*** ANDREW MORAVCSIK: The Choice for Europe. Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht. University College London Press (1 Gunpowder Square, Gough Square, UK-London EC4A3DF). 1999, 514 pages, GBP 14.95. ISBN 1-85728-192-6.
Contemporary Anglo-Saxon historiography has produced many grand-scale original works -often showing a salutary critical distance- in the ongoing analysis of the process of European integration. This imposing work by Andrew Moravcsik, Associate Professor at Harvard University, confirms this trend, cleverly combining history and political science. Basically, Moravcsik seeks to clarify the underlying reasons that propelled several European states, in the wake of World War II, to constitute or join a regional entity which, year in year out, has continued to grow stronger, constituting a reference today for many other countries or international organisations.
No one is unaware of the consubstantial ambiguity of the Community dynamic which some observers see as the victory of supra-nationality over national sovereignty, while for others, its successes are a tribute to the ongoing effort to find common solutions so as to defend, or even restore, the vital economic interests of the nation-states concerned. Quarrels between different schools of thought on the precedence of the economic or the political sphere still divide historians. Although aware of the difficulties of the exercise, Moravcsik justifies his approach in a lengthy introduction. The title of the volume is also eloquent as to its focus: "The Choice for Europe". The author maintains that, from its beginnings, European integration was a voluntary and rational act motivated by the self-interest of the nation-states. Challenging the validity of the so-called "federalist" approach, which attributes the origin of the process to the strength of European ideas and the pioneering action of their zealots, Moravcsik defends the now well-known hypothesis that the solution of post-war political problems takes the form of economic and trade provisions in the Treaties. The course is clearly charted.
The first chapter applies the theory of international relations to the case of Europe. Focusing on Germany, France and Britain, the author explains his methodology, which consists of examining five major turning points in Community history, deciphering them from the standpoint of three decisive factors: new commercial advantages, the real or supposed weight of states in the international arena and the capacity of the common institutions to address the interests of these states. Moravcsik then reviews negotiation of the Treaty of Rome, demonstrating the extent to which establishment of a customs union by six states helped promote trade liberalisation and support exports, which had become indispensable in the framework of a rebuilding post-war industrial economy. Analysing the process of deepening of the common market during the 1960s, Moravcsik also highlights the motivations of European officials who, in his view, only agreed to give up sovereignty to the extent needed for implementation of the first common policies in exchange for greater commercial benefits. The CAP is therefore presented as an undertaking aimed solely at defending farmers' earnings. Examining monetary dynamics and adoption of the Single European Act, the author once again goes against the current of a number of ideas generally accepted by analysts, who frequently mention the pressure of "exogenous" factors such as ideological considerations or geopolitical emergencies. Moravcsik insists on the efforts undertaken by economic policy makers and national financial operators to push technocrats and diplomats to stabilise monetary rates in Europe.
In conclusion, Andrew Moravcsik presents an arduous but stimulating theoretical study of key moments of European construction in a well-constructed analysis that nevertheless should appeal more to political scientists than historians. The latter will no doubt be dissatisfied in many regards. They will not understand why such a book has no bibliography or list of sources. Further, as far as sources are concerned, Moravcsik makes use more of testimony and autobiographical memoirs than of first-hand archives. References in German, French and Italian are also neglected. Further, without denying in any respect the relevance of numerous analyses, historians, inured to the entanglement of causalities, may find it a bit simplistic to interpret the history of European construction without really seeking to take into account the potentialities of the grand European blueprint. No one would deny that Europe is an economic entity, but following this logic, the process of integration could be expected to become frozen once the commercial appetites of nation-states have been satisfied. So the political, cultural and social dimensions of the united Europe are mere illusions? Does the prism of national interests suffice a priori to explain the ins and outs of the Community dynamic? Now there is a subject that can nurture debate for a long time to come, which would not be the least of this book's merits.
Etienne Deschamps
*** Journal of European Integration History/Revue d'histoire de l'intégration européenne/Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Europäischen Integration. Centre d'études et de recherches européenne Robert Schuman (4 rue Jules Wilhelm, L-2728 Luxembourg. Tel: (352) 4782290/291, fax: 422797, E-mail: CRS@cere. smtp.etat.lu). 1999, No 5 (2), 160 pages, DEM 40, BEF 800, FRF 135, GBP 25 (annual subscription: DEM 75, FEB 1,500, FRF 250, GBP 47).
