*** LEONCE BEKEMANS: Globalisation vs Europeanisation. A Human-centric Interaction. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - http://www.peterlang.com ). Multiple Europes series, No. 52. 2013, 336 pp, €48-20. ISBN 978-2-87574-080-9.
What could be the European Union's role against the backdrop of globalisation that has been shaping and upsetting the planet at the start of the millennium? And more precisely, is Europe in the form that some have constructed it over the past seven decades an idea - and an ideal - of a value-based society that deserves to remain a source of inspiration? It is in order to provide answers to these decisive questions for the future of some five hundred million individuals and probably the whole of humanity too that a Belgian thinker and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair ad personam for Globalisation, Europeanisation and Human Development at the University of Padua has penned the deeply humanist reflections found in this book.
Léonce Bekemans starts from the essence of the European integration project, discerning its potential in the globalised world that is taking shape before us, as long as the EU leaders are prepared to return to the foundations of this unprecedented collective experiment. In the very first chapter, he starts by reminding readers of the origins and stages of the European project, along with the key concepts that structured it, viz. economic, social and political integration, the inclusion of individuals, their diversity to be preserved and the political governance concept that calls for moving beyond the shackles of the State. In the following three sections and fifteen chapters, he analyses the modalities of the affirmation of the European fact and identity, suggests ways the conceptual framework for the future of Europe can be renewed and, finally, looks at how this form of a new European renaissance could influence a number of domains and political issues that have escaped from the orbit of member states alone, for instance: 'Various cross-cutting policy fields and issues such as culture and (inter)cultural dialogue, education, European identity building, citizenship and (participatory) democratic practices.'
The key to the book's appeal is the spirit impregnating these pages. This enumeration of thoughts and reflections finds all its flavour in the fact that the author proposes a 'new conceptual framework - a human-centric cosmopolitan and public goods perspective of sustainable statehood.' In Europe, of course, but not only in Europe. Prof. Bekemans is convinced that 'Europe has a mission and a responsibility to the globalising world.' Europe is 'to date the world's most advanced post-national constellation of states' and today it has 'an appointment with its destiny.' It is 'ideally positioned between the pronounced individualism of America and the strong collectivism of Asia to lead the world into the new age.' But this political philosopher is not blind to reality. He knows that contrary winds have picked up within the European Union, and in particular member states, that want to challenge the revolutionary act of the 1950s. It is therefore crucial to re-fashion 'an inspiring and mobilising vision, which can raise a renewed spirit and enthusiasm within the citizen.' Do 'bridge-builders' exist in the European Union and its member states today who are capable - and have the will… - to 'concretely complete the rhetoric of the European story' and promote the ideals of peace, unity in diversity, freedom and solidarity, both internally and with the outside world? One has to admit that this is not one of the major concerns of some of the people who rule sections of the European Union… Nevertheless, Léonce Bekemans does not give up. He says Europeans have the 'moral responsibility' to continue to show that people can live together in the world despite their differences! And surely, when push comes to shove, he's right.
Michel Theys
*** The European Elections: What is at stake for the citizen? An analysis of the EU's legitimacy and policy challenges. Academia Press (2 Eekhout, 9000 Ghent. Tel: (32-9) 2338088 - Fax: 2331409 - Email: info@academiapress.be - Internet: http://www.academiapress.be ). 2014, 171 pp. ISBN 2-74237000024-9.
In May, European citizens were called upon to decide on the fate of the European Union by electing the members of the European parliament. 'In the past, European elections often received little attention from the media or the wider public. In our view, this is a mistake: elections at the EU level matter,' argue this book's editors, Marc Lepoivre and Stijn Verhelst. In order to alleviate this shortcoming, Egmont, Belgium's Royal Institute for International Relations, launched a project entitled 'The Citizen and the European Elections.' As part of this project, the institute gathered various players' views of the key issues to be faced by the newly elected European Parliament. The book's twelve essays provide an excellent overview for any readers wanting a better understanding of the role and challenges of the upcoming EP. It starts with an introduction about the European Parliament's role and its achievements as a protector of European citizens, with Michel Theys explaining how twenty-eight democratic countries work to hold back or even prevent the emergence of a full European democracy. The remainder of the book is divided into two parts, one looking at the question of the European Union's legitimacy, and the other at the challenges it will have to deal with even among its members. In the first section, Eline Severs and Alexandre Mattelaer stress that the question of legitimacy is not restricted to the EU, but affects all democracies throughout the world. Three authors then give their views on how the EU could improve its connection with European citizens. The second part of the book presents the challenges of the crisis in the eurozone, European social union, climate and energy, immigration and, finally, foreign policy.
(SD)
*** VASSILIOS MARKEZINIS: Grèce: de nouvelles approches des moments de la crise. Editions I Sideris (116 Solonos Street, GR-10681 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3833434 - Fax: 3832294 - Email: contact@isideris.gr - Internet: http://www.isideris.gr ). 2014, 112 pp, €8. ISBN 978-9-6008-0659-5.
Greece is experiencing the worst time in its modern history, pounded by the battery of false information circulating due to 'responsible' politicians, the media, companies and, of course, the world of finance and its accomplices. Professor at the University of Texas, where he founded and manages the International Law Institute, the author Vassilios Markezinis is a member of the British Academy, l'Académie Française and the Academy in Athens. He observes in this book that the country's key figures are prospering while ordinary citizens are suffering and dying of hunger. He says that governance of the country is on the verge of becoming downright unconstitutional, not to mention the country's performance in the domain of human rights, which is rightly cast into doubt on a daily basis. Moreover, the geopolitical situation puts Greece in the eye of the storm that is tossing the Eastern Mediterranean region about between the West and Russia when it comes to energy issues as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. In the author's view, the winners will be those who have influential leaders, and the losers will be those with a divided leadership. He points out that Greece's immediate neighbours have become more insolent than ever because they know they are dealing with a weakened Greek government. What is more, he explains that Athens' foreign allies are not so stupid as to believe in this situation that Greece can return to being an 'island of stability' in the Balkans and Middle-East.
