence call for titles and responsibilities that the institution distinguishes with care. Scientific direction belongs to the body of university researchers — holders of the habilitation to supervise research and doctors — who bear authority over doctoral supervision, the scientific direction of the Department and the LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN laboratory, and the validation of intellectual contents at every level. Academic instructors conduct the thematic seminars and pedagogical programmes according to the syllabuses settled by the scientific direction. Trainers deliver operational competencies within the continuing education structures, under a service agreement fixing the scope of their intervention. The scientific direction — LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN — alone holds authority to validate intellectual contents, at whatever level they are delivered.
Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
The Department of History, Sociology and Public Law, incorporated into the Choiseul Faculty, is the university's reference institutional structure for teaching and research in history, sociology and public law. It brings together four disciplines: History · Sociology · Public Law · International Relations. The International Relations programme is attached to the Department, which houses the Ph.D. in History of International Relations, the Comparative History of International Relations programme, the research activities associated with LARHA – MC Federici, specialised seminars and the department's research projects.
Comparative History of International Relations — Theme I
"Administering the Universal: Rome, Jerusalem and Mecca as symbolic capitals of competing international systems."
This theme examines the authorities that claim to order a space extending beyond the boundaries of any particular political community. It follows the transformations of political universalism from the great empires of the ancient Near East to the imperial and religious constructions of the modern period. The programme studies the Achaemenid Empire, imperial Rome, Jerusalem, the medieval papacy, the caliphates and Mecca in order to understand the successive forms of administering the universal between Antiquity and the early twentieth century.
Comparative History of International Relations — Theme II
"Empire against Distance: a comparison of Persian, Roman and Spanish communication infrastructures."
This theme examines the means by which large political formations overcome the constraints of space. It compares the techniques of government at a distance from the royal relay stations of the Achaemenids to the administrative circuits of the modern monarchies. The programme analyses the Persian royal road network, the Roman cursus publicus, medieval communication systems and the circuits of the Hispanic monarchy in order to understand the evolution of imperial infrastructures between Antiquity and the modern period.
Comparative History of International Relations — Theme III
"Political Anthropology of Loyalty, Hegemony and Tribute: Roman clientage, feudal allegiance, monarchical service and the tributary systems of Asia."
This theme examines the bonds of fidelity linking rulers and ruled within political systems. It follows the evolution of the forms of political obedience from the Greek city-states and the Roman Republic to the European monarchies and the tributary systems of Asia. The programme analyses Greek hegemonic leagues, Roman clientage, feudal allegiances, the tributary relations of East Asia and the forms of monarchical service in order to understand the historical mechanisms of loyalty between Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the modern period.
Comparative History of International Relations — Theme IV
"Cultural and Political History of Reputation in International Relations: Alexander, Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV and Napoleon."
This theme studies the mechanisms by which political actors acquire prestige and authority in the international arena. It traces the circulation of political reputations from the conquests of Alexander to the great empires of the nineteenth century. The programme examines the figures of Alexander, Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon and other major references in order to analyse the historical processes of recognition and legitimation between Antiquity and the contemporary world.
Around these four directing themes, complementary themes and specialisation seminars are organised. An assessed seminar is already accessible: Introduction to the Sociology of Complexity, Prof. Ali Aït Abdelmalek (University of Rennes 2).
Teaching staff attached to the Department, which brings together four disciplines: History · Sociology · Public Law · International Relations. The Department's continuing education programmes are delivered by a partner operator, Institut Montpensier (see Partners in continuing education).
History · International Relations
Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
Field: International Relations · Ph.D. History of International Relations
Frédéric Bidouze
Field: Early modern history
Public Law
Hager Ben Cheikh Ahmed
Public and administrative law
Arnaud Van Waeyenberge
European law · HEC Paris
Ali Sedjari
Dean of the Choiseul Faculty · Governance and public action · UNESCO Chair in Human Rights (2005–2017)
Jean-Michel Mboumoua
Public Law · Secretary General, LARHA – MC Federici · Morocco
Sociology
Jean-Louis Fabiani
Historical sociology of knowledge · President of Institut Montpensier
Ali Aït Abdelmalek
Sociology · University of Rennes 2
Amina Er Rifayi
Social work, support
Christian Mouandjo
Sociology and communication
LUIGI PAREYSON LANGUAGE CENTRE
The LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre is the linguistic division of the Baudouin de Courtenay Faculty of Knowledge and Professions, devoted to languages, translation and communication. Its programmes are delivered by a partner operator, the Lyonnaise de Formation, association loi 1901 (RNA W691102650) — see Partners in continuing education.
