*** JACQUES SEMELIN: Face au totalitarisme, la résistance civile. André Versaille éditeur (Centre Dansaert, 7 rue d'Alost, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2133705 - fax: 2133642 - Email: information@andreversailleediteur.com - Internet: http://www.andreversailleediteur.com ). 2011, 112 pp., €19.90. ISBN 978-2-87495-127-5.
This short book is the direct offshoot of around fifteen years of scientific work focusing on the sources and resources of civil resistance, which at one moment or another, when we are least expecting it, comes forth from within, “the systems devised for breaking people both physically and mentally”. In this context we are able to see Tunisians, Egyptians, Yemenis and Libyans who have just risen up to demonstrate, “the human spirit to confront fear head-on, to speak out and resist”. All of them have in their different ways concurred with Stendhal, who wrote that, “People only have as much freedom as the audacity they have won in conquering fear”.
Professor Jacques Semelin (Sciences-Po) is an historian, psychologist and political scientist and in this book (which is part of his special project on proposals for leading political science research developed by Pierre Hassner at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris), he provides a balanced and qualified reflection on the extreme and unprecedented violence that prevailed during the course of the 20th century, ranging from Nazi barbarity to Soviet totalitarianism. The questions posed by these unprecedented horrors prompted him in the aftermath to explore methods of “nonviolence”. From the outset, he emphasises that this should not be confused with pacifism, because it results from, “methods used in the struggle by Gandhi in his fight against British colonialism”. With this as a starting point, his research hypothesis sought to examine the issue of “nonviolence”, which brings together a variety of control mechanisms for reducing violence. In the first part of this book, the author seeks to define “civil resistance”, the spontaneous process of struggle by civil society through nonviolence, “protests by the church, strikes, demonstrations, protests by the courts, without forgetting propaganda activities and saving Jews” from the totalitarian authorities. Quite naturally, it is the exploration of non-armed aspects of resistance to the Nazi regime, on which the second part of the book focuses. This seeks to evaluate resistance by unsung heroes, “resistance on a daily basis”, which also provides a reflection on the question of resistance in a more general sense. With history continually changing, he also sought to examine more recent phenomenon, such as Europe under the heel of Soviet oppression, which imploded under his very eyes and under the exclusive impetus of nonviolence.
The third part of the book looks at the conditions experienced by those living under the shadow of the Iron Curtain, which gives this book its contemporary relevance because Jacques Semelin is particularly interested in the role played by the media in the opposition process. He is aware to what extent the social media played a decisive role in the recent Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. Although there is no point emphasising that this part of the author's research, even if, obviously, despite the resources provided by the Internet and the most recent technological developments, he continues with his quest to continue down the path of scientific investigation. In the light of the Polish events of 1981 to 1990, the author considers that even though it is the ordinary people who make revolutions, “today, we live at a time when events are not exclusively set up by their own authors but also by the media which cover these events”. The author considers that in their response to the burgeoning mobilisation of Polish civil society and the subsequent and broader mobilisation of civil society in other central European countries, Western radio stations helped increase its mobilisation by, “providing Polish society with the crutches it required for standing up”. He also claims that listening in to foreign media now seems to be, “one of the most reliable indicators denoting the fragility of a regime”. Once again, we have to ask ourselves whether the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions would have been possible without the satellite receivers (which have been described as evil by certain Islamic regimes), mobile telephones and other computers connected up to the world at large? Obviously not. The Libyan regime, however, provides us with a cruel reminder that, “technologies, even revolutionary ones, are unable to replace strategies” and that certain totalitarian regimes still manage to crush modernity.
Michel Theys
*** ALPAGO ALPAGO: Power and Poverty. Is the EU a New Planet? Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2010, 163 pp, €27.90. ISBN 978-3-631-60382-6.
