*** GIOVANNI GREVI: The interpolar world: a new scenario. European Union Institute for Security Studies (43 av. du Président Wilson, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - fax: 56891931 - E-mail: info@iss.europa.eu - Internet: http://www.iss.europa.eu ). "Occasional Paper" series, No. 79. 2009, 39 pp. ISBN 978-92-9198-144-1.
Everyone more or less notices how the world changes, without quite knowing in what way exactly the changes occur at an international level. In what direction is it going? Is our planet evolving for the better or for the worse? These questions concern the future, indeed humanity's very survival. They are in fact very seldom overtly posed. The greatest quality of this remarkable publication from a researcher at the European Union's Institute of Security Studies is to very distinctly paint the picture of a world in enormous transition. He proceeds to an autopsy of a world that is dying in front of our very eyes and then analyses the prevailing international situation in this period of "great transition", without hiding the fact that worse may be to come, given the enormity of the challenges, which cannot be met with the recipes of the past. The second but immense quality of this paper is the way in which possible solutions are outlined that could lead to a more mature and responsible governance of our beautiful world and its wealth, to the benefit of those who inhabit it.
Giovanni Grevi considers that the implosion of the old model of international relations is primarily the consequence of the "aggressive form of unilateralism" put forward by the United States under George Bush. This subsequently undermined the country's "hegemonic position", as well as the values and perceptions of the Western world, for which during that period, the US provided the prevailing tone. With Obama, things can undoubtedly be reversed but the damage has been done because in the meantime, other global and regional powers have themselves become bogged down. Consequently, this has produced "an impending global concert - or cacophony" in which "players with different historic traditions and original conceptions of international relations will find their place in this set up". Even capitalism will not escape unscathed, in the inquisitorial sense of the term. When the Chinese Prime Minister Wang Qishan pointed out, in light of the financial crisis originating in the US and being unleashed like a tsunami in the world that, "the academics now have a few problems to address", the author of this paper stated that it is incontestable that, "the gradual convergence towards the Anglo-Saxon capitalist model is being replaced with a debate on the co-existence and competition of different models". Looked at from another angle, it is no longer propitious for a single military power to structure the global hierarchy and the unequal distribution of the world's resources, particularly its sources of energy. A brake is now being exerted on unilateralism and other major players are beginning to make their influence felt by way of other means. The economy, energy and environment are some of the different areas in which, "existential interdependence" is compounded in a world that has recently become multi-polar again and upon which it is now incumbent to find new ways for multilateral cooperation. The author proposes that these form the basis of a new scenario for an "inter-polar world". Grevi purports that, "inter-polarity is the new multi-polarity of interdependency" and a tool that could allow countries, international and regional agencies to tackle the challenges facing humanity by way of developing international cooperation and efficiently managing it for the common good of humanity as a whole. How should this proceed? In practice, Giovanni Grevi suggests the strengthening of "summit diplomacy". Therefore, given that the G8 has lost its relevance insofar as it, "does not fully include the actors who are at the heart of the problems in this complex inter-dependency", the G20 constitutes a step in the right direction because it includes countries that produce around 90% of the world's wealth. Other specific bodies should also be developed in an effort to play a role, similarly to the European Council, in producing guidelines and providing a boost to tackling problems such as climate change, development, disarmament and the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In this context, it would therefore be up to the relevant regional and international organisations to be involved in the preparation of these summits and translate the political agreements into operational regulations and ensuring their application.
In this light, the author provides a written scenario that in principle would be similar to the European Union and, "equipped with a significant number of values and political instruments to make a real difference in the promotion of an inter-polar world and helping to enhance corresponding multilateral structures". Unfortunately, in the eyes of the main partners in the world, it appears less like a, "single international actor" than a "cowardly grouping of capricious countries" and their representation in international organisations and informal summits is always "inefficient and ultimately untenable ". Given that over the next few years, inter-dependency will increase, together with increasing competition and a shift in power to the emerging countries, particularly Asia, is the Union about the miss the boat? Is it, given its internal shortcomings from a bygone age, incapable of helping create what is at the heart of the goal it set itself, namely, "building a sustainable peace beyond its borders “? The response can to a certain extent will be found in the name of the High Representative and Vice President of the Commission designated by Heads of State and governments. If only they could make their choice after having contemplated this study …
Michel Theys
*** PHILIPPE MOREAU DEFARGES: La guerre ou la paix demain ? Armand Colin (21 rue du Montparnasse, F-75006 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44395111 - fax: 44395120 - Internet: http://www.armand-colin.com ). "25 questions décisives" series. 2009, 160 pp., €12.90. ISBN 978-2-200-35402-2.
It is not very usual for an intellectual to be able to make his science accessible to the public at large. The art of teaching and making knowledge available to the layman, whilst remaining faithful to the facts and their corresponding complexity is a task Philippe Moreau Defarges masters marvellously well. His prolific written endeavours are no exception to the rule, quite the contrary, and are testimony to his success. Nonetheless, he tackles an issue that contains many unknown areas: is the "organised but chaotic world" of today, which is, "both as unified and fragmented at the same time as is the antagonism between East and West", likely to produce war(s) or peace? He provides both measured and clarifying responses to "25 decisive questions" ranging from the possibly bellicose character of the sovereign state and democracy, to threats to peace posed by the US, China and Russia. He also looks at problems in the Middle East, weapons of mass destruction, Islamic revolution, exhaustion of global resources and "pacifying dynamics". Philippe Moreau Defarges paints a picture with warts an all and explains that there is no magic wand against catastrophe. In connection with the "almost utopian project " that gave birth to the European Union, he explains that Europe cannot become a "fortress", without recreating "a climate of hatred and hostility inside and outside, with its neighbours having but one obsession: getting the fortress to collapse". The author concludes that the Union will not be able to remain for long unless "it develops around and beyond itself, similar regional examples".
