*** ULRICH BECK: Non à l'Europe allemande. Vers un printemps européen. Editions Autrement (77 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, F-75011 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44738000 - fax: 44730012 - Internet: http://www.autrement.com ). « Haut et fort » series. 2013, 162 pp. €12. ISBN 978-2-7467-3493-7.
There are books that the critics sometimes find tortuous. This torture can almost be delicious in a way because these books are sometimes so extremely well put together intellectually from beginning to end but nonetheless, they are torture because how can the critic in just a few dozen humble lines hope to capture the spirit and breadth of the book, without falling into the trap of providing an inaccurate and pale reflection of the book in question? This is indeed the case with this book, which was initially published in German by a sociology professor at the University of Munich and who currently teaches at Harvard, the London School of Economics and the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme.
A taste of the book is provided in the preface by Daniel Cohn-Bendit who immediately begins by hitting exactly the right spots. This flamboyant troublemaker will soon be leaving the European Parliament and his presence there will definitely be hard to replace and he launches a warning in no uncertain terms that , “for the first time in its history, the European Union is weak, to the point that its very survival is under threat”. A slight exaggeration? Obviously, some people will believe so. Nevertheless, is this German Green really so wrong when he criticises the way in which political leaders who are still too concerned, “by their domestic affairs sucked dry by elections” have managed the crisis and have permanently been late for the war with market forces? Is it really mistaken when he explains that the European model sought, particularly by the British prime minister, “is not that of a united Europe whose foundations of legitimacy are based on the democratising of globalisation but on the subversion of the European Union and, ultimately, of the states by the markets?” Is it an error when he follows the line of Ulrich Beck, who, in his book constantly points out that the different EU countries are refusing to give the Union appropriate direction and guidance and which have, “created the conditions for the dawning of a German Europe?” Is he totally off the mark when in the following terms he describes with such insight the ideas of the author that, “armed with its economic power, the Chancellor has demonstrated a remarkable aptitude by seeing in the generalised disorder, the opportunity to assert her power and impose her vision of Europe?” Those who would dare claim that there is no basis of truth to this are either extremely audacious or completely blind …
Ulrich Beck's entire thesis aims to undermine and expose the process that has taken place over the past few years and which has led Germany to gradually assert itself at a political level and as the most important decision making entity in Europe. As recently indicated by the British historian, Timothy Garton Ash, Germany has succeeded in imposing a European Germany in a German Europe on the other countries. This contrasts somewhat with the statement made by Thomas Mann in 1953 that called on and encouraged students in Hamburg to, “aspire not to a German Europe but to a European Germany”. To this end, the sociologist pits his theory of the “ society of risk” with that of the crisis in Europe and Eurozone. In his theory he claims that, “by drawing on the concept of crisis, an illusion is created whereby it is now possible to return to the original situation once the crisis is over” although the risk as he defines it, “does not represent an exception, as the crisis, but… has become the normal situation as well as the driving force for significant political and social transformation”. In a Machiavellian way, the author explains that Angela Merkel has used this opportunity presented by the crisis, to transform the balance of forces in the Union in her favour by creating a situation of procrastination when appeals for aid to indebted states have been made and that she has increasingly perfected, “a form of non-intentional domination whose legitimacy is based on permanent praise for saving money”. “Merkelveli”, as the author calls her, has strengthened her dominant position and that of a German Europe by practising a brutal neoliberalism in the country's external policy and a consensus tinged with social democracy with the idea that if the German policy of austerity is to be extended to the whole of Europe, certain democratic standards could be made more flexible or circumvented. The author therefore accuses Germany of establishing a hierarchy of power between the different national democracies that is no longer democratically legitimate because it is imposed by the dominant economic power. It doesn't really need to be pointed out that the author does not accept the fact that, “German Europe does not fulfil the fundamental conditions of a European society worthy of being lived in” and he points out that the mutual trust of European citizens has been undermined by the… “princes” who are now in charge of the Union despite the fact that, “the vision of a united continent is being transformed into the demonization of Europe”. Given that the author is not prepared to accept all this lying down, he puts forward a number of ideas to define a European social contract and to prevent any demands for any single national democracy winning out and, instead, for the demands of the 28 different democracies and their own individual national democracies, to help shape the development of a European democracy because it is indeed the conflict of democracy that the Union is suffering from today …
Michel Theys
*** JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET: La monnaie, pourquoi ? Bayard Editions (18 rue Barbès, F-92128 Montrouge. Tel: (33-1) 74316060 -Internet: http://www.bayard-editions.com ). « Les petites conférences » series. 2013, 69 pp. ISBN 978-2-227-48651-5.