French language
Core teaching of the Centre
French as a Foreign Language (levels A1 to C2) · academic French · professional French · preparation for DELF, DALF and TCF certifications.
English language
Academic, professional and specialised registers
Academic English · professional English · legal English · business English.
Translation and communication
Specialised competencies
Translation · interpretation · institutional communication · international communication · language certifications.
Teaching staff attached to the Centre:
Mustapha El Majdouli
Programme director, Arabic
Mery Benaroya
Programme director, French and Business Studies
Mélanie Sathoud
French as a foreign language
Jyotee Mungu
Professional English
Degree-granting programmes of the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Arabic · French and Business Studies
Degree-granting track structured in three stages: Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor.
Programme heads: Mery Benaroya (French and Business Studies) · Mustapha El Majdouli (Arabic). Admission conditions, assessment arrangements and tuition fees for each stage are provided on request at direction@stl-uni.org.
AFFORDANCE Faculty
The AFFORDANCE Faculty, being established with EC2LT in Dakar, is the academic structure of Louisiana dedicated to digital technology, artificial intelligence and the digital humanities. It carries the Bachelor in Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence, as well as the project of a Mastère in Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence, not yet open: enrolment will open in June 2027 for a September 2027 intake. Its programmes are delivered by a partner operator, Orléans Bragance Formations — see Partners in continuing education. Its work covers digital corpora, natural language processing architectures, network analysis, information governance and digital transformations.
Complex systems and AI
Artificial intelligence · network analysis · natural language processing architectures · data governance.
Digital humanities
Digital corpora · electronic editing · automated source processing · digital humanities applied to history and the social sciences.
Digital transformations
Information governance · digital transformations · professional and institutional uses of AI.
Teaching staff attached to the AFFORDANCE Faculty:
Abderahman Janati
Programme director, Graphic Design and AI
Samuel Sarfatti
Head of the Prompt to Rank module
Nabil El Moutawakil El Alami
Applied AI in sport
Jyotee Mungu
Professional English
Mery Benaroya
Commercial development, sales
Continuing and professional education activities of these three structures are delivered by partner operators, presented in the Partners in continuing education section of the Cooperation and Partnerships Division.
Organisation
Organisational Chart
Institutional architecture of the university: five divisions, their components, and representation and direction.
LouisianaSaint-Louis – Université Méditerranéenne des Nations
Research DivisionLARHA · CAEPRA · ORIENT (Aziz Saidi, Director) · INTELEN
Education DivisionBaudouin de Courtenay Faculty (LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre) · AFFORDANCE Faculty · King Affonso I and Choiseul Faculties (being established) · Institut Montpensier
Publishing DivisionSaint Louis University Press
Cooperation DivisionInternational partnerships
CommunityScientific
ChancelleryNajib Mouhtadi · Chancellor
Vice-ChancelleryNasser Michaëlene Gabryel · Vice-Chancellor
Detailed organisational chart (French), being established →
Detail of the divisions and their components: Academic Structures · Education · Cooperation and the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation.
Academic and scientific structure
This map distinguishes the academic and scientific structure from the governance chart.
Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
- Disciplines: History · Sociology · Public Law · International Relations
- International Relations programme, attached to the Department
- Incorporated into the Choiseul Faculty
Research Division
- LARHA – MC Federici
- CAEPRA
- ORIENT — Director: Aziz Saidi
- INTELEN
Faculties
- Baudouin de Courtenay Faculty · LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
- AFFORDANCE Faculty · digital technology and AI
- King Affonso I Faculty · law and political science (being established)
- Choiseul Faculty · social sciences, humanities, international relations (being established)
Programme directors
Each continuing and professional education programme of the university is placed under the responsibility of an identified member of teaching staff, distinct from the partner operator that delivers it in practice (see Partners in continuing education).