This book leaves us wanting to find out more. This deficit is due to its title, “Is the EU a New Planet?” It immediately brings to mind the formula developed by Walter Hallstein, “La Communauté est le point d'appui d'Archimède pour lever le nouvel ordre), which the first president of the European Economic Community president published in a book in 1970, which described the incomplete accomplishment of the European project. Unfortunately, 40 years later we can verify to what extent this is still true and this appears to be the objective of this book. From this point of view, the introduction is also deceptive because the author emphasises in it that his main goal is to, “create a bridge between the past and the future and between different countreis and cultures”, which coexist on the same planet and that they are moving towards progress together and not towards confrontation. The reader quite rightly expects reflections on these very points. Nonetheless, it quickly becomes apparent that the contents of this book is above all something more prosaic. First of all, it seeks to shed light on the relationship between the European Union, Turkey and the Mediterranean countries by providing us with a common approach, which, for the most part, exclusively focuses on economic perspectives. Initially, the author proceeds to a comparative analysis of the Union trajectory in its relationship with Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. He concludes that European action seeks to create stability for all. He then seeks to tackle the issue of the Customs Union between a Union and Turkey, which the latter, it is ideal for its possible accession later on. Finally, he analyses the repercussions of the Meda projects and his final chapter focuses on the importance of comparative research. (MT)
*** MAXIME LEFEBVRE: La politique étrangère européenne. Presses Universitaires de France (6 av. Reille, F-75014 Paris Cedex 14. Tel: (33-1) 58103100 - Internet: http://www.puf.com ). "Que sais-je ?" series, No. 3901. 2011, 127 pp, €9. ISBN 978-2-13-058448-3.
“ Everything would suggest that we tried to make the European Union look like a state on the international scene, without wishing to initiate the prerogatives of sovereign states acting in this field”… This short sentence is taken from the first paragraph of the introduction to “Que sais-je ?” (What Do I Know?), which superbly resumes the situation and limitations governing Common Foreign and Security Policy, conferred upon the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty. A number of “improvements” have been added to this policy since it was set up. In this small book (an intelligent publication that is also accessible to a more broader range of readers), the diplomat and senior lecturer in international affairs at Sciences Po, Maxime Lefebvre, explains that, “the incomplete, mixed and ambivalent nature” of the Union's foreign policy is a logical extension of the European project, which fuses supernatural aspirations and respect of national sovereignty. In the first part of the publication, the author demonstrates how Community Europe, an unprecedented political undertaking in the history of humanity, gradually asserted its place in a world of sovereign states, to the point of being able to affirm itself, particularly by way of pursuing a number of orientations that circumvented the main international political arena, “through an intermediary level between global governance and states”. In the second part, he provides an insight and analysis of how the Union pursues its foreign policy: the institutions and the decision-making; the way it expresses itself (which is sometimes done in a very complicated way…); a common will based on the definition of member states' shared interests; the specificity of a power, which uniquely combines soft and hard power. Finally, the author locates Europe on the world scene and describes its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the relations that it develops with its partners - major powers, regional organisations, multilateral institutions etc. Ultimately, this political undertaking is quite unique and can help towards the process of, “civilising globalisation”. Nonetheless, it still needs to assert itself if it really does intend to find its place among the big hitters.
(MT)
*** Politica Exterior. Éditions Estudios de Politica Exterior (49 Nuñez de Balboa, E - 28001 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - fax: 5777252 - Email: revista@politicaexterior.com - Internet: http://www.politicaexterior.com ). November/December 2010, No. 138, 181 pp, €13. This edition of the well-known Spanish publication provides a comprehensive explanation of relations between the Union and Turkey. (MT)
*** Politique étrangère. Institut français des relations internationales (27 rue de la Procession, F-75740 Paris Cedex 15. Tel: (33-1) 40157000 - Email: pe@ifri.org - Internet: http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.org ). 2010, No. 4, 232 pp., €20. Subscription: €75 (France), €115 (abroad). ISBN 978-2-86592-795-1.
