*** OLIVIER CORTEN, BARBARA DELCOURT (Edited by): Droit, légitimation et politique extérieure: l'Europe et la guerre du Kosovo. Editions Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. (32-2) 5129845) and Editions de l'Université de Brussels (26 av. Paul Héger, B-1050 Brussels). 2000, 311 p., 1.900 FB. ISBN 2-8027-1400-7 and 2-8004-1242-9.
Fully scientific and rigorous, this work is not for as much neutral. On the contrary. The war in Kosovo raised passionate debates. The academic world was not spared. As is recalled by the coordinators of the work in their foreword, for some NATO intervention was justified as a last resort, in view of having respected the rights of the individual. For others, other than the damage they have directly caused, this intervention contributed more to favouring than opening up the exactions of all forms. Very clearly and even openly, the members of the Centre for international law and sociology applied in international law from the Free University of Brussels, which formed, through a colloquium, the core of this work ranked among the criticisms.
Proof is first brought by Prof. David who, in a short introduction, recalls a few figures that are troubling, drawn from the reports by the UN Secretariat General. Thus between 24 December 1998 and 17 March 1999, eve of the first NATO bombings, 130 people had been killed in Kosovo and some 361,000 people had been forced to leave their homes. Two and a half months of bombings later, this figure had grown four fold, the Serbs having chased or pushed to exodus close to half a million Kosovars. As for the victims of the NATO bombings, they were estimated at some 6,000 dead, not counting the victims - we now talk of more than 11,000 people… - of the operations carried out in Kosovo by thousands of Serb militias to undertake reprisals. Commentary from the professor in international law at the ULB: by violating the most fundamental rules of the United Nations Charter, those which ban the use of force in international relations, without being able to favour any of the exceptions foreseen by this Charter, NATO multiply times by one hundred, the humanitarian disaster which it tried to end. Thus, in the name of peace, we committed a crime against peace (…) in the name of humanity, we provoked crimes against humanity -high speed ethnic cleansing, and in the name of the needs of war, we committed war crimes - the totalitarian NATO view of what is a military target. Moral of this story, in the eyes of Prof David, if non-intervention has never prevented a massacre, history teaches us that intervention, it, has always been accompanied by massacres. From then on, the equation is simple: massacres without intervention + massacres due to intervention = more massacres with intervention than without…
These revolted statements do not end, of course, the subject. Moreover this is not the aim of this work whose authors have wanted, on the other hand, to add new scientific pieces to the dossier. In short, they innovated by sticking to analysing the way in which military intervention was justified by the governments, which assumed responsibility. Beyond their personal feelings, which are found here and there in the "j'accuse" of Prof. Eric David, they did not want to criticise or question the military intervention, nor on the contrary to justify it, but they worked, as is explained by Olivier Corten and Barbara Delcourt, on how law - and in particular international law - was used for legitimacy in the eyes of western public opinion. And if it is true that the background of this exercise remains, for most of the authors, a public aversion for military intervention by the NATO member states and a virulent denunciation of all the exactions committed against civilian peoples', it none the less remains, note the coordinators, that the scientific nature of a study is measured more by the rigour of its reasoning and its methodology than by the absolute neutrality of its statements. All this work bears witness to the pertinence of this statement. To be emphasised, among the contributions, the very rich reflection that Laurence Weerts, researcher at the ULB, developed on the theme political and moral law in the speeches for justification by the European Union and NATO: towards a confusion of the registries of legitimacy.
Michel Theys
*** FRANK-DIETER GRIMM (Edited by): Tourismus und touristisches Potential in Südosteuropa. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft (49 Widenmayerstr, D-80538 München. Tel: (49-89)212154-0 - Fax: 2289469 - E-mail: Suedosteuropa-Gesellschaft@t-online.de - Internet: http://www.suedosteuropa-gesellschaft.com ). Collection Südosteuropa-Studie, N° 66. 2000, 221 pages, 50 DM. ISBN 3-925450-87-4.
This publication includes contributions that have been provided during an academic conference dedicated, in 1998 in Leipzig, to the changes that arose in the tourism sector in South Eastern Europe following the fall of Communism. Mass tourism of the Communist time having disappeared, many of the tourist destinations in the region, sometime popular, have found themselves in a difficult position, while the potentially attractive areas of these countries are not yet well prepared to welcome tourists. The tourist potential of all the countries of the region (except the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Moldova and Bosnia) is presented in detail in the various articles edited, for the most part, by national experts. The book also contains statistical tables (especially based on the official data following the lack of pertinent information from other sources), analytical maps and specialised bibliographies. According to the general conclusions, creation a positive image of the countries concerned with citizens from Central and Eastern Europe is considered as a very important factor to ensure the development of tourism in the region. Thus tourists from the former East Germany are considered as a target audience of particular significance for the countries of South Eastern Europe.