This is indeed a neat little book! The series in which it is published is also very neatly produced, as well as the conferences on which it is based. It draws from the ideas of the philosopher and art historian, Walter Benjamin, devised and broadcast on German radio between 1929 and 1933. Gilberte Tsaï organises a number of “small conferences” addressed to children (from the age of 10), as well as of course, to the bigger children accompanying them. Some of the most serious and austere subjects are tackled at these conferences and the only requirement of the speakers and authors is that they effectively address the children in a clear and intelligible way and that they feel that they are part of part of a movement of friendship between the different generations as they get to grips with previously unknown territories. It is in this perspective that the former president of the Banque de France and European Central Bank tells the history of money, how it was invented long ago, up to the appearance of the euro and the single currency we now have in our pockets. The first part of this publication covers the subject recounted by Jean-Claude Trichet in February2012, whilst the second part of the pamphlet consists of a “questions and answers” section, which provides some useful clarification for all and not just the children amongst us. If people don't have enough money, why don't they produce it themselves? Why are currencies exchanged? Why does the cost of living increase? Why do people receive more or less money according to the work they undertake? Why haven't currencies all got the same value? How does China manage to keep the value of its currency low in order to be competitive? These are the kinds of questions that the author attempts to answer both clearly and simply. In his exposé he also speaks of the feeling of pride and responsibility he felt whilst exercising the post of a president of the European Central Bank. Is the crisis capable of bringing down the euro? Not according to Jean-Claude Trichet, “no, the euro is the Europeans' currency and will remain the Europeans' currency”. He asserts that the biggest problem the Europeans have today is to, “develop better organisation between themselves and strengthen the way in which they govern their economic union”. He also believes that monetary union has worked rather well. Let's hope that European leaders can be as open-minded as the children as young as ten years old who attended these lectures…
(MT)
*** NICHOLAS MOUSSIS: Access to the European Union. Law, Economics, Policies. Intersentia Publishing (31 Groenstraat, B-2640 Mortsel. Tel: (32-3) 6801550 - fax: 6587121 - Email: mail@intersentia.be - Internet: http://www.intersentia.com ). 2013, 775 pp. €60, £57, $84. ISBN 978-1-78068-134-4.
Would a publisher agreed to publish… the 20th edition of a book if it were not worthy of interest? The answer to this question is obviously provided by the fact that it was asked in the first place. This is indeed the case with this volume, which has proved to be a superlative introduction to the world of the European political institutions. The fact that it has been translated into no fewer than 14 languages, including Chinese, is further evidence of its value. Nicholas Moussis worked at the European Commission for more than 30 years, where he developed his skills as an expert and proven pedagogue and in this publication he provides his readers, primarily the variety of different students who seek to assimilate one or other the different facets of the European integration process, with an exhaustive fresco that is both internal disciplinary and a practical tool. After highlighting the roots of the movement for integration developed 60 years ago, the author then provides a picture of the treaties and institutions. He then provides a methodological presentation of the different integration phases, as well as the different policies developed within the framework of the European Union. An additional value of this book is the way in which it places each of these policies in their historical context, with the author subjecting them to an impartial examination to see whether they met expectations and how they could be developed in the future. This publication contains no fewer than 2000 references from the Official Journal and 500 bibliographic references, which make this book into an undisputable point of reference.