Degree programmes
Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
Scientific direction — Ph.D. in History of International Relations, Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
Mustapha El Majdouli
Arabic — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Mery Benaroya
French and Business Studies — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Abderahman Janati
Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence — AFFORDANCE Faculty
Certificate programmes
Mélanie Sathoud
French as a Foreign Language — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Jyotee Mungu
Professional English — LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Degree Programmes
Degree Programmes
One degree programme is open at this level. It is carried by one of the university's three academic structures and engages a higher-level university education, supported by the laboratories and teaching staff of Louisiana. The degree programmes of the other two academic structures — Arabic, French and Business Studies, Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence — are presented in the Continuing and Professional Education Division section.
Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
Ph.D. in History of International Relations (Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy · Doctoral research
A doctoral research programme in the history of international relations, conducted under the direction of the LARHA – MC Federici–Maria Caterina Federici laboratory. The thesis engages original inquiry, grounded in verifiable primary sources, in the field of the history of international relations, diplomatic studies, comparative history of empires or international political systems. Thesis supervision is provided by qualified members of the academic staff.
The thesis draws on four comparative research themes that the programme sets side by side. The first examines the authorities that claim to order a space extending beyond the boundaries of any particular political community: the Achaemenid Empire, imperial Rome, Jerusalem, the medieval papacy, the caliphates and Mecca are studied here as symbolic capitals of competing international systems, tracing the successive forms of administering the universal between Antiquity and the early twentieth century. The second turns to the means by which large political formations overcome the constraints of space: the Persian royal road network, the Roman cursus publicus, medieval communication systems and the circuits of the Hispanic monarchy are compared to follow the evolution of imperial infrastructures between Antiquity and the modern period. The third examines the bonds of fidelity linking rulers and ruled, from Greek hegemonic leagues to Roman clientage, from feudal allegiances to the tributary relations of East Asia, to understand the historical mechanisms of loyalty across Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the modern period. The fourth, finally, studies the means by which political actors acquire prestige and authority on the international stage, tracing the circulation of political reputations from the conquests of Alexander — Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon — to the great empires of the nineteenth century. An assessed seminar is already attached to the programme: Introduction to the Sociology of Complexity, Prof. Ali Aït Abdelmalek (University of Rennes 2).
Admission requirements, assessment procedures and tuition fees for each programme are communicated on request to direction@stl-uni.org.
Notice on the status and recognition of degrees
Applicable to all of the university's degree programmes — Ph.D., the Arabic, French and Business Studies, and Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence programmes. Does not apply to seminars, which constitute neither a national diploma, nor a university degree, nor a regulated professional qualification.
The degree programmes of Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations lead to the award of institutional diplomas with an international vocation, according to the pedagogical and institutional conditions specific to each programme. The official record of each programme specifies the length of the course, the teaching arrangements, the admission conditions, the competencies assessed, the projects completed and the rules governing the award of the diploma.
Academic recognition of a diploma, in particular for admission to or continuation of studies at another institution, is a matter for the decision of the university, the administration or the competent authority of the country concerned. Professional recognition is subject to the rules applicable to the employment or profession in question. Where a profession is regulated, authorisation, a supplementary assessment, a professional examination, practical experience or registration with a competent body may be required.
International conventions on the recognition of higher education qualifications, notably the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and the Lisbon Convention for the European region, establish principles for a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory assessment of foreign qualifications. These conventions organise recognition procedures; they do not confer an automatic and uniform equivalence in every country.
Before enrolling, each candidate is invited to check with the higher education institution, employer, public authority, national recognition centre or competent professional body that the intended diploma meets the conditions applicable to their academic or professional project in the country concerned.
Saint Louis – Mediterranean University of Nations provides candidates with the information available on the status of the programme and issues each graduate with a diploma, a transcript of courses and assessments, and a descriptive document specifying the length of the programme, the competencies acquired, the validation arrangements and the level attained. These documents enable the competent authorities and institutions to examine the qualification on the basis of complete pedagogical information.
The final decision on recognition, equivalence, admission, authorisation to practise or recruitment rests exclusively with the authority, institution or competent body of the country in which the holder wishes to continue their studies or pursue an activity.
