*** RENAUD DENUIT: Politique culturelle européenne. Editions Bruylant (Groupe Larcier, Espace Jacqmotte, 139 rue Haute, Loft 6, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5480713 – Fax: 5480714 – Email: contact@larciergroup.com – Internet: http://www.larciergroup.com ). "Idées d’Europe" series. 2016, 446 pp, €60. ISBN 978-2-8027-5347-6.
Does a cultural policy really exist at European level in the full sense of the term? This question runs throughout this work, which takes an exhaustive look at this domain, with the author examining all facets of cultural action by both the European Union and the Council of Europe. Honorary advisor to the European Commission, former journalist Renaud Denuit here offers an ‘all in one’ volume on European cultural policy that is more of a pedagogical tale than a directory or compendium, based on courses he has been giving for a number of years at the European Studies Institute of Université Saint-Louis in Brussels. The impressive fresco he paints runs is up-to=date until 31 December 2015.
Although, as a good journalist, he often seeks to apply a narrative technique in order to facilitate greater readability, his concern to not sacrifice anything to the imperatives of rigour generates a certain scientific austerity or even a form of technocratic dryness at times in these twenty chapters, with only the conclusions giving free rein to a pen that whirls above political conveniences and bites where shortcomings and other failings reveal themselves. At the start, however, the author plays more the role of a conscientious notary, with the first chapter seeing him define what he means by culture to ensure that the reader does not misunderstand the meaning of his analyses. The first one covers the cultural action of the Council of Europe which, although relatively minor, is nonetheless that of an ‘enthusiastic pioneer’ that has even manifested ‘a more future-looking and more audacious vision’ than that shown thus far by the European Union when it comes to the relationship between culture and democracy, culture and social integration, culture and the fight against climate change. It is the ‘laborious advent’ of culture in the Union that is then highlighted in a historical overview, followed by a sociological approach examining European citizens in relation to culture. After considering the contributions of the various treaties under the magnifying glass, the author then highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the European cultural sector, the effective destination of EU measures, before tackling the Single Market and its ‘contested imperatives’ because he comments that the ‘public power,’ be it state or supra-state, ‘does not necessarily always serve the general interest.’ The following chapters focus on what is always the perpetual special case of books, taxation on cultural goods and services, copyright ‘under high pressure’ (with denunciation of the Commission’s procrastination in exercising its right of initiative in this domain), the ‘major legislative act’ of the ‘television without borders’ directive, and then European cultural financing (the Media, Culture and European Culture Capitals programmes). After a detour through the ‘global framework of cultural diversity,’ the author returns to recent initiatives and achievements, be it heritage or the current ‘Creative Europe’ framework programme (which, complains the author, presents itself on a portal ‘only accessible in the English language, no doubt out of a concern for cultural diversity…’), with the two final chapters seeing Renaud Denuit query the Europeanization of culture and attempt a critical evaluation which does not spare, among other things, the open coordination method that is favoured in the cultural domain, or the Intergovernmental Method, all of whose key words are ‘drawn from the lexicon of private management’ and which is particularly damaging to the European Parliament.
The tone is thus set for the conclusions. The author considers it understandable that the Union’s cultural policy can be dissociated from its economic and industrial rooting compost, but is it pertinent to hint that European culture will from now on be reduced to ‘cultural and creative exchanges’ and in this way will ‘carry the innovative reflex, charged with distilling it throughout society’? In the same order of ideas, is it reasonable to idealise the ‘digital market’ since ‘unfortunately, technology schmechnology does not always keep its promises in a transfigured future’? No, answers Renaud Denuit, this European doxa leaves aside more fundamental challenges for our society, from the ‘inexorable progress of poverty and social exclusion’ to the ‘worrying audience of demagogues, charlatans with simplistic solutions, nationalist or fascistic movements that are forcing their views onto the public agenda, smashing the European reflexes of democratic political families.’ In his view, none of these problems (and others besides) can be solved ‘without the reflex spreading on a wide scale, both individually and en masse, of assisting others and taking an interest in others’ culture.’ It is therefore important to urgently encourage a ‘policy of interculturality’ that could allow Europeans to understand each other better. But this aspect is tragically absent since, from Amsterdam to Nice and Lisbon, states have stuck to their ‘narrow conception of culture, a restricted status quo’ dressed up in ‘respect for national identities and ambiguous diversity.’ Couldn’t European citizenship have justified major pedagogical action each time the Union gained a new member in order for citizens to discover each other? Since he is convinced of this and feels this need growing and becoming more urgent by the day, Renaud Denuit suggests ways for ensuring, in fine, that intelligence prevails, notably by de-constructing the ‘culture’ article of the Treaty so that a nationalist leader cannot make use of it to hijack the spirit of it in order to serve his own obsessions. Michel Theys
*** ELENI KARANTZOLA: Les politiques linguistiques dans les pays méditerranéens. Editions Epikentro (9 rue Kamvounion, GR-54621 Thessalonica. Tel: (30-231) 0256146 – Fax: 0256148 – Internet: http://www.epikentro.gr ). 2016, €21. ISBN 978-960-458-596-0.