Published by the Liaison Committee of Historians since 1995, the Journal of European Integration History is a valuable forum for academics concerned with the analysis of the diplomatic, military, economic, social or cultural aspects of European construction, particularly in relation to the post-war period. Focusing on the cultural dimension, under the co-ordination of Professor Michel Dumoulin (Jean Monnet Professor of History at Université catholique de Louvain), this issue publishes five original essays. After an enlightening introduction in which Professor Dumoulin discusses the idea of making a single body responsible for directing and supervising a common action by the European states in the area of culture and education, the issue opens with a lengthy contribution in German by Guido Müller and Vanessa Plichta (University of Tübingen) on the West in the discourse of German Catholic Conservatives from one post-war period to the next. Etienne Deschamps, of the Groupe Etude Histoire de l'Europe contemporaine at UCL (already familiar to readers of European Library), then describes the origins, principal participants and institutional consequences of the European Culture Conference organised by the European Movement in Lausanne in 1949. This piece is followed by an essay by Aleksandar Pavkovic of Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia), who examines debate held the same year in the first Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe. Bernard Esmein, Deputy Director of the Institut Français des Pays-Bas, turns to a more topical subject, demonstrating that the emergence of European policies in the area of culture and education is not simply an extension of economic integration, but a reaction to the cultural effects of economic openness and the building of a non-polar world. He also examines how these policies might fit into a new type of historic process. Lastly, attorney Thierry Granturco, of the Legal Department of the Institut d'Etudes Européennes (Université libre de Bruxelles), traces the origins of the integration of culture into the Community's powers.
(MT)
*** ANTONIN LIEHM, Eds.: L'Allemagne dans le dialogue culturel de l'Europe. Inter Nationes (AGV, Datenpflege, Postfach 200749, D-53137 Bonn). 1995, 196 pages.
In his foreword, Dr Dieter W. Benecke, Director General of Inter Nationes, explains that if, like he does, one favours European unification in the form of diversity within unity, then it is vital to ask oneself what one thinks of and expects from partners to this process, giving priority in this exercise to "the opinion of intellectuals". This is the spirit in which this work was conceived, bringing together the points of view of intellectuals from throughout Europe on Germany, a country which nurtures "fears (sometimes unjustified) and hopes (sometimes justified)" in the other states. For its editors, this book should serve as a model for others in the same vein, for all of the European countries. It is through such mutual soul-searching exercises that what unites European states in their diversity can be asserted.
(LD)
*** ALAIN RENAUT, Ed.: Les philosophies politiques contemporaines. Calmann-Lévy (3 rue Auber, Paris 9e). "Histoire de la philosophie politique", Vol. 5. 1999, 500 pages, FRF 159. ISBN 2-7021-3034-8.
This volume concludes a five-phase scholarly endeavour tracing the peregrinations of political philosophy throughout the centuries: the freedom of the ancient philosophers (emergence of political rationalism and the theological-political age: Plato, Aristotle, sophistry), the birth of the modern age (Christian philosophies and political modernisation, on the one hand, the philosophical foundations of the modern age, on the other), Enlightenment and romanticism, the critics of political modernity, etc. This fifth volume covers political philosophies as they have developed in the wake of the cataclysm of the abject totalitarianism of the just-ended century. In his foreword, the master mind of this comprehensive survey, Alain Renaut, Professor of Political Philosophy at University Paris IV Sorbonne, summarises perfectly, taking inspiration from the Dialectique négative of Theodor Adorno, the abyss and the challenge facing these scholars: "in 1945, the question of how to philosophise after the Shoa was to ... haunt the reflections of those whom history had just given such terrible reasons to fear that, in the final analysis, philosophy was cast in the same mould as the music the SS used to cover up the screams of their victims. Remaining convinced that there was still a need for philosophy in an age where one could conclude that Auschwitz had irrefutably demonstrated the failure of culture, and of philosophy as a criticism of culture, implied ... being capable of imagining the contribution philosophy as such could make to dealing with the new categorical imperative Hitler had imposed on humanity: to think and act in such a way that Auschwitz would never be repeated, that nothing like it would ever happen again". From this annihilating reality emerged responses that differed widely in the different intellectual, cultural and linguistic areas that are France, Germany and North America. Should the enigma of totalitarianism be used to gather evidence for the trial of humanism, as the French post-modernists advocated? Should a paradigm based on the demands of communication replace "subject" philosophy, apparently so solidly linked to democratic values, as Habermas endeavoured to do on the basis of the heritage of the Frankfurt School? Or, as North American philosophers did, thanks to debate initiated by John Rawls, is there cause to wonder whether the defence of individual rights alone can still respond to the demands of contemporary societies? The philosophers who contributed to this volume provide answers to these different questions, which prove to be convergent. It should be clear to all, in Vienna and elsewhere, that political philosophy still has a good deal to teach us.
(MT)
*** CHRISTIAN DEUBNER: Enhanced Cooperation of EU Member States after Amsterdam. A New Tool to Be Applied or to Be Avoided? Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (Forschunginstitut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit, Haus Eggenberg, D-82067). 1999, 12 pages.
It would be impossible to address the problem of enhanced co-operation more intelligently in so few pages, even if the author endeavours to convince readers that this is an instrument to be avoided.
(MT)
*** MAURICE CROISAT: Le fédéralisme dans les démocraties contemporaines. Montchrestien (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris Cedex 15). "Clefs-politique" series. 1999, 160 pages, FRF 70, EUR 10.67. ISBN 2-7076-1141-7.
