Le jihadisme français
Hugo Micheron, a lecturer at Sciences Po, gives us a fascinating insight into the successive stages of jihadism as developed on and from French soil. The work also provides links and analogies with jihadism in Belgium. The title is perhaps even a little reductive, as the book in fact offers an analysis that is valid for all the European countries concerned. In the preface to the work, the political scientist Gilles Kepel reminds us that the phenomenon has imposed its reality on all countries of the European Union, even though 80% of European jihadists travelling to the Middle East between 2012 and 2018 (5000 in total) came from just four countries: France (2000), the UK (800), Germany (800) and Belgium (600).
This work is the culmination of research on the ground carried out in three languages (French, Arabic and English) between 2014 and 2019. It is based on more than a hundred interviews carried out in parts of France and Belgium, the Middle East and in prisons (with 80 imprisoned jihadists and prison staff). The author also travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon and Turkey between December 2014 and January 2017. In these countries, interviews were conducted in Arabic with Syrian rebels, Syrian refugees who fled IS-controlled Raqqa for their lives and two Lebanese jihadists belonging to the al-Nusra Front.
As Gilles Kepel emphasises, this work helps the reader to understand jihadism from the inside, “by penetrating down to the depths of its political and religious logic, but also its cultural and social characteristics” (our translation throughout). As “an historical and geographical reconstruction of unparalleled precision, the book offers a study of mindsets that is particularly valuable as it helps to anticipate the next developments in jihadist terrorism as seen through the eyes of those who are the most involved”, he writes, stressing that the author has deconstructed “the obsolete theories that led our leaders and commentators to make mistakes, from the catch-all term of ‘radicalisation’” (and of ‘deradicalisation’, coined in response to it, one might add) “to the misleading representation of prison as a totalitarian universe cut off from society”.
This history of jihadism, with its successive waves, its phalansteries, its ideologists, its fighters, its territories and its mirages, is a rich source of information and is strewn with quotations that lend it the nature of a lively dialogue. It ends with the evolution of the jihadists in a prison universe and the incubation role it plays. Nearly a third of the book is given over to this analysis, which shows how the prison cell serves as preparation for life post-Daesh. The doctrinarians, who are there now or were at the time of the interviews, “have the common feature of analysing the jihadist debate in the Middle East from a very critical standpoint”, but “for almost all of those involved, the failure is that of a group, the IS, and by no means the Salafist-jihadist utopia they sought”, writes Micheron. They consider that members of IS have made mistakes and committed excesses that led to their defeat, but “they did at least have the merit of following what they perceive as true Islam”. The battle must go on in France and Europe, where they are now aiming to “bring down the model from the inside, to explode the social contract and discredit it completely”. The recipe for this, partly developed in prisons, is based on identifying majority Muslim areas and developing Salafist tendencies there, leading to homogenisation that will ultimately allow a form of secession.
The complex equation that leads to jihadism feeds off elements that are specific to France (history, sociology, relationship with religions), but is by no means specific to the country, explains the author, stressing that it is part of a “de-secularisation movement of European societies that has been gathering speed since the turn of the twentieth century”. He adds that the “fragmentation of the democratic model is highly likely if the only collective reaction to the dynamics that have been described in France, in Europe, in prisons and in the Middle East consists of affecting not to notice. The same will be true if nothing other than a reinforcement of security and stigmatisation is put forward as a definitive response. The problem of jihadism in all its component parts poses must be tackled as part of a long-term policy, rather than just on an ad hoc basis between attacks”.
“If the tendencies that have begun over the last two decades continue to grow exponentially, religious breakaway movements may start to pop up in certain parts of the country that are already prone to community homogenisation. Connected by the Internet and countless human liaisons, Salafist-jihadist microcosms could take on a temporary overall coherence following a new uprising in North Africa, the Middle East or Europe”, Micheron predicts, echoing the hopes of the Salafist-jihadist leaders and a risk that cannot be ruled out. But “fate is not set in stone”, he adds, pointing out that the phenomenon of jihadism is still a minority one, that “Muslims are its principal victims and are facing a major challenge” and stressing the importance of avoiding the trap first set by the Salafists two decades ago of confusing Salafist ideology with Islam. (Olivier Jehin)
Hugo Micheron. Le jihadisme français – Quartiers, Syrie, Prisons (available in French only). Gallimard. ISBN: 978-2-07-287599-1. 406 pages. €22.00
Le système de crédit social chinois
In its first issue of 2020, the review Futuribles has published an article by Emmanuel Dubois de Prisque, research fellow at the Thomas More Institute, on the Chinese social credit system (SCS), a kind of Big Brother stepping from the pages of fiction into real life. While the term “Orwellien” is overused by Western researchers and commentators, the author principally attempts to decode the system and the part it plays in the Chinese political and cultural context.