(PBo)
*** GRZEGORZ zuK: Europe in Polish Public Discourse. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Studies in European Integration, State and Society" series, No. 2. 2013, 177 pp. €31.95. ISBN 978-3-631-63753-1.
This is the abridged version of a PhD thesis developed at the faculty of philology at the Polish University of Lublin. The book is an attempt to reconstruct, in the contexts of Polish and European history and culture, the picture of Europe and European integration present in Polish minds. The reconstruction is based on semantic analyses of linguistic data in the context of Polish and European cultures. The author's work is based on materials gathered from both supporters and opponents of Poland's accession to the European Union. In this study he illustrates two main profiles: Europe as a stronghold and Europe as a community.
(PBo)
*** VICTOR FERRERES COMELLA: The Constitution of Spain. A Contextual Analysis. Hart Publishing Ltd (16 Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - fax: 510710 - Email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Constitutional Systems of the World" series. 2013, 281 pp. £18.95. ISBN 978-1-84946-016-3.
Victor Ferreres Comella is a senior lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and also teaches at the University of Texas in Austin. In this book, he provides a critical introduction to the principles and institutions provided by the Spanish constitution, promulgated in 1978 and which brought an end to the transitional period following the end of the dictatorship under General Franco. The author also examines the distribution of powers between the state, regions and local authorities and suggests a number of ideas that could take shape in the future in this field.
(PBo)
*** BIRTE WASSENBERG: Histoire du Conseil de l'Europe (1949-2009). 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 ). "Euroclio" series, No. 71. 2012, 643 pp. €63. ISBN 978-90-5201-896-6.
Birte Wassenberg is a senior lecturer in contemporary history at the University of Strasbourg's Institute of Higher European Studies and in this publication examines the history of the Council of Europe. She subsequently provides a necessary and justified account of the first organisation that set itself the task of unifying Europe but which has, as an institution, always been the “historians' poor relation” and treated as such by the media as well. Nevertheless, the whole thrust of this book is based on an approach that successfully summarises the 64 years the Council of Europe has existed and confirms that the history of European construction cannot be entirely tackled by looking at it exclusively from the perspective of the European Union. The organisation in Strasbourg also has a rich history that deserves to be revealed in full. In the preface, Professor Marie-Thérèse Bitsch welcomes the publication of this valuable pioneering book, which also serves as an important point of reference and paves the way for further research particularly with the gradual opening up of the archives of the Committee of Ministers and the 47 member states making up this inter-governmental organisation. This book provides a broad panorama ranging from the Congress of The Hague organised by the European Movement. This Congress laid the first stone in the edifice of what would become the Council of Europe and the subsequent evolution of a pan-European organisation in the post-communist era. This is quite simply a remarkable book!
(MT)
*** LANDRY CHARRIER, KARINE RANCE, FRIEDERIKE SPITZL-DUPIC ( editors): Circulations et réseaux transnationaux en Europe (XVIIIe-XXe siècles. Acteurs, pratiques, modèles. Peter Lang ( see address attached). « Convergences » series, No. 72. 2013, 228 pp. €66.90. ISBN 978-3-0343-1277-6.
This collectively written book is the follow-up to 2 study days organised in 2010 at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Clermont-Ferrand. It focuses on the development of transnational phenomena created by the movement of different agents active in this arena (liberal refugees, monarchists, Freemasons' networks) and the political models and cultural ideas propounded by them. One of the lessons drawn by the researchers from a number of different disciplines and countries is that this phenomenon can be identified before the emergence of the nationstate, even though the nation is at the heart of transnational political practices in the 19th century. The book's editors resume the main thrust of this book in this way and point out that it would take until the 20th century for a fully fledged European idea to ultimately emerge within a “transnational public sphere” promoted through different political, cultural and social action.
(MT)