Professor at the Grenoble-based Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Maurice Croisat sheds light, in a masterly work now in its third edition (which in itself is evidence of its quality), on the vague and changing concept of federalism. He explains, among other things, that federalism is more "pragmatism and variations" than a single ideology (he sees three types, American-style centralising federalism, "balanced" federalism and decentralising federalism in the style of Proudhon or Bakounin). He also traces certain future prospects on the basis of the Swiss model, Canadian experience and the special case of the European Union. One of his conclusions -an important one given the times we live in!- is that, under certain conditions, federalism can be associated with nationalism.
(MT)
*** PASCAL DELWIT, JEAN-MICHEL DE WAELE, Eds.: Les Partis verts en Europe. Editions Complexe (24 rue de Bosnie, B-1060 Bruxelles). 1999, 261 pages. ISBN 2-87027-770-9.
Though relative newcomers, the ecologist parties are now key players on the political scene in several Member States and, more generally, in Europe. Their history is told in this work by specialists from all over Europe, working under the leadership of the Laboratoire d'étude des partis politiques en Europe at Brussels' Université libre, in the framework of the joint research project "Government and Legitimacy in the European Union".
(MT)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Répertoire de projets: "Nouveaux gisements d'emploi". DG Employment and Social Affairs. Distributed by Official Publications Office. 1999, 94 pages, EUR 15. "Employment and Social Affairs" series. ISBN 92-828-7729-9.
This brochure gives an overview of projects financed by the EU under Article 6 of the European Social Fund (ESF), concentrating more specifically on a group of projects designed to explore new sources of job creation. The repertory shows how the ESF can help improve the future prospects of those who have the greatest difficulty finding or keeping a job. Information for each project includes full identification details (exact title, leader, registration number, theme, contact person, duration, address and internet site) and a description of its content, main objectives and expected results.
*** Revue internationale du travail. Bureau international du travail (BIT, CH-1211 Genève 22, Tel: (41-22) 7997828, Fax: 7996938, pubvente@ilo.org). No 4/99, 165 pages. Annual subscription: 60 euros.
Following on from the first part of this special issue on "Women, Gender and Work", this second part continues the investigation, with articles on: a comparison of equality of opportunity in the EU; combating gender discrimination at supranational level (equality of pay and treatment in the EU); families and flexible working hours (risks for social cohesion); women, men and management styles; labour market indicators: a comparison of the situation for men and women.
*** Rapport d'activité 1998. Office de la naissance et de l'enfance (84-86 avenue de la Toison d'Or, B-1060 Bruxelles. E-mail: info@one.be). 1999, 184 pages.
This report presents an assessment of the activities of the year 1998 for the Office de la naissance et de l'enfance (ONE: Birth and Childhood Office) in Belgium. It includes an organisational chart for the association and describes its working, its pregnancy follow-up booklet (rights and obligations of pregnant women, medical care, useful addresses), its affiliated establishments, the specific services offered, and so on.
*** L'Europe en formation. 10 avenue des Fleurs, F-06000 Nice, Tel: (33-4) 93979397, Fax: 93979398, europe.formation@wanadoo.fr, http: //http://www.cife.org. 1999, No 314. Annual subscription: FRF 185.
This issue includes an article evaluating the EU's social dimension, in particular its significance and scope today and in the enlarged Europe. Focusing on enlargement and its constraints in terms of social policy, Pierre Wathelet considers it illusory to believe that the applicant countries will be able to come up to EU level in the social sphere quickly using the resources foreseen under Agenda 2000, given their serious handicaps in terms of underemployment, unemployment and poverty.
Journals on social affairs. Briefly.
*** Communiqué. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin). In the 2/2000 issue (March): a seminar in Rome on "Employment Pacts and Competitiveness: Experience in Europe and in the Transport Sector"; employment in micro-enterprises; atypical forms of work; etc.. *** Notabene. Newsletter published by the European Social Observatory (Brussels). In No 113: Europe's policy to combat discrimination, the WTO and social issues in the wake of Seattle, the German pact for employment. *** Labor Magazine. Worldwide Labour Confederation for Training and Iinformation (Brussels). In No 1999/4: a special feature on trade union pluralism and articles on respect for workers' rights in the framework of the WTO, World Education Day (5 October last), the difficult choice between maternity and a career. In No 1/2000: a special feature on labour, wealth and poverty and articles on combating child labour, the world-wide women's march for respect for their rights (8 March last), the myth of El Dorado in the United States, a campaign for "clean" football in terms of working conditions for the production of sport goods, and adult education. *** News. International Federation of Transport Workers (London). In No 1/2000: International Railway Workers' Day (29 March), a comment discussing workers' rights in Seattle, fundamental rights at the workplace, the meeting of unions in the civil aviation sector in late 1999.