Yves Lacoste, the renowned French geographer who founded the journal Hérodote and is widely credited with establishing the French school of geopolitics, died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 96. His death was confirmed by his family to French media.
Born on September 7, 1929, in Fès, Morocco, Lacoste initially studied geography and became a professor at the University of Paris VIII. In 1976, he launched Hérodote, a journal that revived the study of geopolitics in France, which had been marginalized after World War II due to its association with Nazi ideology. Lacoste argued that geography could not be separated from political power and conflict.
He gained international attention in 1976 with his article 'La géographie, ça sert, d'abord, à faire la guerre' (Geography serves, first and foremost, to make war), which challenged the apolitical view of geography. His work influenced French foreign policy analysis and education, and he authored numerous books, including La Géographie du sous-développement (1965) and Dictionnaire de géopolitique (1993).
Lacoste's legacy includes training a generation of geopoliticians and popularizing the term 'géopolitique' in French public discourse. He continued writing and editing until his final years.