Education
Continuing and Professional Education Division
The Continuing and Professional Education Division brings together the programmes of the Baudouin de Courtenay Faculty and its LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre, the AFFORDANCE Faculty and the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law, incorporated into the Choiseul Faculty. Their delivery is entrusted to partner operators, presented in the Partners in continuing education section of the Cooperation and Partnerships Division; the teaching staff attached to each structure appear in the Academic Structures section.
LUIGI PAREYSON LANGUAGE CENTRE
Degree-granting and certificate language programmes
French as a Foreign Language, academic and professional French, academic, legal and business English, translation, interpretation, institutional and international communication, preparation for language certifications.
Degree-granting programmes of the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Arabic · French and Business Studies
Degree-granting track structured in three stages: Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor. Programme heads: Mery Benaroya (French and Business Studies), Mustapha El Majdouli (Arabic).
Admission conditions, assessment arrangements and tuition fees for each stage are detailed in the fee schedule below.
AFFORDANCE Faculty
Digital skills and professional competencies
Artificial intelligence, digital technologies, computer graphics, information systems, commercial development and management.
Degree programme of the AFFORDANCE Faculty
Bachelor in Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence
Visual communication, computer graphics and design assisted by generative systems. A degree programme over three years and six semesters, from foundational graphic skills to art direction and professionalisation. Programme director: Abderahman Janati.
Admission conditions and assessment arrangements are provided on request to direction@stl-uni.org; tuition fees are detailed in the fee schedule below. Full syllabus (PDF, French) · LinkedIn profile.
AI and digital visibility component of the programme
A Prompt to Rank module — artificial intelligence, digital marketing and search visibility — reinforces the applied-AI component of the Bachelor, under the direction of Samuel Sarfatti, within the programme directed by Abderrahman Janati.
Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
Humanities, law, social sciences, international relations
Multidisciplinary continuing-education programmes in humanities, history, law and social sciences, based in the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law.
Seminars
A category distinct from the Education Division: seminars are open to all, sanctioned by a university certificate of training, and do not constitute a national degree, a university grade or a regulated professional qualification.
The seminar teaches the practice of philosophical discourse as a discipline bearing on the relations between the event, thought, lived experience, language, otherness and the world. Its object is not a general history of philosophical doctrines, but the exercise of a speech capable of elucidating the logical representations produced in the face of facts; the participant works on the event, sensation, feeling, thought, judgement, lived experience, doubt, mirror-consciousness, request and action. Human language unfolds in three forms, saying, writing and showing, which establish a relation between thought and the world; the method distinguishes the fact from its representation, then observes how a sensation and a feeling contribute to the formation of a judgement, so as to restore contact between language, its use and the experience to which it relates.
Practice of Philosophical Discourse Applied to Lived Experience
Yigal Dawidowicz — Seminar Programme Director
In-person format for the first year, opening to distance and online delivery in subsequent years. Starting September 2026, ten three-hour sessions. Open to all, no prior university background in philosophy required. Venue: in person. Enrolment and contact: contact@stl-uni.org.
Publication: La loi de l'équilibre temporaire, Éditions Elkana, 2018 — Book page (Fnac)
Tuition fees
Reference tuition fees. Specific agreements may be concluded with public institutions, companies, associations and academic partners. Preparation for DELF, DALF and TCF certifications is provided in accordance with applicable regulations; these certifications are issued by officially accredited centres.
LUIGI PAREYSON LANGUAGE CENTRE
Languages, translation, communication
FFL A1 — 40 h — €1,000
FFL A2 — 50 h — €1,250
FFL B1 — 60 h — €1,500
FFL B2 — 70 h — €1,800
FFL C1 — 80 h — €2,100
FFL C2 — 100 h — €2,500
DELF / DALF / TCF preparation — 20 to 40 h — €600 to €1,200
Professional French — 30 h — €900
Business French — 40 h — €1,200
Professional English — fees provided on request
French and Business Studies (Certificate / Diploma / Bachelor) — fees provided on request
Arabic (Certificate / Diploma / Bachelor) — fees provided on request
AFFORDANCE Faculty
Digital skills and professional competencies
Introduction to artificial intelligence — 40 h — €1,200
Digital tools and productivity — 40 h — €1,200
Graphic communication and infographics — 50 h — €1,500
Commercial development and strategy — 50 h — €1,500
Cybersecurity and information systems — 60 h — €1,800
Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
Humanities, law, international relations
International relations — 40 h — €1,200
Mediterranean and African diplomacy — 60 h — €1,800
Public law and institutions — 60 h — €1,800
Applied social sciences — 50 h — €1,500
History and international relations — 50 h — €1,500
Practice of Philosophical Discourse Applied to Lived Experience — 30 h (ten sessions) — fees provided on request
Qualifications and certifications
Attestations
Certificate of participation, issued following a training course, seminar or workshop. Certificate of competencies, issued following assessment of acquired skills.
