*** MICHEL FOUCHER: Le retour des frontières. CNRS Editions (15 rue Malebranche, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-0) 53102700 – Email: cnrseditions@cnrseditions.fr – Internet: http://www.cnrseditions.fr ). 2016, 57 pp. €5. ISBN 978-2-271-09174-1.
Michel Foucher is the current Chair for applied geopolitics at the College of Global Studies in Paris. In this concise but substantial book, the geographer and former ambassador observes and analyses the changing “situation and consciousness”, including that of Europeans, who thought that it had been possible to wish our borders away for ever. He emphasises that whether we want these borders or not, they are “symbolic markers” without which it is impossible to, “feel a member of a political community, nation on multinational body, capable of deciding its destiny”. In a world that has remained either for or against everything “Westphalian and its whole jurisdiction”, the return of the borders to the forefront of the global stage would therefore be a good thing because if they were to be abolished it would mean “making states disappear” and that a world deprived of its borders would clearly be “a barbaric world, similar to the horror that Daech brings to mind”. It is even more obvious that although borders are “geopolitical objects par excellence” they are also geographical facts and that, “geography has no reason to disappear, faced with the hegemony of economists, and have nothing to say about the ambitions of ‘kings’ or geopolitics”.
It is therefore important to examine borders for what they actually are and which Michel Foucher describes in this book as the traces of “long-standing history” that now often have to confront a humanist “anti-borderism”, which acts as a, “smoke screen to the liquidation of politics for economic gain”. In this book he eloquently decodes the different assertions regarding national borders throughout the world. He then gets to grips with the specific bedazzling puzzle of the Orient and reveals to the reader the complexity of the subject and the different ambitions at play within it. He also reveals the basic reasons for China’s “projection of power” in “historic waters” and the unstable nature of Russia’s borders. In this connection the author recalls the ideas expressed by Vaclav Havel in 2005, “The different tensions between the European Union and the Russian Federation will be reduced by half on the day that we calmly agree where former ends and where the latter begins”.
These words of wisdom lead to a chapter in which Michel Foucher outlines the “indecisive limitations” of the European Union, which he believes are the result of too much time remaining vague, except with regard to Russia, on the subject of its ultimate territorial ambitions. Given that the Union and the Schengen area are ultimately nothing but “the sum total of the segments managed at a national level” we should not be surprised that the critical migratory pressures experienced over recent months and years have led to the reintroduction of internal controls. There is a considerable price to pay for all this, given that the, “very symbol of a people’s based European construction, the 4th freedom –free movement of persons – is located in reality but more importantly, in the opinions people hold” and the majority appear in favour of the temporary suppression of the Schengen agreements.
The author explains that the fault for all this is partially due to Greece, which is guilty of failing to indicate until the 2004 Olympic Games, that it was confronting unsustainable illegal immigration. This flow was mainly caused by Afghan and Pakistani workers who were very useful for constructing the sites but the flows of whom ddi not grow any less strong “thanks” to the action taken by the Turkish and Georgian Mafia. He also says that the fault is due to the country’s partners who turned a deaf ear in 2006 when Athens called for action to strengthen external borders. The author subsequently delivers a strong argument on the imperative need to, “permanently set out the limits of the European Union – as guidelines and not barriers – to distinguish both the inside and out and ultimately build a concrete external policy”. In this connection he suggests that a tailor-made status is devised for Turkey, as “an associate member” as well as for Ukraine and, at the right time, for Russia. This will help these countries participate in a number of certain common policies without granting the right of scrutiny or indeed the right of a veto on decisions regarding them. This is all proof that good ideas are not necessarily dependent on the number of pages in a book! Michel Theys
*** ALICE CUNHA, MARTA SILVA, RUI FREDERICO (Editors): The Borders of Schengen. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (41 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 – fax: 3761727 – Email: brussels@peterlang.com et order@peterlang.com – Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). Euroclio” series, No. 93. 2015, 195 pp. €43, £34, $55.95. ISBN 978-2-87574-308-4.
As very deftly described by the sociologist Rui Frederico and historians Alice Cunha and Marta Silva in their introductory chapter, “once again in the history of European integration, the Europeans are divided between rhetoric (the desire to take in immigrants) and practice (the cost of taking this action)”. The Schengen area has regularly been the subject of burning contemporary issues over the past few years and has provoked debates between politicians and citizens, as well as media coverage, where emotions have often won out over reason. As a counterpoint to this and in view of tackling this difficulty in a scientifically argued way, a international conference was organised in Lisbon during the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Schengen Convention. This book is the product of this event. It also includes contributions from specialists, who exchange points of view with historians, political scientists, anthropologist, sociologists, psychologists, legal practitioners and experts in international and European relations. The book requires readers to immerse themselves in an extremely complex subject that is as diverse as it is likely to provoke a number of controversies. In addition to the free movement of persons, which is the essential reason for the Schengen area, there is also a need to think about and manage the Union’s external borders, which had not been planned in the treaties of Rome. It is now, however, due to the weight of refugees, a thorn in the side of the member states. At the same time, it is the reason why the editors of this book point out that, “Schengen is an imperfect area whose fragilities highlight the weaknesses of European immigration policies, particularly with regard to the inefficient labour markets and threats to Social Security models”. The doubts and concerns provoked by either Polish or Romanian “plumbers” confirmed that the problem is not just about foreigners. In the same perspective, are they wrong to point out that after all, “Illegal immigration” is nothing other than… “Legalised immigration”? These few examples clearly show that the themes relate to a certain kind or other Schengen – migrants, refugees, civil society activists, states and the means and resources they adopt to “manage” migration pressures - require a particularly careful kind of treatment but which is at the same time critical and ethical. These two parts of the book focus on these subjects. It opens with a contribution from Carlos Coelho MEP, which, over the course of the number of pages, explains the origins of Schengen, the different stages that characterised its development, with an introduction, “compensatory measures” and the improvements required. (MT)
*** MARY ANAGNOU: La diversité et la tolérance en Europe. Les politiques européennes contre le racisme et la discrimination / En mesurant les programmes d'action: Tampere – The Hague – Stockholm. Editions Papazisi (2 rue Nikitara, GR-10678 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3822496 – fax: 3809020 – Email: papazisi@otenet.gr – Internet: http://www.papazisi.gr ). 2017, 840 pp. €44.52. ISBN 978-960-02-3299-8.