(MT)
*** JULIAN BESTERS-DILGER Editor): Ukraine on its Way to Europe. Interim Results of the Orange revolution. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2009, 331 pp., €. 43.70 ISBN 978-3-631-58889-5.
Five years after the “Orange Revolution”, the Ukraine appears to be committed to following a road towards Europe and shaking off the influence of the Russian giant. Since 2004, the terms Europeanization and European integration appear to have become concepts to follow in this country in legal, social and economic domains. Nonetheless, a disparity exists between the process of rapprochement in itself and its translation into every day life. This book is an inter-disciplinary effort made by the University of Vienna to identify aspects that still require work to take this process forward. To this effect, five departments at the university, drawing on German, Norwegian and Austrian researchers seek to analyse Kiev's European efforts and identify the country's own cultural constants that hamper or promote its European rapprochement. The researchers came from domains as diverse as theology, Slavic studies and political science and gage the constitutional modifications made to strengthen democracy. They also state that in this connection, the political parties in power are more like puppets of the political and economic elites than forces in themselves. The legal system has been strengthened but is still unable to prevent corruption, which appears to be well anchored in the national traditions and mind sets. Other aspects such as the role of the oligarchies and demographic challenges confronting the country are looked at, as well as independence of the media. The writers then examine the country's external relations from an historic point of view, particularly with Russia and Poland and to a lesser extent with Austria, in an effort to better understand the country's development, especially the path it still has to travel in order to free itself from Russia's grip. The final part of the book looks at cultural aspects, its mentality and identity, as well as its long Christian heritage.
(NDu)
*** ANDREJ N. LUSHNYCKY, MYKOLA RIABCHUK (Editors): Ukraine on its Meandering Path Between East and West. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Interdisciplinary Studies on Central and Eastern Europe" series, No. 4. 2009, 210 pp, €38. ISBN 978-3-03911-607-2.
This book is the extension of a conference on the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine organised four years ago by the University of Freiberg in the context of "East European Days". The authors are mainly political and social science specialists and sought to demonstrate the changes and conflicts that emerged in the country since the revolution of 2004. The different contributions tackle themes such as the reactions of Union countries, particularly Poland and neighbours such as Russia to the "Orange revolution" and developments in the country's relations with the Union. The changes observed in the country's media or the current state of the institutional apparatus, which still appears too weak and restrained by a tenacious Soviet style bureaucracy are also examined, as well as the work of Ukrainian intellectuals during the 1990s, the decreasing influence of Russia and the distancing of the latter, as well as rapprochement with the West.
(NDu)
*** ERNST PIEHL: La société civile organisée en Géorgie, Arménie et Azerbaïdjan, en particulier dans la perspective de la politique européenne de voisinage - Organised civil society in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, particularly against the backdrop of the European Neighbourhood Policy - Organisierte Zivilgesellschaft in Georgien, Armenien und Aserbaidschan, insbesondere im Kontext der Europäischen Nachbarschadtspolitik. European Economic and Social Committee ("Visits and publications unit", 99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5469604 - fax: 5469764 - Internet: http://www.eesc.europa.eu ). 2009, 161 pp.. ISBN 978-92-830-1112-5 (Fr), 978-92-830-1111-8 (En) and 978-92-830-1110-1 (De).
This study was carried out by a former Commission official and is dedicated to the memory of Karin Alleweldt, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, who died unexpectedly in February last year and who was the powerhouse behind this project as the president of the committee's contact group "European Neighbours of the East". The author describes the historical, political, social-economic context, as well as the developments of the post-Soviet era in three countries and three separatist regions (Karabakh, Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia) in the southern Caucasus, in the perspective of European Neighbourhood Policy. It is a detailed analysis and is particularly focused on the role of organised civil society in these countries. Ernst Piehl seeks to see how these countries and societies responded to the "European question" and in what way civil society got involved in Neighbourhood Policy action plans. In his conclusions, he makes recommendations addressed to civil society and the Union itself.
(MT)
*** GEORG SCHMID: The Narrative of the Occident. An Essay on Its Present State. Peter Lang (see address attached). 2008, 467 pp., €64. ISBN 978-3-631-57562-8.
Civilisations are narrated by themselves to establish their legitimacy, to succeed in the face of other civilisations or simply to demonstrate their best assets. Western civilisation has so far dominated and become a past master in the art of narrative. It has created products, performances and projects that have conferred it with a certain image until very recently. However, although in the past, the history narrated moved the masses and created an identity, the narrator has now lost a little of his verve, which allows for certain extremely blatant disparities to be revealed between history and reality. This book seeks to narrate the history of Western civilisation in its broadest sense. It uncovers the features of our civilisation, which have not been hidden but rather concealed behind official declarations. The author demonstrates how it has changed and illustrates the differences between myth and reality and how these have not been overcome by the very best of narrators. He examines the recent vacillation in Western discourse, which has been tarnished by moral relativism and cynicism, to the extent that it has lost its rationality and is interpreted as being perverse in the rest of the world where the West is seen with a more critical eye. He also explores the achievements made in material culture, such as technology, popular art forms, the media etc…. - as well as the economic results and subsequent crisis which is not only due to a lack of collective confidence in itself but also due to the disagreements between two major currents within the Western world.
(NDu)