*** YVES BERTONCINI, THIERRY CHOPIN: Politique européenne. Etats, pouvoirs et citoyens de l'Union européenne. Presses de la fondation nationale des sciences politiques (117 Bld Saint-Germain, F-75006 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 45498364 - fax: 45498334 - Email: librairie@sciences-po.fr - Internet: http://www.pressesdesciencespo.fr ) and Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris cedex 14. Internet: http://www.editions-dalloz.fr ). “Amphi” series. 2010, 182 pp, €35. ISBN 978-2-247-08958-1 and 978-2-7246-1184-7.
This book aims to provide as broad a vision as possible of European construction. There are obviously excellent legal books on the Union and how it operates but these often focus on what goes on outside of the external struggles of power (between states) or their internal equivalent (between institutions and within these institutions), struggles which provide the structural backbone to the daily life of the European Union. Subsequently, these kinds of books do not necessarily familiarise us with the real stakes at play underpinning Community policy. There are also undoubtedly loyal readers of the Bibliothèque européenne who are in a position to know what really goes on and there are also excellent history books on the subject, which clarify the origins and development of the European project but their chronological approach does not really lead them to producing a comprehensive and structured analysis of the Union. They also often fail to provide the crucial details about how the Union currently operates and how it has developed since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Excellent political books also exist, which enable us to explore the political motivation at work at a Community level but most of the time these are limited to the interaction between the different Community institutions, “ when they explore the main political forces at work at a European level, they are rarely based upon an approach focusing on the two main sources of EU legitimacy, namely the states and their citizens”.
Yves Bertoncini and Thierry Chopin aim to rectify these shortcomings, with their book, which is backed up by their solid teaching experience at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, College of Europe in Bruges, Corps des mines, Ecole nationale d'administration, in addition to the extensive experience obtained working in national and European levels of government, think tanks and professional organisations. In an effort to clearly identify the “unique” political subject embodied by the Union, they decided to focus on directly intelligible political concepts such as sovereignty, identity, legitimacy, remit, citizenship, etc… rather than on concepts that have gained notoriety through examples of Community jargon such as the, “institutional triangle, subsidiarity, comitology and co-decision etc”. With the same objective in mind, they have also sought to draw from the whole range of different disciplines contained within the European project and which include law, history and political science, backed up with respective examples from the fields of international relations, philosophy and political sociology.
In an effort to structure their book effectively, the two authors decided to divide it into three main areas of Community policy, which, juxtaposed over time, help facilitate a series of complimentary analyses. The first part of the book looks at relations between the Union and its member states. Bertoncini and Chopin explain that these relations have played an essential role in the launch of the European project but that the latter and the Union resulting from these relations have in return led to a profound modification, “of the framework of action for these very states, with regard to the traditional context of international relations”. It is on the basis of this double dialectic that an initial series of political analyses of the Union is elaborated. In this section, the two authors look at the Union through the angle of, “geopolitical construction” and, “the logic of union parallels” (in this context they identified three different logical constructs, such as reconciliation, power and the logic that promoted by United Kingdom, trade integration, in addition to, “particularly important state relations for European construction” (the impact of the Franco-German relationship and the “Franco-British partnership”). This geopolitical entity is also explored in light of the, “decisive influence” exerted upon the Union from certain non-EU countries such as the US and Soviet Union etc., as well as its shifting borders. The other chapters concentrate on, “a union of cultures and diverse political identities”, a “new area for exercising sovereignty”, European policies launched on the basis of multiple compromises between states, “with a variable impact on national policies”.
The authors' second field of exploration consists of an analysis of the different powers enjoyed by the Union. Although it is true that the European Union is often portrayed as a “monolithic seat of power” in Brussels, according to authors it is in fact made up of multiple powers that need to be differentiated, whilst emphasising that the exercise of these powers is extensively shared out between the different European institutions, as well as between the different Community and national levels of authority. The third area explored in this book provides an insight into the different channels in which these relationships flow. Citizens can now be increasingly involved (even if this still is limited to a certain extent) in the life of their Union. This book provides unequalled insight into the workings of the Union.
Pierre Bouvier
*** JEAN PAUL JACQUÉ: Droit constitutionnel et institutions politiques. Editions Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris Cedex 14. Tel: (33-1) 40645454 - fax: 40645497 - Internet: http://www.editions-dalloz.fr ). "Mémentos Dalloz" series, Droit public. 2010, 246 pp, €16. ISBN 978-2-247-08898-0.
This book is now in its eighth edition, which is testimony to its persisting interest. It is the brainchild of the emblematic and honorary director-general at the Secretariat General of the Council of the Union, Jean Paul Jacque. Mr Jacque has taught constitutional and Community law, as well as courses on the political institutions and at the University of Strasbourg. In this book the author provides an insight into the state, the framework of the political stakes at play, power and the different relationships contained within this equation, the democratic appointment of leaders, the organisation of power and, finally, the Constitution determining the rules of the political setup. This part of the book naturally focuses on France but Jean Paul Jacqué also writes about the European Union which, “has assumed the shape of a federation, without, however, having ever enjoyed the status of a state” and which, in the eyes of the author, constitutes a, “new constitutional phenomenon”. The author then looks at the US, British and German political systems. Jean Paul Jacqué tackles political developments in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. In the third part of his book he looks at French constitutional history between 1789 1958, before dissecting the specific features of the Fifth Republic.