(PB)
*** ROLAND SCHÖNFELD (Edited by): Structural Changes in Transforming South Eastern Europe. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft (see details above). Collection «Südosteuropa-Studie», N° 67. 2000, 145 pages, 35 DM. ISBN 3-925450-88-2.
The economic transformation of the countries of South Eastern Europe is the theme of this volume by the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, which regroups the presentations made during an academic conference organised in April 1999 in Munich. Comparative macro-economic statistics, theoretical reflections and specialised studies on the situation in Bulgaria, Hungary and Albania provide a very complete picture of the state of transition in this region towards a market economy at the end of the 90s. Short contributions examine regional cooperation, the role of the European Union and stability in the region complete this useful work.
(PB)
*** Euro-Méditerranée 1995-1999. Premier bilan du Partenariat. Publisud (15 rue des Cinq-Diamants, F-75013 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 45807850 - Fax: 45899415 - E-mail: publisud@compuserve.com). Collection "Strademed". 2001, 383 p., 218 FF. ISBN: 2-86600-858-8.
This work is the fruit of an international colloquium which, on the initiative of the Mediterranean institute for strategic studies, gathered in Aix-en-Provence, in 1999, experts from very diverse origins and disciplines in view of establishing an assessment of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership launched during the Barcelona Conference in 1995 and to trace, where possible, paths to circumvent the obstacles discerned. There results from this a gathering of divergent stances, or even contradictory, but which remit to understand the complexity of the problems to be resolved and which very usefully enlighten the various concerns, which are expressed on the shores of the Mediterranean. All the participants - among which several high level European civil servants - spoke on a personal level, which adds to the interest of the ideas developed in the framework of three workshops. The first is dedicated to security in the Mediterranean, in the light, on the one hand, of the Euro-Mediterranean charter and, on the other hand, of cooperation, competition and the conflicts seen in the region. The second workshop has as aim to establish an assessment and paint the prospects for economic partnership. The speakers especially envisaged the potential fallout - and largely different from the point of view of Mediterranean third countries - of the plan to create a free trade area and its politico-institutional implications. Their message is, for the most part, that the appearance of indirect positive effects is not given in advance and that it requires, in an imperative manner, often major institutional changes in the countries concerned. The third workshop finally turned around the theme "culture and society", experts studied the meaning of the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue built on these matters before discerning the spaces.
(MT)
*** ANTONIO SASSU (Edited by): Savoir-faire et productions locales dans les pays de la Méditerranée. Publisud (see details above) and Isprom (32 piazza d'Italia, I-07100 Sassari. Tel: (39-079) 237364 - Fax: 200083). 2001, 359 pages. ISBN: 2-86600-852-9.
This issue gathers the contributions to an international colloquium, which was organised in November 1999 by the Instituto di Studi e Programmi per il Mediterraneo, organisation that works, among others, in order to contribute to the awareness raising of the Mediterranean peoples' for their position in the world and the understanding of the structure of Mediterranean countries. Starting from the realisation that the geographic areas of the Mediterranean - from Sardinia to Pouilles, from France to Tunisia from Algeria to Portugal, adds Antino Sassu, Professor in economic policy at the Faculty of political sciences at the University of Cagliari, in his introduction - have all the characteristics of having traditional know-how heavily entrenched in the lands and the peoples', the authors study, from a theoretical point of view and through empirical studies, the determinant factors in the path that ensures the passing on of domestic know-how to a sector of advanced production. The work is divided into two parts. The first concerns the general and theoretical aspects of the national and regional experiences in the various Mediterranean countries.
The luminary essay, of a sociological nature, is signed by Paolo Giovannini (University of Florence) and covers the elements of strength and the critical elements of the local knowledge compared to the bodies and movements of globalisation and standardisation. He shows that the area represents the imperialism of global denied and eliminated, what he calls the inevitable of local. Antonino Sassu then opens the way to economic themes by notably working to bring a first answer to the fundamental question that the authors of this work pose: what are the factors that determine the development process of local know-how? The second answer to the same question is brought by Andre Torre who, in the light of the experience of three French regions, reaches the conclusion that it is above all the climate of collaboration, spontaneous, between local actors in a land, which constitutes the determining factor at the basis of the transformation of a tissue of informal relations to a structured and formal productive system. Abdelkader Sid Ahmed (University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne) carries out a wide ranging review of the most significant experiences of creation of industrial aggregations and, more specifically, industrial districts resulting from the development of specific local know-how (he begins with the Italian industrial districts, precursors in the filed, to arrive at the successes seen in Brazil, Mexico and India). Thus a very complete work, especially when we know that it does not limit itself to a few contributions...
(MT)
*** Développement et politiques agro-alimentaires dans la région méditerranéenne. Rapport annuel 2000. Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (Ciheam, 11 rue Newton, F-75116 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 53239100 - Fax: 53239101 - E-mail: secretariat@ciheam.org - Internet: http: //http://www.ciheam.org ). 2001, 195 pages. ISBN 2-85352-220-2.