This issue of the authoritative publication on international policy includes two main dossiers. One focuses on transnational actors, now played by Islam in Africa. Obviously, it is of great interest to those who read this publication. The other dossier focuses on the walls that still exist everywhere today imposing separation or ties. Jean-François Drevet describes the “green line”, which tears Cyprus in two. He analyses the ins and outs and results of this effective partition. This former European civil servant criticises the action taken by Turkey (particularly the Turkish military, the masters of the northern part of the island who do not want to join the Union, which would mark the end of their political role) and the selfish line put forward by the US, as well as the way in which London continuously follows the line advocated by Washington. The author considers that only the Union has the solution and if the EU 27 wanted to, it could enable the island to regain its unity. It is also true that Turkish Cypriots appear to support the Union more than they do Turkey. Jan Herman Brinks presents an analysis based on the circumstances whilst not ignoring the weak points contained in the democratic pact in the Netherlands, during the era of Geert Wilders and its aversion and support for Islam. One contribution also provides a definition by Gaylor Rabu of, “the demographic ageing geo-policy”, which the US should attempt to not become its first victim, even though according to the author of this quotation, it could be a key factor in constructing a multipolar world. (MT)
*** State of world population 2010 / État de la population mondiale 2010. From conflict and crisis to renewal: generations of change / Conflits, crises et renouveau: changements au fil des générations. Fonds des Nations Unies pour la population (605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, USA. Tel: (1-212) 2974992 - fax: 5576416 - Email: kollodge@unfpa.org). 2010, 108 pp., €17.50. ISBN 978-0-89714-974-7.
This annual report is published by a UN body and is different to previously published reports. It illustrates the role played by women at the time of the second anniversary of the UN resolution aimed to protect women, young and younger people from sexist violence in armed conflicts. It also supports their participation in negotiations and initiatives to conclude peace agreements. It tells the life stories of those in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liberia, Uganda, the Palestinian territories and Haiti. The stories of those who have experienced war, military occupation or disasters and to overcome huge obstacles to help their families, communities and countries. (PBo)
*** PHILIPPE MOREAU DEFARGES: L'Histoire du monde pour les nuls. Éditions First-Gründ (60 rue Mazarine, F-75006 Paris. Tel. (33-1) 45496000 - fax: 45496001 - Email: firstinfo@efirst.com - Internet: http://www.pourlesnuls.fr ). « Pour les nuls » series. 2010, 481 pp, €22.90. ISBN 978-2-7540-1265-2.
Is it still necessary to introduce Philippe Moreau Defarges to the loyal readers of the European Library pages? This prolific writer regularly appears in this publication and is often the subject of praise as former diplomat and past-master in the art of simple explanations. He provides clarity and reliability when writing about subjects that appear complicated. In his Histoire du monde pour les nuls (History of the World for Dummies) he again demonstrates his unique talent for making things accessible. He has already sought to provide accessible information on geopolitical subjects for less specialised readers. This book contains a number of illustrative icons and helps the reader discover the first steps of humanity (from Neolithic times to imperial Rome) up to the period of globalisation (post-1991) and passes through the, “nomadic shockwave (622 the first year of Islam-1491), the world and the impact of the canon (upheavals in Europe between the 15th and 18th century), to when Europe becomes “drunk on itself”, and up to 1914, the era when the Iron Curtain was swept away in 1991, to “the European age” and globalisation. This impressive clarification receives additional support from the “Ten” key moments in history, 10 people who shaped history, 10 cities which tell the history of the world (Jerusalem, which accounts the painful testimony of the difficult coexistence of three monotheistic religions, Shanghai, China's window on the world), 10 testimonies of the human genius and 10 founding texts of humanity, from the history of Herodotus to the United Nations Charter, by way of the Communist Party Manifesto, for example. It is a remarkable achievement that does, nonetheless, provoke a certain regret: Community Europe is not covered at all. Is it credible that Georg Elser, “ could have changed the face of the world” if his attempt to kill Hitler had succeeded? He is mentioned amongst the list of people who have shaped the world, whereas Jean Monnet is not even mentioned. By posing the question, we find the answer. The author is perhaps affected by a “certain idea of France”, which takes precedence over being European? (MT)