*** JEAN-MARC SOREL: La lutte contre le financement du terrorisme: perspective transatlantique / The Fight against Terrorist Financing: A transatlantic perspective. Editions Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43540597 - Fax: 46340760 - Email: editions-pedone@wanadoo.fr). 'Cahiers internationaux' series, pbulisehd by Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne University's'Centre d'Etude et de Recherche en Droit International,' No. 21. 2009, 213 pp, €26. ISBN 978-2-233-00579-3.
Does the European Parliament look to Geneva while the EU Council of Ministers and the European Commission look to New York? This may seem an odd question and perhaps it is in a way, but there are many different motivations for the EP vote that temporarily put paid to the SWIFT deal. It goes without saying that with its vote rejecting SWIFT, the European Parliament wanted to assert itself and symbolically sweep the path before it, sending a message to the Council of Ministers (and also for that matter to the European Commission) that in the future, they will have to swallow some of their pride because under the Lisbon Treaty, decisions in the European Union are now made by representatives of the Member States and European citizens' representatives alike. All the same, the vote illustrates different sensitivities about counter-terror or rather the resources that it is legitimate to use to counter terror in rules of law. In this legal book on this serious subject, reporting on an academic conference on the fight against the financing of terrorism, the tension between security demands and the imperative need to respect fundamental rights is highlighted in an enlightening manner.
The first part of the book examines international action in recent years to counter the funding of terrorism. The book reviews the work of the United Nations, the UN's anti-crime and drugs office, international financial institutions and various European bodies like the European Union and the Council of Europe, together with French and US bodies. The author examines their contributions in detail but cannot claim to be exhaustive because these are constantly shifting sands with things changing every month (and the changes are not made public at first). The pages provide a snapshot of the complex range of bodies and resources at play in this domain. As Jean-Marc Sorel explains in the preface, the fight to stem the funding of terrorism incorporates all the dangers of a serious risk turning into a permanent syndrome against which it is no longer possible to offer guarantees. The second part of the book therefore looks at the 'recurrent but oh, so important question of respecting the rule of law in connection with this fight,' with essays likely to be of interest to a wider public despite the fact that the doctrine is of a precious type beloved of lawyers. Some lawyers have a way with words, however, like Olivier de Frouville, who argues that looking for measures taken by the United Nations 'to try to reconcile the fight against terrorism with respect for human rights is a little like looking for lost time,' because the last ten years were years 'obsessed with security.' In New York, at least, where although the UN 'thinks of the world in terms of peace and security,' the second noun tends to have acquired after the 11 September 2001 attacks 'a degree of autonomy that deforms the idea from the starting point.' Fortunately, the professor at Montpellier I University in France systematically describes the UN bodies based in Geneva which have been fighting back against this with growing force, ensuring that people suspected of funding terrorism are never the victim of discretionary so-called justice and constantly pointing out that 'the fight against terrorism is human rights, and security is peace!' This means that New York has been forced against its will and dragging its feet to change tack somewhat, although abuse does occur. The author concludes that 'one must hope that the time to be wasted until New York finally catches up with Geneva will not be a time of continents drifting apart.'
In response to the unfortunately large number of people who will be tempted to think 'by any means necessary' to fight the terrorist hydra, Prof. Symeon Karagiannis of Strasbourg University points out that 'as with the right to go to war, countries do not have unrestricted rights to choose how to hurt their enemies'. If the'citizens have to give way to people in a panic to the same extent that the protection of political freedoms is giving way to the utopia of being able to defend those freedoms by reducing them,' then this surely amounts to the terrorists gaining victory from beyond the grave: 'An eclipse, even if temporary, of the people who make democracy, is surely the start of a triumph for people who are trying to engineer their permanent eclipse.' From this angle, the vote at the European Parliament, irrespective of its motivations specifically connected with institutional issues in the EU, is also and most importantly a success for civilisation, as is the battle being fought by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, described by Prof. Karagiannis in connection with the Security Council's black lists. The book claims there is a two-pronged lesson here for the Council of Ministers, which looks more to New York and Washington than Geneva. And what a doubly bitter lesson it is!
Michel Theys
*** MARIO TELÒ: International Relations. A European Perspective. Ashgate Publishing Ltd (Wey Court East, Union Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7PT, UK. Internet: http://www.ashgate.com ). 2009, 224 pp. ISBN 978-0-7546-7815-1.
The extended English translation of a book initially published in French (see European Library 776 of 29 April 2008), this is a major contribution to scientific reflection about international relations. Realism, institutionalism, constructivism... The author, professor of politics at the 'Université Libre de Bruxelles,' starts by dissecting changes in the theory of international relations, explaining the different currents of thought and critically assessing them one by one. His aim is to determine whether there is a European perspective (and therefore a contribution by the European Union) to international relations. Without ceding to the temptation of Eurocentrism in any way, he looks at the world in the post-Cold War era, examining the tensions between globalisation and neo-regionalism (that he describes as multidimensional, unlike regionalism, which is solely economic and therefore directly connected with globalisation), and the internal and external dynamics of regionalisation, also examining the idea of soft power and the impact of the European construction product on countries' sovereignty (through the fight between inter-governmentalists and federalists). But what about the European Union? The author writes firstly that it "is not the only model," but is nevertheless "a reference point for other regional associations" and that it promotes regionalism in the world, leading it in the direction of "multilevel global governance". Prof. Telò concludes by arguing that sixty years of the European project is long enough to allow theoretical hypotheses to be made that move beyond the European continent and impact on global governance.