Also available in French, this third annual report by the Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes starts from the preliminary realisation that globalisation leads to a deep interaction between areas, economies and societies from various countries of the Mediterranean region. In the first part, it analyses the relationships between natural resources, rural development policies and the multifunctionality of agriculture. The second part is dedicated to national sector based analyses of the member countries of the Ciheam; it constitutes a summary of national reports provided by a network of cooperating correspondents. Prepared by the Bari farming institute, the third part covers the issue of water and priority actions to be undertaken for a better management of this increasingly scarce resource in the Mediterranean region. Finally, the fourth part presents the main indicators of agricultural and foodstuff development in the Mediterranean countries members of the Centre. Many boxes, graphs and tables complete, with value, this excellent report.
(MT)
*** KHALED NEZZAR: Algérie, échec à une régression programmée. Publisud (see details above). 2001, 266 pages, 128 FF. ISBN: 2-86600-796-4.
Algerian Defence Minister at the beginning of the 1990s, the author brings his testimony to the history of independent Algeria and, in particular, over a few its darkest moments, those which have been written during the previous decade. These memoirs then transform themselves into an unquestionable charge against the Islamic Liberation Front and criticisms against the countries - European among others - which have accused the Algerian authorities of having violated the democratic principals, while leaving the FIS to take power would have destined Algeria to obscurantism.
(MT)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Office for the official publication of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg) published the following documents:
*** RDT Info. European research magazine. DG research (200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2959971 -Fax: 2958220 - E-mail: research@cec.eu.int). June 2001, N° 30, 40 pages.
"The EU does space" in 2001 as all the actors, public or private, in the European space adventure have agreed to cooperate to open a "new chapter" that will integrate space into the strategic vision common to the whole Union. New European frontiers, Galileo, alliances in the field of communications… So many themes broached in this issue, which casts light on the aims of the European Commission, research having, in its eyes, to progress and lead Europe to the level of its partners or competitors from other horizons… Other themes tackled: beyond the Internet, research into fusion, a portrait of the British biologist Anne McLaren, justice and DNA as well as articles on demography and the ageing of the European population...
*** Inforegio News. DG regional policy (200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2991111 - Fax: 2966003 - E-mail: regio-info@cec.eu.int - Internet: http://www.inforegio.cec.eu.int ). June 2001, N° 87.
This sheet looks at the second forum on cohesion that, last May, provided 1,800 people the opportunity to actively take part in a debate over the future of regional policy. Ministers from the Member and candidate States, MEPs and representatives from regional authorities in the Union were able to confront their points of view concerning the challenge in terms of economic and social cohesion in the run up to 2007. For further information, see the website: http: //inforegio.org/temporum/forcum_en.htm. In the same issue, the guidelines for inter-regional cooperation, also adopted in May, which are supported by the European regional development fund in the framework of section C of the Community Interreg III initiative.
*** CAP and the environment. DG Agriculture (200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2953240 - Fax: 2957540 - Internet: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/index.htm ). May 2001, N°34.
The taking into consideration of the environment and sustainable development in CAP, on the agenda of the recent European summit in Gothenburg, leads to the need to improve environmental indicators as tools for assessment in order to ensure the optimal application of the guidelines from the Agenda 2000. Thus the sheet also recalls that sustainable agriculture means answering three stakes - economic, social and ecological - and to centre production on the interests of consumers. Moreover, common rules for the systems of direct support in the framework of the agricultural markets foresees the obligation for the Member States to set out environmental requirements, which they consider appropriate and the possibility of subordinating payments to the respect for these requirements (eco-conditionality).
Reviews in short
*** Finnfacts, Helsinki, N° 2, June 2001. The confederation of Finnish employers and industry draws attention to the fact that two industrial companies out of three work, in this country, in a network and despite the forecasted weakening of conjunctures, what is working well in Finland, are the new information technologies… *** Environnement, 2001, N° 2, Berne. The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Forests and the Countryside makes, among others, an assessment of Swiss forests and signals, moreover, that the protection of the environment is born. *** Istanbul + 5, Urban Millennium. UNCHS (Habitat) Nairobi, May 2001. This special edition is dedicated to the special session of the United Nations General Assembly, which took place last May and carried out a global assessment of the implementation of the Housing Agenda. This publication introduces itself into the corridors around the right to an adequate home, social development and the eradication of poverty, not counting the management of the environment. Among the issues tackled: promoting equal access to land, basic services, to health care and a healthy life, promote social integration and support the disadvantaged groups, equal opportunities in the field of housing development, the reduction of urban pollution… *** La Flandre. June/July 2001, N° 30, Brussels. Belgian Flanders presents itself on the eve of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union as a constitutional region and explains how it actively takes part ion Europe through its communities and regions…