*** GILES SCOTT-SMITH (Ed.): Obama, US Politics, and Transatlantic Relations. Change or Continuity? Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "European Policy" series, No. 50. 2012, 326 pp, €41-20. ISBN 978-90-5201-876-8.
Now that Barack Obama has been re-elected to the White House, this book is extremely timely because it follows on from a conference jointly organised two years ago by the Roosevelt Study Center and the the Middelburg Center for Transatlantic Studies in which twenty-one experts on EU-US relations were able to run a fine tooth-comb through the achievements of a US president whom Europeans viewed in the manner of Chimene from the opera El Cid. This mid-term review of Obama's first term of office has been compiled in the light of US domestic politics, US foreign policy and security, its implications in central and Eastern Europe, and also in Western Europe, particularly the Netherlands, along with the legal viewpoint through questions of human rights, arms exports and data protection, each of the latter having a section of the book to itself.
Has Obama met the huge expectations and hopes he gave rise to in Europe four years ago - which clearly still exist because the memory of George W. Bush continues to put Europeans off any Republican candidates, whether McCain in the past or Romney more recently? Although there was indeed an 'Obama effect,' it was, as was only to be expected, less to write home about than had been hoped by some in terms of a reworking of transatlantic relations. It is broadly speaking a positive, although muted, assessment that emerges from the various essays. Impossible to summarise their content, so I shall select a few excerpts to give a flavour of the utility of the comments and discussions. Prof. Rob Kroes of Amsterdam and Utrecht Universities points out that 2010 was the fiftieth anniversary of President Eisenhower leaving the White House, who took advantage of being released from office to 'to reflect on the ominous rise of what he called the military-industrial complex,' and Prof. Kroes urges Barack Obama to do the same about 'the current national security state.' 'Given the right-wing control of the terms of public discourse, here is a challenge for the master of rhetoric that Obama has proven to be,' says the past President of the European Association for American Studies, pointing out: 'Were he to take it up, it would be a new beginning indeed.' The budget problems he is facing at the start of his second term of office should surely also encourage him to do this, but tnere is no guarantee that the president will find the political and moral resources to open a line of attack at home! Jamie Shea, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, makes a penetrating analysis of EU-US relations, pointing out that: 'in the short term, America will not turn away from Europe,' but 'Of course, Europeans will have the America they deserve,' because 'Americans, focussed as they are on action and results, will not have unlimited patience with EU institutions-building.' This is confirmed by historian Thomas W. Hijswijt (of Radboud University in Nijmegen) who says the inherent message from Obama's United States to Europe is brutally frank: 'Get your act together or risk increasing irrelevance in global affairs.' Notable also is the analysis of Katarzyna Pisarska, who says that Obama's policy towards central European countries has stopped being that of 'Great Atlanticists' as in the Bush era, and is now that of 'Great Europeans.'
In his general conclusions, Giles Scott-Smith of the Roosevelt Academy in Middelburg observes that transatlantic relations have run out of steam, but remain nevertheless a tangible reality on which Americans and Europeans can - and must - continue to build although it is essential that both sides of the Pond now recognise that they are not alone in deciding 'the direction of global political interests.'
Pierre Bouvier
*** PETER EDEL: De diepte van de Bosporus. Een politieke biografie van Turkije. EPO (25-27 Lange Pastoorstraat, B-2600 Berchem. Tel: (32-3) 2396874 - Fax: 2184604 - email: uitgeverij@epo.be - Internet: http://www.epo.be ). 2012, 342 pp, €24. ISBN 978-90-6445-761-6.
The image of Turkey for most Europeans is little more than a package holiday brochure, visits to the local Turkish supermarket and a few discussions at work. The rich history of the country is largely a mystery. Obviously under the charm of Turkey, where he now lives with his Turkish wife, the Dutch photographer and publicist author of this book, alumnus of the highly regarded Rietveld Academy, has designed his book to do justice to this candidate country to join the EU, but which is often entangled in prejudice, whether positive or negative. The importance of suitable social behaviour with 'ayip,' or shame as a penalty when the rules are broken, hard work and lack of free time that often prevent individuals from becoming their own selves, a highly developed culture of conspiracy theories, the nationalism running throughout the country's history, security anxieties manifesting in vast numbers of spies in the streets and shopping centres, along with huge conviviality and taking liberties with certain rules, are just some of the characteristics of this country. Its people are still seeking recognition for what they have achieved since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Without wanting to, did Atatürk launch Islam's only true reformist movement? Can the AKP in power ensure that Turks will have a fair and prosperous community now that Kémalism is losing ground in society in general? Or on the contrary, has the country simply had a change of leader and still finding it difficult to join confirmed democracies? What is the role of the Gülen movement whose organisation and role remind one of the Jesuits, and how should one view the Neo-Ottomanism that is driving leaders like prime minister Erdogan or, more openly still, foreign affairs minister Davutoglu? These are some of the questions raised by Peter Edel, who gives an interesting analysis of the success of Anatolian entrepreneurs, pillars of the AKP who are capable of combining strict Islam with market values. Clearly, states the author, joining the European Union no longer has the precedence it had in the past, but the question remains sufficiently important to ensure that the Islamic identity of the AKP remains under cover and an image of 'Turkish-style' moderate Islam is projected, mixed with democratic conservatism. As far as the author is concerned, there is no doubt that the accession process is more important than the end result, because the negotiations and Copenhagen Criteria have given Erdogan arguments to reduce the role of the armed forces. The author also draws attention to the way that Erdogan interprets secularism as freedom for religions, rather than freedom of religion. I would recommend readers continue reading about the book on Peter Edel's website (http://www.epo.be/peteredel ).
(LT)
*** RENE SCHWOK: Politique extérieure de la Suisse. Après la Guerre froide. Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes (EPFL - PPUR, CP 119, CH-1015 Lausanne. Tel: (41-2) 6932130 - Fax: 6934027 - email: ppur@epfl.ch - Internet: http://www.ppur.org )."Le Savoir suisse" series. 2012, 139 pp, €12-60, CHF 17-50. ISBN 978-2-88074-973-6.
Holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at the European University Institute in Geneva (where he also teaches at the Political Science Department), René Schwok provides in this short, lively book an analysis of Switzerland's foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. The author assesses the 'Swiss exception,' in other words this little country's ability to remain at a distance from big European events, be they wars, revolutions, regional integration, economic crises or social crises. Is this singularity becoming obsolete these days or is it more deeply rooted than ever before? The author attempts to provide answers to this question through a comparison with other European countries, highlighting the specific nature of Switzerland and how it differs from its neighbours on the international scene, looking also at the special way it deals with its neighbours. He explains that Switzerland is not the only neutral state in the world, but it has an unusual way of interpreting its neutrality. Rather than traditional foreign policy, it prefers a foreign policy that enables it to include the political, economic and social forces active in Switzerland, which influence the way the country behaves on the political stage. To this end, he reviews Swiss neutrality, federalism and direct democracy and the fact that Switzerland is the only country that continually puts its foreign relations i[ fpr referendum. It is for this reason, explains René Schwok, that the Federal Council is unable to react quickly or develop long-term strategies. He devotes two chapters to the specificity of the Swiss economy and confidential banking, asking whether the latter is the process of dying out. He ends by assessing the unique Swiss way of dealing with three international crises, namely Jewish legacies, the temptation to act as a lone player vis-a-vis Iran and the hostage crisis in Gadaffi's Libya.
(MT)