Events such as economic crisis, the immigration crisis, refugee flows, terrorist attacks on the European territory, obviously help to develop an environment in which racist discourse can grow, as well as the position of the extremists themselves. They also result in European construction being used as a target by many citizens in this connection. The goal of this essay by the political scientist, Maria Anagnou, an expert in European law (Panteion University in Athens), is to help locate the legislative mechanisms and political tools Europe has developed over time to fight racism and racial discrimination. She carries out an assessment of the current situation in these domains and highlights the policies elaborated by the Council of Europe (since 1949), and the European Union (since 1992). On this basis, she subsequently evaluates the way in which Europeans have shifted from theory to practice and analyses the measures and requirements adopted and, above all, the way in which these different instruments have been used in the development of national policies in Greece. The author explains both racism and discrimination in modern Europe. At a broader level, she also attempts to see how European racism is represented in a changing world and whether it involves a temporary or structural phenomenon. She then goes on to look at possible ways of tackling racism and racial discrimination at a global level. This book also contains an extremely comprehensive bibliography. (AKa)
*** CONSTANTINOS FILIS: Les réfugiés, l'Europe, l'insécurité. Editions Papadopoulos (9 Kapodistriou, GR-14452 Metamorphosi, Greece. Tel: (30-210) 2846074 – fax: 2817127 – Email: info@epbooks.gr – Internet: http://www.epbooks.gr ). 2017, 114 pp. €10.99. ISBN 978-960-569-627-6.
With the different waves of refugees and immigrants continuing to affect Europe, European society and countries, as well as the Union itself, are divided about how best to show responsibility and solidarity to these people. When a humanitarian question is eclipsed by the threat of terrorism, divisions become toxic, because migration flows are then seen by some people as a threat as it is not always easy to distinguish people needing humanitarian assistance from future potential terrorists. In this book, the starting point of Professor Constantinos Filis (Institute of International relations at the International Europe Institute, as well as on the masters course and National Defence College), is that geographical origins are cultural and religious references that provoke confusion and are easily exploited by the increasing numbers of extremists. Although their self-proclaimed “Islamic caliphate” is being whittled down by the blows of the coalition, are jihadi terrorists not going to try, more than ever, to create increase insecurity in different regions of the world, particularly Europe? Should the difficulties encountered by countries such as Syria, Iraq and Libya in re-establishing order on their respective territories lead to reflection based on experience and how Europe can establish a peace and security zone between former almost hereditary enemies? These are some of the burning contemporary topics he attempts to answer. He subsequently looks at the reasons why refugee numbers are so high, as well as the interests of the different “actors” in the Middle East and the different ways that Europe can take action in this context. (AKa)
*** TRIANTAFILLOS KARATRANTOS: Tue moi, mon saint, pour que je sois sanctifié. L’Etat islamique, la sécurité européenne et la Grèce. Editions Epikentro (9 rue Kamvounion, GR-54621 Salonika. Tel: (30-231) 0256146 – fax: 0256148 – Internet: http://www.epikentro.gr ). 2016, 224 pp. €10. ISBN 978-960-458-711-7.
How did a small number of “loyalists”, the main associates of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, create the Daesh organisation, which now has tens of thousands of “foreign” fighters? Were the Europeans who left their homes and families to swell the ranks of the terrorists in Syria and Iraq poorly integrated or socially excluded? Is the failure of multiculturalism the cause of Islamic fundamentalism? Does the building of mosques in Greece run the risk of attracting massive waves of Islamic terrorists or, on the contrary, will traditional relationships be developed between Greece and Arab countries that can protect it from a possible or probable attack from Daesh? Does this organisation have, on the contrary, the goal of extending the caliphate everywhere, including Greece? In this connection, are the refugees really refugees and not terrorists waiting for the right moment to strike? These are some of the questions that this professor at the School of National Security attempts to answer in this book. In this book, Triantafillos Karatrantos examines the causes of the increased insecurity provoked by terrorism in Europe. He then proposes a number of appropriate solutions, after having compared the answers contained in the different legal systems in Europe. (AKa)