Continuing education certificates
Issued following validation of a complete programme with one of the three academic structures of the Education Division, in partnership with the operator responsible for its delivery. Specialisation certificate for advanced programmes with an extended number of hours.
University qualifications
University certificate and university diploma issued for programmes validated by the university's academic bodies, when the pedagogical and regulatory conditions are met.
Publishing
Saint Louis University Press
Saint Louis University Press draws its catalogue from the work deposited by LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN, the CERIPP and the Institut Montpensier. Two collections receive these contributions. De Regno holds the proceedings of the international colloquia conducted under the Institut's authority; Sciences du gouvernement registers the monographs and collective volumes submitted by researchers in public law, governance and territorial planning. The Press is registered with the AFNIL under the publisher's prefix 978-2-489285, assigned on 15 June 2026; under that prefix, each volume receives its number before legal deposit at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Saint Louis University Press
Editorial body of the university
The Press fixes, publishes and disseminates the work produced within the university: scientific works, conference proceedings, source editions and collective volumes. It inscribes its action in the tradition of the studia humanitatis and places it at the service of the common good.
Editorial charter
Principles of publication
The Press publishes peer-reviewed works, attributed to their authors and grounded in verifiable sources. It requires rigour of critical apparatus, fidelity to sources and scientific utility. No work is admitted whose references cannot be established.
Collections
Two open collections
De Regno — proceedings of the international colloquia organised by the Institut Montpensier. Sciences du gouvernement — monographs and collective volumes in public law, governance and territorial planning. AFNIL prefix 978-2-489285, assigned 15 June 2026.
Catalogue
Collection De Regno
La Parole
Proceedings of the Casablanca Colloquium, 12–14 October 2023 · Volume I · Edited by Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
The colloquium gathered seventeen contributions around the question of speech as a political, symbolic and sovereign act. The volume examines the conditions under which speech is produced, received, legitimised or suppressed across historical, juridical, literary and philosophical registers. Contributors include scholars from Morocco, France, Italy and Senegal. The volume constitutes the first publication of the De Regno collection.
ISBN 978-2-489285-00-0 (print) · ISBN 978-2-489285-01-7 (PDF) · Forthcoming December 2026
Collection Sciences du gouvernement
Ali Sedjari · Gouvernance et démocratie
Monograph · Sciences du gouvernement
A study of the transformations affecting democratic governance in the age of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. The work examines the institutional reconfigurations produced by algorithmic processes and the challenges they pose to transparency, legitimacy and the rule of law.
ISBN 978-2-489285-02-4 (print) · ISBN 978-2-489285-03-1 (PDF)
Ali Sedjari · Mélanges Sedjari
Collective volume · Sciences du gouvernement
A collective volume gathering contributions by researchers who have worked alongside Ali Sedjari on the questions of public governance, territorial management and the conduct of public action. The volume assembles theoretical approaches and empirical analyses drawn from Morocco, the Maghreb and the Mediterranean.
ISBN 978-2-489285-04-8 (print) · ISBN 978-2-489285-05-5 (PDF)
Ali Sedjari · Territorialisation
Monograph · Sciences du gouvernement
An examination of the processes by which public policies are anchored in territory. The work analyses the mechanisms of decentralisation, spatial planning and local governance, drawing on fieldwork and administrative sources from the Moroccan and Mediterranean context.
