*** PASCALINE WINAND, ANDREA BENVENUTI, MAX GUDERZO (Editors): The External Relations of the European Union. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. 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 52. 2015, 402 pp. €46.50. ISBN 978-2-87574-230-8.
In the conclusions she draws at the end of this book, Pascaline Winand points out that in 1963, Jean Monnet described the "European unification process as a ferment of change in international relations". As a lecturer in international relations and European integration at the University of Monash in Australia and the Institute of European Studies at the Free University of Brussels, she could have also added the formula developed by Walter Hallstein. This further clarifies the potential that no one was able to discern at the time as part of the integrationist endeavour just beginning in Europe that, "the Community is the Archimedean point for building the new order" in the world"… Nothing less! By endorsing this assertion in " L'Europe inachevée", a book published in 1970, was the president of the European Economic Commission simply dreaming? The different contributions included in this book seek to verify this assertion. They all stem from a conference organised in Melbourne in September 2009. How did Community Europe become the Union and how has it been perceived elsewhere in the world since its coming into being at the beginning of the 1950s (With all due respect to those who are adamant that the European venture only began in 1958 with the Treaties of Rome, which would allow the much to federalist "Schuman declaration" to be erased from history)? Has Europe or at least Europeans over time felt an increasing political and strategic presence in the international system and has this feeling being shared elsewhere in the world? If this is the case, to what extent? In other words, exactly how is the EU perceived by the international community and how have these perceptions developed over time? Has the EU been perceived to be more of an economic actor or a political force? Is the EU seen as a regional model that could be emulated by others? These are some of the very many questions raised by the different specialists in this book. They bring a number of answers and clarification in the five parts of this publication, which ultimately outline an international actor, sui generis, (according to the description provided by the two lecturers editing the book). The book contains many qualities but also compels the reader to assess the credibility of some of the ideas, such as when the prophecy of Hallstein, for example, which proves to be far off the mark.
In the first part of the book, the relationships developed over decades between Community Europe and its immediate neighbours are examined. David Daly, the Union's ambassador in Australia and New Zealand until 2013 subsequently points out that although the different waves of enlargement were never easy, they were, nevertheless, "the most successful foreign policy pursued by Europe", as Chris Patten, the former Commissioner asserted too. In light of the historic heritage bequeathed us by Solidarnosc, Karolina Pietras (Paris IV Sorbonne) demonstrates how the history of European construction has not been an easy subject to explain. The second part of the book looks at the Union's relationship with the Asian-Pacific region, with different focuses on Australia during the "Messina initiative" and New Zealand in the 1950s. It also scrutinises feelings in Singapore with regard to the Union's place in Indian perceptions, as well as the slow burning relationship with China and the trade disputes that were so predominant before Japan and the Europeans became global partners. It is in the same perspective that the four contributions on the Union's relations with the US and Latin America are developed. The fourth part of the book focuses on the "Postcolonial Heritage" characterising the Union's relations with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. In this part, Laura Kottos (University of Reading) demonstrates to what extent the Treaties of Rome coincided with the inexorable decolonisation process and the question of Europe's relationship with the empires in decline. The final part of the book focuses on the Union in the context of international organisations, such as those working in the tax field. This is a very comprehensive and informative book, even though it does not provide any definitive answer to the question of whether the European Union was a kind of European rescue of Empire, according to the formula used by Pascaline Winand. Perhaps we should have listened to Monnet and Schuman a little more closely…
Michel Theys
*** SIMON WERNER: Deutscher Unilateralismus im 21. Jahrhundert. Ein liberaler Erklärungsansatz. 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 ). "Sicherheit in der multipolaren Welt" series. 2014, 320 pp. €59.95. ISBN 978-3-631-65165-0.
In this study of German foreign policy at the beginning of the 21st century, Simon Werner highlights the factors promoted by the German government in a unilateral foreign policy and the conditions for achieving it. Underpinned by a liberal inter-governmentalist perspective, the author introduces two hypotheses on which the work is based and which is set out from the introductory chapter. From this perspective he seeks to methodically verify throughout his study the validity of this policy. It is based on a strong analysis of the German position during the armed foreign intervention in Afghanistan (2001), Iraqi (2003 and Libya (2011). This book provides and analysis backed up by evidence gleaned from the sociology of international relations, in which the different actors and the stakes at play are analysed in detail. The positions and reasons advocated by the main powerbrokers involved in these events are also explored.
(GLe)
*** CONSTANTIN SVOLOPOULOS: La politique étrangère grecque 1830-1981. Editions Hestia (84 rue Evripidou, GR-10553 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3213907 - fax: 3214610 - Email: info@hestia.gr - Internet: http://www.hestia.gr ). « Histoire et Politique » series. 2015, 348 pp. €18. ISBN 978-960-05-1581-7.
This book by this Emeritus Professor of the history of modern Greece at the University of Athens (he is also a member of the Academy of Athens and president of this body since 2010) is an entirely revised edition, bolstered by an academic endeavour that explores every aspect of Greek foreign policy since the birth of modern Greece in 1832, to 1 January 1981, the country's great turning point, when it joined Community Europe. This book is essential for all those who are eager to understand the historic and geopolitical context in which this policy has developed. The book is based on rigorous historic documentation, rare archives and a very solid historic approach. By adopting this approach, Constantin Svolopoulos, successfully enriches a traditional interpretation of diplomatic history through the exploration of the profound forces that have shaped the international scene.