The Chinese government presents the SCS as a means to increase the level of moral integrity among the citizens, with a view to streamlining and facilitating economic and financial transactions. Its creation, therefore, aims to help to usher in a “more civilised” and “more harmonious” Chinese society. Although its roll-out is due to be completed in 2020, the system seems to tend towards being a solution that gives the local authorities more room for manoeuvre. So far, 43 municipalities have tested various systems that are more or less complete. Readers may be aware that under the system, all citizens have a certain number of points and can win more through good behaviour (positively influencing those around them, giving blood, helping the elderly, backing the government on social media etc.) or lose them through bad behaviour (payment defaults, eating on the underground, cheating when gambling online, belonging to a non-recognised religion, spreading rumours on the Internet, etc.). Depending on one’s score in the system, the citizen is ranked as exemplary, excellent, honest, fairly honest or dishonest. There is a “warning level” category between the bottom two (under the system used by the city of Rongcheng, thereby giving a total of six categories). A good score is intended to help the holder obtain various advantages (easier bank borrowing, priority consideration for certain public-sector jobs, access to reputable schools, etc.). Conversely, poor scores may lead to a person’s being turned down for loans, denied access to social services, travel limitations, being prevented from purchasing prestigious goods or services, etc. Often presented as being based chiefly on digital technologies, the system is actually based on establishing decisions to remove points by all available means: reporting, denunciation, video surveillance, court decisions, social networks, etc. By the end of 2019, 13.49 million people had been judged “untrustworthy” and blacklisted; 20.47 million applications for airline tickets and 5.71 million applications for high-speed rail tickets were rejected on the grounds of “dishonesty”.
The author states that the system appears to enjoy strong support from the Chinese population. It is considered efficient by the authorities, who have noted for instance that it has considerably reduced salary arrears to migrant workers, who are frequently exploited in the building sector. “Apart from its benefits to the economy, the SCS is a manifestation of the Chinese government’s faith in its own power to inform society and impose upon it the virtue it is lacking”, he notes (our translation throughout).
Dubois de Prisque stresses that the SCS is a chapter in a long history of social control in China. “In its desire to civilise Chinese society and increase the level of virtue of its citizens, it is part of the tradition of Confucius. But in its aim to place reward and punishment front and centre in governance in China, it is part of the tradition of legalism. These two traditions, which experts on Chinese affairs sometimes place in opposition to each other, have been merged in the practice of power in China and complement each other entirely”, he notes.
The system stems from a conception of communal life that sees political power as the site of judgment without appeal on individuals even though, in 2019, the authorities took a first step towards the possibility of rehabilitation for those stigmatised in this way. Is this something we in the West can conceive of? Not really. As the author observes, “in a Judaeo-Christian context, God alone searches hearts and minds, and the existence of a spiritual order makes worldly judgments somehow less important (…). Of course, by turning our backs on our Judaeo-Christian heritage, there is a possibility that we will see the distance between worldly judgment and divine judgment disappear (…). However, modern Western politics has made sacrosanct a form of ‘axiological neutrality’ in political actions, which overshadows a substantial definition of the common good at the service of seeking well-being and the best possible forms of society between citizens who do not necessarily share the same view of what it good”.
However, the author goes on to argue, “it would be a dangerous mistake to go no further than to deem the SCS an absolute anti-model that will allow Western societies to gaze into the beneficial mirror of their own virtuous practices in the field of individual rights”. Our societies are also seeing a rise in incivility, he points out. To this one might add the growing feelings of insecurity, increasing recourse to video surveillance and many other measures taken to further the fight against terrorism. The author raises the question of “how, therefore, can we set aside the theory that there may be pressure in the future from society to set up a Western-style SCS?” Although worthy of debate, this theory is certainly backed up by the crisis in confidence and challenges to our democracies, which may lead the citizens one day to opt into stronger, even authoritarian, powers. (OJ)
Emmanuel Dubois de Prisque. Le système de crédit social chinois – Comment Pékin évalue, récompense et punit sa population (available in French only). Futuribles, edition no. 434, January-February 2020. ISBN: 978-2-84387-447-5. 152 pages. €22.00
Dictionnaire professionnel maritime
A practical tool aimed at both professional and amateur sailors and indeed anybody who has an interest in the sea, la navigation and maritime security and safety. The dictionary provides a summary of the principal definitions of the terms used in the maritime and para-maritime worlds. Written in French by a sailor, Laurent Galy, a lecturer in maritime studies, it is the first to list commonly used acronyms, terms and expressions in English, the international language of the sea. Full of bibliographical references, it also allows users to find the regulatory or similar origin of a definition. (OJ)
Laurent Galy. Dictionnaire professionnel maritime (available in French only). Collection « Les hommes et la mer ». Presses universitaires de Rouen et du Havre. ISBN: 979-10-240-1346-6. 662 pages. €32.00
L’Afrique de l’Ouest dans le cyberespace: enjeux de sécurité et de souveraineté
In this paper, Coline Méchinaud proposes an overview of the challenges facing the countries of Western Africa in the context of the development of cyberspace: nascent cyber-crime; links to terrorism; the manipulation of elections and the sometimes abrupt responses of the powers that be in certain countries; the acquisition or control of data from abroad. To summarise, the states of Western Africa have now become aware of how vulnerable they are and the need to learn to control their own digital space, but they remain powerless to make their voices heard in the new emerging balances of power. The investments of Chinese and American groups represent genuine economic opportunities and seem vital for the rapid development of their digital capacities. At the same time, they carry the risk of “cyber-colonialism”. The absence of physical borders in cyber-space makes purely national responses meaningless, but progress towards regional cooperation continues to be slow and plagued by shortcomings. This is particularly the case in the field of cyber-security, in which the European Cybercrime Centre, known as EC3 and operating under the aegis of Europol, could be a worthwhile model to take inspiration from, the author argues. (OJ)
Coline Méchinaud. L’Afrique de l’Ouest dans le cyberespace: enjeux de sécurité et de souveraineté (available in French only). GRIP analysis paper (http://www.grip.org ). 18 pages. The paper can be downloaded free of charge from https://www.grip.org/fr/node/2852.