ISBN 978-2-489285-06-2 (print) · ISBN 978-2-489285-07-9 (PDF)
Najib Mouhtadi · Lecture des défaillances des élites dans le Maroc du XIXe siècle
Monograph · Sciences du gouvernement
A historical and political analysis of the failures of Moroccan elites during the nineteenth century, a period of mounting external pressure and internal fragmentation. The work examines the conduct of political actors, the disintegration of traditional forms of authority and the structural conditions that shaped Morocco's entry into the modern era.
ISBN 978-2-489285-08-6 (print) · ISBN 978-2-489285-09-3 (PDF)
Cooperation
Cooperation and Partnerships Division
The Cooperation and Partnerships Division organises the university's academic, Mediterranean, African, cultural and intercultural relations. The Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation is its reference institutional partner. The offices presented below also appear in the Organisational Chart.
Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation
Intercultural and interreligious dialogue · Alliance of Civilizations
The Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation, at the origin of the university's creation in May 1988 with the Montpensier University Institute, develops intercultural and interreligious dialogue in the spirit of the Fez Declaration (2022) and the United Nations Programme for the Alliance of Civilizations.
History and origin
Naples · Marseille · Saint-Louis du Sénégal · Casablanca, 1988
Established to carry a university of the Alliance of Civilizations between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe, the Foundation took shape between four centres of intellectual exchange. It inscribes its action in the tradition of the studia humanitatis and the service of the common good.
Aims and objectives
Dialogue of civilizations
To foster encounter between the cultural and religious heritages of the Mediterranean, Africa and Europe, in the spirit of the Fez Declaration and the Alliance of Civilizations.
Support for research and education
To support the scientific work, training and transmission of knowledge conducted within the university and its laboratories.
Cultural action and cooperation
To conduct cultural actions and international cooperation in the service of the concord of peoples and the common good.
Partners and cooperation
Cercle France-Irak
Partner of ORIENT in the Al-Khawarizmi programme, devoted to Franco-Iraqi relations; president: Prof. Dr Ala’a Gafouri · cerclefranceirak.fr.
Spain
Partnerships in the fields of culture, history and Euro-Mediterranean relations.
Canada
Links with Franco-Canadian communities and the cultural institutions of French-speaking Canada.
Projects and partners
École Normale project for teacher training; Association Saint Louis Ismailia de Meknès (ASLIM); Femmes Debout NGO; Casablanca Foundation Office.
Partners in continuing education
The university's continuing and professional education programmes are delivered by three partner operators, each attached to one of the academic structures presented in the Academic Structures section.
Lyonnaise de Formation
Association loi 1901, RNA W691102650 · partner of the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre
Delivers the language programmes of the LUIGI PAREYSON Language Centre: French as a Foreign Language, academic and professional French, academic, legal and business English, translation, interpretation, degree-granting programmes in Arabic and in French and Business Studies.
See programmes and tuition fees →Orléans Bragance Formations
Partner of the AFFORDANCE Faculty
Delivers the digital and professional programmes of the AFFORDANCE Faculty: artificial intelligence, digital tools, graphic communication and infographics, commercial development, cybersecurity, and the Bachelor in Graphic Design and Artificial Intelligence.
See programmes and tuition fees →Institut Montpensier
Partner of the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law
Delivers the continuing-education programmes in humanities, law, social sciences and international relations attached to the Department of History, Sociology and Public Law.
See programmes and tuition fees →Institut Montpensier — History of the presidency
Institut Montpensier originates in the Groupement Saint Louis – Pierre d'Alcantara (1988-1998), refounded under the name IESS, then Institut Turenne, before becoming Institut Montpensier in 2008. Its presidents have been: Carlo Raimundo Montecuccoli and Jérôme Sultana (1988-1989, co-direction), Carlo Raimundo Montecuccoli alone (1989-1998), Carlo Raimundo Montecuccoli and Philippe Einaudi (1998-2002, co-direction), Nasser Michaëlène-Gabryel alone (2002-2012), Moulay Ahmed Zekki and Maria Caterina Federici (2012-2019, co-direction), Jean-Louis Fabiani (2019-2021), Jacques Bouineau (2021-2023), and Jean-Louis Fabiani again since 2023.