The Mediterranean is a meeting place of a number of different cultural traditions and diverse political projects. It is one of the places in the world where a multitude of languages and communities rub shoulders, where many multiple types of relationship are established among them. These relations are in constant flux due to the fact that these language communities live and evolve in line with specific language policies. Associate professor of linguistics at the Department of Mediterranean Studies at the University of the Aegean, Eleni Karantzola looks in this comparative and historical book at the de facto or de jure linguistic varieties recognised as official languages in the twenty-three Mediterranean countries, along with the language laws laid down for other minority languages and citizens who speak them, whether as individuals or communities. She seeks to understand the efforts deliberately made to influence the language behaviour of individuals or groups, where the sliding into the Arab language comes from in the North African countries of the Maghreb, modern cases of selecting a writing and spelling system and language policies that arise from the region’s three big monotheistic religions. (AKa)
*** GEORGE GIANNOULOPOULOS: Trois essais sur l'idéologie moderne grecque. Editions Polis (33 rue Eolou, GR-10551 Athènes. Tél.: (30-210) 3643382 – Fax: 3636501 – Email: info@polis-ed.gr – Internet: http://www.polis-ed.gr ). 2016, 136 pp, €12. ISBN 978-960-435-521-1.
In the nineteenth century, ‘modern Greek’ replaced ‘ancient Greek’ and at the same time a gap was introduced between contemporary Greeks and the Greeks of Antiquity. This substitution is now perfectly accepted and has been integrated, but is still raises a number of sensitive questions, such as that of how and why it was possible to make such a change without damaging an unchanged Hellenism. Director for years of the Greek section of the British Broadcasting Company, George Giannoulopoulos (who works for the Questions contemporaines review and the Athens newspaper Journal des journalistes) devotes this book to the question which, he explains, should be seen as paying a visit to the historical circumstances and ideological conditions that lie at the root of modern Greek identity. In this view, no other community in the world talks so much of its past and so ardently opposes any attempt to have a rational and, above all, critical interpretation of the impact on Hellenism of the passing of time. This is something specific to Greece and concerning all Greeks, whether or not they are aware of it, and the book aims to raise awareness about the issue. (AKa)
*** Dokumente / Documents. Zeitschrift für den deutsch-französischen Dialog / Revue du dialogue franco-allemand. Verlag Dokumente (1 j Birker Strasse, D-53797 Lohmar. Tel: (49-2246) 9499220 – Fax: 9499222 – Email: aboservice@dokumente-documents.info – Internet: http://www.dokumente-documents.info ). 2016, No. 3, €y. Annual subscription: €18.90.
The autumn issue of this bilingual French and German review desired by Jesuit Jean du Riveau at the end of World War Two in order to help the French and Germans understand each other better and hold dialogue with each other in order to build partnerships, includes a special report on wine, an alcoholic beverage that does not have the same importance in Germany as in France, but which economists, writers, historians and other researchers view as important to both countries. The diversity of views of the authors of these essays bears witness to this when they consider proverbs, sayings, aphorisms and quotations about wine, followed by, among other things, a showcasing of German vineyards, the way Germans view French people’s relationship with wine, an article on good wine usage according to Rabelais, examining control of wine production in France during the Occupation and a tasty morsel by journalist Marie Baumgartner on Marx and Bacchus’ bottle entitled ‘’Manifestement capital.’ Alongside this special report, issues such as Brexit and other challenges facing the European Union are the subject of a number of articles, with an honorary diplomat suggesting that one could find the right answer to citizen désamour by considering making the European Parliament’s composition come ‘fully or in part from national parliaments.’ This at least proves that a serious review can sometimes include inane political ideas. (MT)
*** Etudier ou enseigner à l'étranger. Guide des échanges internationaux dans les domaines de l’enseignement, de la formation et de la recherche. Wallonie-Bruxelles International (2 place Sainctelette, B-1080 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 4218211 – Fax: 4218787 – Email: wbi@wbi.be – Internet: http://www.wbi.be ). 2013, 188 pp.
Aimed at young French-speaking Belgians, this brochure published by a department of the Communauté française Wallonie-Bruxelles will give ideas about mobility to young people from across Europe. Consultable online (http://www.wbi.be/etudierouenseigner ), the guide describes the different scholarships and teaching posts available. Alongside the Belgian programmes, there is useful information about the various programmes run by the European institutions and facilities provided by other international institutions. (PBo)
*** JEAN-LUC SAURON: Procédures devant les juridictions de l’Union européenne et devant la CEDH. Les juridictions de l’Union européenne (Cour de justice, Tribunal) / La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme. Gualino éditeur (Lextenso éditions, 70 rue du Gouverneur Général Eboué, F-92131 Issy-les-Moulineaux cedex. Tel: (33-1) 40934000 – Fax: 40518185 – Internet: http://www.lextenso-editions.fr ). 2016, 380 pp, €36. ISBN 978-2-297-05576-5.
This book is in its fourth edition but has never been more clearly of the moment. In the preface, the author starts by pointing out that René Cassin described the Second World War as the ‘human rights war’ before immediately noting that seventy years later, ‘not one week goes by in which newspapers fail to report on good election results by nationalist movements in Europe, some of which barely conceal their openly declared xenophobia and more insidiously anti-semitic and racist views’… Aware that in London and among right-wing candidates for presidential elections in France, some are calling for liberties to be taken with the European Convention of Human Rights, this book is in reality an invitation to all lawyers to never forget that their profession cannot be exercised without a certain état d’âme, since implementation of the law always requires responsibility and personal ethics from all its servants, be they holders of executive power, parliamentarians, civil servants, university academics, judges or legal officials. It is in this spirit that French State advisor Jean-Luc Sauron, with the collaboration of Léa Reguer-Petit, has updated this book, which arises from his conviction that it is no longer possible for a French lawyer – and this obviously also applies to lawyers from all other European Union member states – to fail to have detailed knowledge of procedures at the European Court of Justice bodies and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He is also a lecturer at Université Paris-Dauphine and thus provides these procedures to those to be tried, whether individuals or businesses, along with current justice professionals or those in training. Enriched with numerous tables and diagrams, this manual is an Open Sesame for people seeking to understand and rapidly master a subject matter that is both difficult and unavoidable. (MT)