(AKa)
*** OLIVIER DARD, ETIENNE DESCHAMPS, GENEVIEVE DUCHENNE (Eds.): Raymond De Becker (1912-1969). Itinéraire et facettes d'un intellectuel réprouvé. 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 ). "Documents pour l'Histoire des Francophonies / Europe,” No. 32. 2013, 409 pp, €50-30. ISBN 978-2-87574-097-7.
Following on from a scientific conference, this fascinating book from start to finish has nineteen authors, most of them historians, studying the career of a Belgian intellectual guilty of having collaborated with the German occupiers during the Second World War. Through examination of his path, the way that fascism and then Nazism seduced a number of people is revealed, with the essays also shedding light on and putting into perspective themes as varied as corporatism, non-conformism, Europeanism in that epoch, collaboration, the period after WW2 when collaborators were tried and punished, psychoanalysis and the esotericism in which Raymond De Becker, an erstwhile owner of Belgian newspaper 'Le Soir,' said he had dabbled at the time and in which he found refuge at the end of his life. Through his story, his contacts with figures as diverse as Emmanuel Mounier, Jacques Maritain, Henri De Man and Paul-Henri Spaak, along with Hergé and Carl Gustav Jung, come to light. In these times of doubts about democracy, this book is an urgent must-read if one is to avoid making the same mistakes again…
(MT)
*** VIRVE-ANNELI VIHMAN, KRISTIINA PRAAKLI: Negotiating linguistic identity. Language and belonging in Europe. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, P. O. Box 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). “Nationalisms Across the Globe” series, No. 14. 2014, 344 pp, €66-90. ISBN 978-3-0343-0957-8.
'Unity in diversity' has been the official slogan of the European Union since the decade starting in the year 2000. Although this watchword is intended to celebrate and enthusiastically promote cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe, it still evokes the influence of identity and ethno-linguistic nationalist policies on the old continent. This collection of essays therefore focuses on the theme of language, identity and language policies in Europe. The book contains twelve essays from a 2011 conference on language and identity at Tartu University in Estonia. The essays have a common thread - examining the way that language, society and identity are connected. Within the European Union, this is a question of fundamental importance because social identity is intrinsically linked to language. The authors also look at historical developments and the contemporary socio-linguistic context, including multi-language communities and minority language communities. The various essays follow different approaches and methodologies from a number of disciplines, such as sociolinguistics, contact linguistics, cultural history, psychology and political studies. The book is divided into three sections. The first examines multiculturalism, the second self-representation and belonging and the third language and politics.
(SD)
*** JEAN PEETERS, JANDHYALA PRABHAKARA RAO (Eds.): Translation and the Accommodation of Diversity. Indian and non-Indian Perspectives. Peter Lang (see above). 2013, 149 pp, €29-95. ISBN 978-3-631-62651-1.
'Translation is rooted in diversity and its nature necessarily resides in accommodating differences of all sorts'… This is the central idea running throughout this collection of short essays from a conference on 2010 organised by the University of Southern Brittany and the University of Hyderabad on 'Translation and the Accommodation of Diversity. Indian and non-Indian Perspectives.' The conference aimed to create a discussion forum to compare and contrast various cultural and contextual perspectives on translation Both India and Europe are the birthplace of a number of differences: lexical, textual, macro-textual, inter-textual, individual, social, cultural and political. For this reason, in both India and Europe, 'translation becomes a balancing act between and within multilingualism and cultural diversity.' Each of these twelve essays presents an analysis of the act of translation from a different angle. Through varied and often original case studies from literature, poetry, minority languages, proverbs and the situation of hospitals, the book provides a useful starting point for any reader wishing to compare the practices and approaches to translation in India and Europe.
(SD)
*** DOMENICO ROSSETTI VALDALBERO: Mapping European integration through its cities. Homes International (119/5 Rue Froissart, 1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2302187 - Email: homes.eurocis@skynet.be - Internet: http://www.homesinternational.be ). 2009, 149 pp, €28. ISBN 2-74237000024-9.
'European identity, with all its diversity, is a wealth to be preserved and the cities are one of its best assets. This is why uniformity generally causes frustration and rejection in the European people. In varietate concordia!,' says Domenico Rossetti di Valdalbero, a European Commission official and author of more than a hundred general and scientific articles about the European Union. He takes a very original and pedagogic approach in this book by explaining the European Union through its cities. After an introductory paragraph, the author provides for each city a panorama of figureheads, events, initiatives and bodies that have marked the history of European integration. We find the European budget listed under Berlin, enhanced cooperation under Nice, the EuroMed process under Barcelona, the European higher education area under Bologna and the Gender Equality Institute under Vilnius. This fun approach allows the book to explain nearly 300 terms, concepts and acronyms, such as codecision, subsidiarity and the troika. It also contains a series of tables and graphics illustrating, for example, changes in the unemployment rate in the member states or demographic trends in Europe and the world. This very reader-friendly book is a useful tool for understanding the European construction project, even for people with little background knowledge.
(SD)