Co-direction, which recurs several times in this history, is not a sign of fragility but a recognised principle of governance in institutions with a Euro-Mediterranean vocation: the Institute of African Worlds (CNRS, IRD, EHESS, Paris 1, Aix-Marseille University) currently operates under co-direction, and the Union for the Mediterranean enshrines North-South co-presidency in its own statutes.
Representation and direction
The presidency of the University and the direction of the Foundation are two distinct offices; their respective institutional attachment is stated under each title.
Chancellery of the University
Najib Mouhtadi
Chancellor of the University
Doctorate of State in political science. Professor at Hassan II University — Mohammedia. Founder of the Moroccan Association of Political Science. Former Acting Dean, Faculty of Law of Mohammedia. Director of LaberCom. Adviser at the Centre for International Studies of Rabat. Member of the Advisory Board of the High Atlas Foundation. Editorial director of the Revue Maghrébine d'Économie, de Sociologie et de Science Politique.
Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
Vice-Chancellor of the University
General management and institutional coordination of the University.
Direction of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation
Karim El Aalj
President of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation
Senior technician at OCP (Office Chérifien des Phosphates), Youssoufia, Morocco. President of the Bourbon Montpensier Foundation, founding structure of Saint Louis — Mediterranean University of Nations. Head of the cultural department — Institut de Formation aux Métiers du Tourisme — Atlantic Morocco.
Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
Director General of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation
Habilitation to Direct Research (HDR). Doctorate in comparative political science. Founder of Saint Louis — Mediterranean University of Nations. Initiator of the institution's Euro-Mediterranean and African cooperation network since 1988.
Fouad Defaf
Secretary General
Member of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation · Director of the Tourism Training Division · Head of the IMSLTA.
Legal direction
Maître Oud'ghiri
Member of the Casablanca Bar. Legal Director of the Foundation. He oversees the conformity of institutional acts, partnership agreements and the Foundation's contractual commitments.
International security and infrastructure
Philippe INAUDI
International Infrastructure Security and Control Manager
Supervision, audit and operational control of international infrastructures, including safety arrangements, incidents, maintenance and local correspondents.
International Cooperation
Nestor Ndoudi
Director of International Cooperation of the University
See also his role as associate researcher at CAEPRA.
Flora Zahi
Head of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation in Côte d’Ivoire · Assistant to the Director of International Cooperation — West Africa
Representation of the Foundation for Spain
Rachid Boukhzer
Head of the Bourbon-Montpensier Foundation for Spain
Community
Scientific Community
The associated researchers of LARHA – MC Federici and the INTELEN centre form the core of the Research Division. They conduct the laboratory's work in the humanities, social sciences, law, international relations and the digital humanities.
Associated researchers — LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN
Frédéric Bidouze
Early modern historian
Arnaud Van Waeyenberge
European law
Ali Aït Abdelmalek
Sociology
Nezha Yamani
Economics · public policy
Jean-Louis Fabiani
Historical sociology of knowledge
Jean-Michel Mboumoua
Public Law · Secretary General, LARHA – MC Federici · Morocco
Ibtihal Benharoual
Public policy · Secretary General, LARHA – MC Federici · France (central branch)
Scientific output
Verified works by LARHA – MC Federici and INTELEN researchers, classified by author. The section is built progressively from verifiable references.
Nasser Michaëlene Gabryel
Scientific Director · LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN
Doctorate in political science. DEA in philosophy (University of Geneva). DESS in social sciences (EHESS). Lecturer and researcher at the Institut Catholique de Paris. Associate researcher at GRET (University of Rabat) and GERM (University of Marrakech).
De la culture politique comme culture de savoir, Philosophia Scientiæ, 20-2, 2016 · Review, MIDÉO, no. 36, 2021 · Review, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, no. 125, 2009 · Hegel, Marx, Gramsci, Cahiers d'études romanes, no. 35, 2017.
Jean-Louis Fabiani
Sociology · EHESS · CEU
Les philosophes de la République, Minuit, 1988 · Après la culture légitime, L'Harmattan, 2007 · Pierre Bourdieu. Un structuralisme héroïque, Seuil, 2016 · Sociologie de la Corse, La Découverte, 2018 · Clint Eastwood, La Découverte, 2020 · Coluche, La Découverte, 2026 (forthcoming, 12 February 2026).