(MT)
*** CHRISTIAN FRANCK, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE DEFRAIGNE, VIRGINIE DE MORIAME (Eds.): L'Union européenne et la montée du régionalisme: exemplarité et partenariats / The European Union and the Rise of Regionalism: Source of Inspiration and Active Promoter. XIII Chaire AGC d'Etudes Européennes. Editions Academia-Bruylant (29 Grand Place, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve. Internet: http://www.academia-bruylant.be ). "Etudes Européennes Louvain," No. 3. 2009, 316 pp, €35. ISBN 978-2-87209-929-0.
With essays in English and French, this book is an accurate reflection of a lecture series organised by the AGC Chair at the European Studies Institute of the 'Université Catholique de Louvain' in Belgium on the European Union as a model and partner of the growing number of regional bodies around the world. The authors start by looking at the foundations of regionalism by examining GATT and the prospects for world governance. The first part of the book starts with an overview of strategic partnerships with key players on the multipolar world stage of which the European Union is a member. This overview has been written by a goldsmith in this domain, namely Eneko Landaburu, who was director general of External Relations (foreign relations) at the Commission at the time. There is also an easy by Prof. Telò arguing that the European Union itself is a form of extended multilateralism and should help develop multilateral fora to 'institutionalise' international relations. The other three sections of the book describe by various means and from varying angles both the development of regional groupings in Africa, Latin America and Asia and the EU27's relations with these groupings. This is a very rich, comprehensive volume that will enable readers to get an idea of the multipolar world that is unfolding before our eyes.
(MT)
*** BERIT BLIESEMANN DE GUEVARA: Staalichkeit in Zeiten des Statebuilding: Intervention und Herrschaft in Bosnien und Herzegowina. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Strategische Kultur Europas," series, No. 6. 2009, 308 pp, €48-40. ISBN 978-3-631-58966-3
Sovereignty, the main subject of this book, and politics in general can be examined under various disciplines. This book's author assesses sovereignty in terms of political theory, history and international relations, making a case study of Bosnia Herzegovina. The author analyses how sovereignty is exercised as states are being built. Three areas examined in depth are the financing, authority and legitimacy of state power.
(JD)
*** CHRISTIAN BÜRGER: Türkey ante portas - Der Beitritt der Türkey zur Europaïschen Union. Implikationen für die Außen -, Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik der EU. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). 2009, 149 pp, €23.20 . ISBN 978-3-631-58961-8.
The opening of accession talks between the European Union and Turkey has already generated acres of newsprint. With the prospect of Turkey joining the EU, debate about the EU's identity and borders has intensified and even reaches into ruling circles in some EU Member States. Turkey joining the EU in the future, however, would not just be a cultural or identity challenge. The author of this book examines the impact of Turkey joining the EU in terms of the EU's foreign and defence policy. The first two sections of the book are descriptive. The first describes the European Union's and Turkey's political cultures and the second explains the impact that Turkey's membership would have on the EU decision-making process. The two following sections are the nub of Christian Bürger's analysis. The EU's relations with NATO and the United States are analysed by the author before examining various countries and regions bordering on Turkey, like Cyprus, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
(JD)
*** ARIANE WEWERS: Die Pflicht der EU-Partner zur Koordinierung in internationalen Organisationen und auf internationalen Konferenz (Art. 19 EUV). Peter Lang (see above). "Dresdner Schriften zu Recht und Politik der Vereinten Nationen" series. 2009, 370 pp, €52-80. ISBN 978-3-631-57311-2.
The European Union has given itself the means to present a united front before international organisations and at international conferences. This book looks at how EU Member States coordinate their foreign policies, taking the example of the United Nations. After the introductory chapter, the author explains the history of coordination between Member States since the Nice Treaty, giving examples of systematic coordination before presenting the legal niceties underlying the coordination. Ariane Wewers then makes a detailed analysis of coordination at the United Nations before looking at the controversies surrounding the big wave of EU enlargement and the potential implications of the EU's constitutional treaty and the actual implications of the Lisbon Treaty.
(JD)
*** MATTHIAS BADENHOP: Globaler Ölmarkt und die Außenpolitik der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, Implikationen und Interdependenzen. Peter Lang, (see above). 2009, 308 pp, €44-70. ISBN 978-3-631-59048-5.
Getting access to natural resources has always been a huge challenge for countries and oil is clearly no exception to the rule. Since the 1970s, it has even become vital that countries get access to oil. The United States, which consumes vast amounts of oil, had to change its foreign policy to ensure it got sufficient supplies. The situation changed again in the early tweenies with the emergence of new economic powers which also started consuming large amounts of oil, economies like China and India. This multidisciplinary book by Matthias Badenhop focusses on the emergence of the NICs and the implication of this for the United States. Economic issues are described at first with the author explaining the problems of supply and demand. The second part of the book examines the United States' foreign policy. Wars and conflicts with oil-producing countries are examined first, along with their impact on policy in the US. The third and fourth (final) sections look at future prospects on the oil market and how this is likely to pan out in terms of strategy in the United States.
(JD)