On 10 November 2025, the premises of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Chair, in co-organisation with the ICESCO Chair “Arts, Societies and Civilizations”, hosted a high-level round table on the question of De l’Etat –The State-, a book published by Prof. Mohammed El Maazouz.

The session was led by the political anthropologist and member of the High Council for Audiovisual Communication, Prof. Mohammed El Maazouz, and moderated by Prof. Abderrahman Tenkoul, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. This round table raised a fundamental question: What is the State today, and what is becoming of it in the face of contemporary upheavals?

In response, the speaker showed that the mutations of the world – the globalization of flows, new technologies and economic transformations – now challenge the State’s traditional monopoly as the sole strategist, regulator and guarantor of order. However, according to Professor Mohammed El Maazouz, we are far from announcing the “end” of the State; rather, we are witnessing a reconfiguration of the role of State power towards a renegotiation of the social contract, channeling of national and international economic investment, as well as adaptation to financial markets and digital platforms.

By the end of this rich exchange, students were able to confront their own questions with the avenues of reflection proposed in De l’État: How can we train future leaders capable of thinking public action beyond slogans? How can we bring social sciences, philosophy and concrete field experience into dialogue? This round table thus illustrated the commitment of the two organizing chairs to a living critical thought and a fruitful dialogue between disciplines, cultures and generations, placing reflection on the State at the heart of the challenges of a globalized world.