Profile · Video interview (Politika) · Publisher page — Coluche
Ali Aït Abdelmalek
Sociology · University of Rennes 2
Sciences humaines et soins, Masson, 2001 · Edgar Morin, sociologue de la complexité, Apogée, 2010 · Articles in Sociétés, Espaces et sociétés, Économie rurale.
ResearchGate profile · Video interview (MNLE Summer University, 2024)
Najib Mouhtadi
Political communication · Director, Apoleius review
Pouvoir et religion au Maroc, Eddif, 1999 · Pouvoir et communication au Maroc, L'Harmattan · Parole et libre expression, in La Parole, 2023 (forthcoming).
Conferences and scientific events
Lexis and Logos Programme
2023 · LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN
Scientific programme dedicated to speech, language and artificial intelligence.
Marrakesh Colloquium
May 2023 · in partnership with CERIPP
Scientific event dedicated to speech and artificial intelligence.
Casablanca Colloquium
October 2023 · LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN · LALITRA
La Parole — heritage, new clericatures and the crisis of representation. Proceedings in preparation.
Resources
Library and Resources
The university library brings together heritage works, historical sources and research materials in the humanities, international relations and public law. Founded in 2002 from a collection combining physical and digital works, it was transferred to an entirely virtual form in 2025. The collection, constituted under the scientific direction of LARHA – MC Federici · INTELEN, is accessible to enrolled students and researchers on the digital campus.
Montpensier Human Sciences Library (BSHM)
Reserved for enrolled students and researchers — currently being constituted
Heritage works in the public domain, primary sources, reference materials and scientific publications. Holdings deposited and enriched progressively on the digital campus, organised today under the following categories: Political philosophy (Aristotle, Politics; Plato, The Republic, trans. Victor Cousin, 1833, Statesman, trans. Émile Chambry, 1969, Laws, Sophist; Gérard Granel, Course on Deleuze and Guattari, Anti-Oedipus; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Volume I. Political Works; Karl Marx, 1844 Manuscripts) · Political science (Joseph de Maistre, Lettres et opuscules inédits, volume II, and Considérations sur la France, 1797; Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth and Leviathan; Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513; Sun Tzu, The Art of War; Gérard Granel, Course on Gramsci. Bukharin and Bordiga, 1973-1974; Antonio Gramsci, Letters from Prison, 1926-1937, and Textes, 1917-1934) · History of international relations (Joseph de Maistre, Mémoires politiques et correspondance diplomatique, ed. Albert Blanc, 2nd ed., 1859; Charles V of Lorraine, Testament politique, 1697) · Public law (Theodor Mommsen, Le Droit public romain, volume I, 2nd ed. 1893, and volume II, 1st ed. 1892) · Sociology and social sciences (Georges Sorel, Le système historique de Renan, and Le Procès de Socrate, 1889; Ernest Renan, Les Évangiles et la seconde génération chrétienne; Carlo Gioda, La vita e le opere di Giovanni Botero, three volumes; Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, two parts, 1863 and 1865) · Medieval history (Annales Fuldenses; Hincmar of Reims, De ordine palatii; Chronique dite de Frédégaire) · Ancient history (Tacitus, complete works; Philippe Fabia, Les Sources de Tacite; Gaston Boissier, Tacite; Eugen Cizek, Tacite face à Trajan) · Modern military history (F. des Robert, Campagnes de Charles IV de Lorraine, two volumes; Alfred Rambaud, Russes et Prussiens, and The History of Seven Years) · Literature (Georges Bernanos, Monsieur Ouine; Paul Valéry, Monsieur Teste; Joris-Karl Huysmans, À rebours; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker).
Access the Montpensier Human Sciences Library (BSHM)Open sources
Public domain — freely accessible
The university draws on Gallica, Internet Archive and HathiTrust for heritage works in the public domain. These resources are freely accessible to all.
Publishing Division
Éditions de l'Université Saint Louis
The university's scientific publications are produced by Saint Louis University Press. The catalogue is accessible in the Publishing section of this site.
View catalogueContact
Institutional Contact
Institutional requests may be addressed to the university according to the relevant field.