(MT)
*** EuroGuide. Annuaire des institutions de l'Union européenne / Yearbook of the institutions of the European Union. Editions Delta (416/2 av. Louise, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2175555 - fax: 2179393 - E-mail: editions.delta@skynet.be - Internet: http://www.delta-europe.be ). "EuroRéférences" series. 2010, 672 pp, €245. ISBN 978-2-8029-0176-1.
Launched in 1977, the EuroGuide is now in its 27th edition. It is, more than ever before, an essential and indispensable tool for all those seeking to understand the Union institutions and the plethora of political figures and officials, which keep the Community machine ticking over. As in the case of the previous editions of this publication, the 672 pages of the 2010 edition provide very detailed information about Union actors (with an analytical index of around… 13,000 names, replete with the names of the different actors, their telephone, fax and e-mail addresses etc). It is also made more complete with around 500 photographs of certain leading actors, as well as the Union institution buildings). This French-English bilingual guide focuses on how the Union operates in light of the different innovative changes that have occurred and how these changes have affected all the different EU-related institutions and bodies, since the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty. It really does provide a wealth of information about life in Brussels (with many useful telephone numbers), information files on member states, addresses and telephone numbers for the main European inter-governmental organisations (the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, etc), Internet websites for Union institutions and bodies, the list of buildings occupied by the Union, information sources (highlighting, Agence Europe, no less), addresses and telephone numbers for the Union representations and delegations throughout the world. Once again, this publication is a crucial tool for those working with “Brussels Europe” and elsewhere!
(MT)
*** The Treaty of Lisbon: A Second Look at the Institutional Innovations. Joint Study. Ceps (1 place du Congrès, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2293911 - fax: 2194151 - E-mail: info@ceps.eu - Internet: http://www.ceps.eu ), Egmont (60 rue de Namur, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2234114 - fax: 2234116 - Email: indo@egmontinstiture.be - Internet: http://www.egmontinstitute.be ) and European Policy Centre (Résidence Palace, 155 rue de la Loi, B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2310340 - fax: 2310704 - Email: info@epc.eu - Internet: http://www.epc.eu ). 2010, 197 pp, ISBN 978-2-930432-21-2.
As announced in November 2007, when the question of whether the Lisbon Treaty would one day actually be applied, three European-Brussels-based think tanks have considered it useful to pool their efforts in order to better identify the institutional implications of the Lisbon Treaty. This publication demonstrates that certain trends are becoming, in their eyes, visible, even though they recognise that hasty judgements are never the best and that previous experience demonstrates that a 5 to 10 year period is necessary if a truly reliable verdict is to be provided. On the basis of ten different themes chosen for collective analysis and reflection (such as the European Council, procedures for reviewing the Treaty, in addition to the European Parliament, the Commission, the presidential triangle, the future of comitology, and the challenges contained within the citizens' initiative, subsidiarity, national parliaments and, external action, defence policy etc), the conclusions explain that the institutional system has become more complex, the balance between the institutions has changed and that “joint management” is ubiquitous. The very best institutional framework is unable to work effectively without a high level of personal involvement and political commitment, “No matter how often the media speak of "Brussels", the success of the Lisbon Treaty will be made - or unmade - in and by the national capitals”, assert the authors, adding that their action will not be exclusively judged within the framework of ministerial meetings but also at a level of the daily internal political activities.
(MT)
*** HOLGER SPÖHR, SARAH KOLLS (Editors): Rechtsextremismus in Deutschland und Europa. Aktuelle Entwicklungstendenzen im Vergleich. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2010, 205 p. €27.90. ISBN 978-3-631-59265-6.
The political far right has always been an enormously evocative and widely discussed subject by members of civil society and the media. The political science academic milieu has obviously analysed this problem as well, on many occasions. Extremist organisations, their structures, electorates and means of communication have been at the heart of a variety of different studies. The authors of this book reveal that for a number of years Europe has experienced a significant rise in extremism and populist organisations. France, Italy, the Netherlands and even Belgium are examples of this phenomenon. Nonetheless, the authors' starting point in their analysis is the Federal Republic of Germany, before extending their study to the whole of Europe. The book is divided into 12 different contributions. The extreme right is mainly tackled using theoretical instruments employed by political scientists from different universities in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. They are assisted in their task by a journalist from the Süddeutschen Zeitung and a Member of the European Parliament.
The European dimension is covered in this book by way of an examination of populist and extremist organisations within the European Parliament and through the examination of the different national situations. Germany, Poland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain are therefore the member states subject to this "auscultation". Recent developments in Central and Eastern Europe are also analysed in the last article in this collection. The book also contains two theoretical articles on the political right's cultural revolution and the participation of European intellectuals and reactions from civil society.
(JD)
*** HANS-CHRISTIAN PETERSEN, SAMUEL SALZBORN (editors): Antisemitism in Eastern Europe. History and Present in Comparison. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Politische Kulturforschung" series, No. 5. 2010, 245 pp, €37.20. ISBN 978-3-631-59828-3.
The nine authors of this book are university academics and in this publication provide a comparative description of anti-Semitism in eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the Balkan countries (from Poland to Romania, the former Yugoslavia and former Soviet Union, to today's Russia). They provide common data that goes beyond idiosyncratic differences. The authors cover a period from the 19th century to the present day and seek to identify the different influences at work. They also seek to provide a scientific exploration of the specificities of anti-Semitism that have prevailed and continue to prevail in these regions.
(MT)