(AKa)
*** STEVEN BROCKMANS, GIOVANNI FALEG: More Union in European Defence. Centre for European Policy Studies (1 place du Congrès, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2293911 - fax: 2194151 - Email: info@cepts.eu - Internet: http://www.ceps.eu ). 2015, 26 pp.
With its decisively determined title, the CEPS has just published a report based on the work of a task force chaired by an individual who was successively the Secretary General of NATO and the European Union High Representative, Javier Solana, from Spain. Steven Brockmans and Giovanni Faleg provide the account and their report puts forward the idea of relaunching European integration based on the model of the European Economic and Monetary Union or the Energy Union and subsequently developing a "European Defence Union". This project strongly resembles and updated idea of the European Union of Security and Defence, which the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, argued for 15 years ago and which was largely inspired by the joint proposals developed by his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, during the work of the European Convention in 2002. No fewer than 20 senior figures contributed to this update, including the former Secretary General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, from the Netherlands, the former Latvian President, Vaira Vike-Freiberga and the former director of the Union's Institute for Security Studies, Nicole Gnesotto, from France. The report begins with a simple observation, "Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the weak link in the European integration project". Different perceptions of possible threats and in certain cases, a lack of mutual confidence and solidarity, also constitute the obstacles that are still blocking progress in this integration. Nonetheless, the European Union and its member states still have to confront an arc of increasing instability on its southern and eastern flanks. The threat is not just a military one. It also incorporates the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy, subversive action, the so-called hybrid war, cyber attacks, threats that target energy and environmental security, as well as terrorism. To varying degrees, all the different member states have been affected by these threats and the phenomena of, "the law of connected vessels" in the Union and extremism in neighbouring areas, which blurs the demarcation lines between what is within and what is without. Russian "infiltration" in Ukraine and the "provocations" by Russia in the territorial waters and airspace of member states complete this picture and revive the risk of a military attack and occupation in Europe. Based on this observation, the authors suggest the relaunch of European integration and the construction of a European Union of Defence, which would seek to enhance the efficiency of the institutions by drawing on more integrated and interoperable Armed Forces, as well as a common budget and a single and competitive defence market. The approach advocated is essentially inter-governmental and particularly based on the implementation of the provisions in the Treaty on permanent structured cooperation (Article 46 TUE) and the possibility for groups of member states to conduct operations on behalf of the Union (article 44 TUE). At a budgetary level, the priority is not necessarily one of increasing spending but rather reducing superfluous duplication by rationalising military capability at a national level and investing this into co-operative programmes of procurement. The report welcomes the initiative by the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, which have helped relaunch a strategic rethink and emphasis on the need to develop a new security strategy on the basis of clearly defined common interests and a common identification of the objectives and capability necessary to meet this challenge. In addition to their other recommendations, the authors conclude with a call to organise a summit that will bring together industry, governments and the institutions to, "galvanise the industrial and technological agenda" and create an industrial and technological basis for European defence that is more than just the sum total of its national component parts. (Short version of a critical review published in Europe, Diplomacy and Defence, No. 779 on 19 March last).
*** ANTONIO MISSIROLI (Editor): A changing global environment. Institut d'études de sécurité de l'Union européenne (100 av. de Suffren, F-75015 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - Internet: http://www.iss.europa.eu ). « Chaillot Paper » series, No. 133. 2014, 88 pp. ISBN 978-92-9198-253-0.
This issue of the Chaillot Paper, edited by the director of the European Institute for Security Studies, Antonio Missiroli, draws up a scoreboard for the current strategic environment. The information comes from a number of important sources: demography and migration; the economy; trade; energy; climate change; technology and defence. The book is collectively written by a team of researchers from the the Institute and analyses current crises and conflicts, including the specific challenges linked to terrorism and other modes of hybrid action. It is the first contribution to the debate on the European affairs and security strategy the Union High Representative intends to introduce at the forthcoming European Council in June.
(EDD)
*** KEITH BATTARBEE, JOHN ERIK FOSSUM (Editors) the: The Arctic Contested. Peter Lang (see address attached). « Canadian Studies » series, No. 18. 2014, 318 pp. €49.20. ISBN 978-2-87574-206-3.
Located in the north of the Arctic Circle, the Arctic consists of eight countries and several different seas. Nonetheless, the attention focusing on this part of the world goes far beyond its borders and has intensified at the same time as climate change has been speeding up, which radically amplifies its academic and political importance and provokes a number of different conflict of interest. Over the course of a number of decades this has been a highly strategic area and the different national and international declarations on its governance, parts of communication and respect for the rights of the indigenous population have multiplied. This book is a collection of texts examining to what extent these policies have an impact on the region and governance of the Arctic. The different national interests, such as those of Canada, the US, Europe, Norway and Asia are all examined. At the same time the book explores the perceptions and specific experiences in the North within literature and dramatic art. It therefore presents a platform for multidisciplinary dialogue, which attempts to provide answers to all the different complex questions in the Arctic. It is divided into three main parts and provides keys to understanding the main problems affecting the area.
(CDe)
*** Politica Exterior. Editions 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 2014, No. 162 pp. €13. This edition focuses on Europe and its energy problem, future prospects and later in 2015, Daech and the question of the Crimea.
(MT)