*** ALBERT JACQUARD: De l'angoisse à l'espoir. Leçons d'écologie humaine. Calmann-Lévy (Paris. Internet: http://www.calmann-levy.fr ). 2002, 140 pp, 11 euros (France), 12.35 euros (Belgium-Luxembourg). ISBN 2-7021-3271-5.
The prominent geneticist Albert Jacquard has become a household name in recent years through his attempts to raise people's social awareness with books like "Le souci des pauvres", "J'accuse l'économie triomphante" or "Absolu", a beautiful book of interviews with the committed French public figure Abbé Pierre, (some of his most recent humanist pamphlets). Once again he has decided to make a few improvements on his theme, banging the same drum after following a path during the course of which he has made a series of public addresses and published a number of books, in both French and Italian. With the launch of the new Academia di Architettura in Mendrisio (Tessin) (the promoters of which take pains to encourage their students to think about more than just the technical aspects of their careers), Jacquart was invited to give courses on human ecology. A new term has been coined to define the aims - "humanistic". Christiana Spinedi recorded some eighty hours of his courses, dividing them up according to a logical plan and translating them into Italian in a book entitled "Dall'angoscia alla speranza". The book I review here is the French version of Dall'angoscia alla speranza.
One cannot summarise a cry from the heart and I cannot write a review that outlines with any degree of accuracy or manages to translate the full complexity of the free flow of a mind that is both rigorous and impassioned, of a book that addresses both one's heart and one's mind. Jacquard takes current events as his starting point, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the destruction of the World Trade Center, putting their importance into perspective: "Far from revealing the changes that are taking place - so fast and deep that they represent a genuine revolution - these images camouflage them. What is changing is in fact the conditions in which human being live together on their tiny planet". Right from the start, this extends the debate to global level (but a little further on, the author is quick to point out that human beings "have the earth as their final abode", which should encourage them to consider it with greater respect and which makes it necessary to immediately look in greater detail at our condition of man or woman and to look deep into ourselves and ask ourselves the question of what it means to be a human being). Put very concretely, following the revolution of ideas that marked the twentieth century, this means confronting the problems that no philosopher of the past would have been able to consider but that our generation is faced with. The modern generation has to resolve these issues, being aware that it is no longer facing a crisis which in the long run will return to a situation similar to the one that prevailed yesterday, but is leading to an irrevocable change in the sense of a biological change. Quantum physics today demonstrates that reality does not contain its own future, and the notion of indecidabilty that mathematician Kurt Gödel turned into a theory has signed the death warrant for determinism while at the same time this notion (a necessary tool for all our reasoning) has demolished logic. Basically the comfortable epoch of intangible certitude is over and we have to accept today that we are explorers faced with an unknown region, we are preparing to live through a century where the journeys of the past will not be continued.
Albert Jacquard is at pains to determine among the range of imaginable utopias those that could become reality, to prevent us losing our way. Since human beings are prisoners on planet earth, it is their duty to try to live with the planet calmly, with respect, making an effort not to destroy it, which means for example, using birth control and ensuring that nine billion human beings do not give way to the temptation of trying out Western lifestyles since this would lead to destructive waste and leave our grandchildren with a shrivelled, anaemic earth. This therefore means that the richest people on the planet must start consuming less - hence the book also concerns the EU. A researcher leaving the realms of his or her subject matter is no longer a scientist. Nobel prizes can be mistaken when they are given outside one's specialist area. But can a "human activist" be ignored in this day and age?
Michel Theys
*** BEATRICE MARRE: Doha: un essai à transformer. Le bilan de la quatrième Conférence de l'OMC (9-13 novembre 2001). Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'assemblée nationale" series, No 3569. 2002, 271 pp, 6.50 euros. ISBN: 2-11-115592-6.
The ninth multilateral trade round kicked off in Doha on 13 November at the end of the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference. MP in the French National Assembly and member of France's Delegation for the European Union, Béatrice Marre draws up a balance sheet of Doha and attempts to assess whether the WTO is a force for progress or a brake on the establishment of controls on neo-liberal globalisation in the interests of development. She argues that the agreement marks progress, although she reports on the deep concern caused by the continuing deadlock on major issues. The author pinpoints three areas of notable progress that she describes as unexpected breakthroughs. Firstly, the beginning of a process of non-market values coming to the fore, such as health and the environment, taking precedence over trade. The second is the raising of the development issue as a precondition for free trade and thirdly the recognition of the need for market regulation. Summing up, Béatrice Marre points out that the bulk of the task remains to be achieved, in other words turning the WTO into a tool for planetary governance in the interests of humanity; devising a clear hierarchy of international standards; democratising the WTO; and setting it in its rightful place in revised international structures.
(AD)
*** BRIAN MILANI: Designing the Green Economy. The Postindustrial Alternative to Corporate Globalization. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. (4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706, US. Internet: http: //http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com ). 2000, 234 pp. ISBN 0-8476-9190-X.
Brian Milani is an ecologist and community activist based in Toronto (Canada) and his readers should be aware that the author bases his argument on a Marxist-Taoist approach. His book may interest people who, while not being members of the New Age movement, are convinced that ecological problems are the key to a sustainable economy and a different type of globalisation. How can the post-industrial society be defined and how can a social and economic system be established that is both sustainable and ecological at the same time? To attempt to answer this fundamental question, Milani makes a critical analysis of the predominant production methods in the knowledge-based society, changes in human potential and the global finance system. In order to achieve an Ecotopia, the author suggests, for example, a green energy strategy, ecotaxes, a regenerative financial system and new types of regulation (particularly at the community and municipal level). Basically the book puts forward rather unorthodox and unrealistic ideas but also outlines surprising and encouraging examples of social, economic and ecological projects and initiatives that have been implemented in various countries and communities across the globe.
(PB)
*** SHALE HOROWITZ, UK HEO (Ed.): The Political Economy of International Financial Crisis. Interest Groups, Ideologies and Institutions. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (see above). 2001, 298 pp. ISBN 0-7425-0133-7.
Written by a group of professors and researchers from US academia, this committed book casts a theoretical eye over economics and finance during the economic crisis of 1997-1999. The message that emerges is that a combination of political and economic measures is required to understand how international financial crises pan out and hence how to be able to prevent them. Taking a practical approach, the book looks at the precursors of the 1997-1999 economic crisis and looks at its impact in South-East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, paying particular attention to Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia.
(LD)
*** PETER MICHAEL MOMBAUR, WERNER LANGEN, PETER RAUEN: Freiheit - Leistung - Wohlstand. Die Soziale Marktwirtschaft prägt Europa. Deutscher Instituts-Verlag GmbH (84-88 Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer, D-50968 Cologne. Tel: (49-221) 4981-452 - Fax: 4981-445 - Internet: http: //http://www.divkoeln.de ). 2001, 60 pp. ISBN 3-602-14575-1.
German Christian Democrat MPs and MEPs, the authors of this brochure argue that the concept of the market social economy is a model for Europe, covering the issues of Monetary Union, the internal market, subsidiarity, the welfare state and the integration of the EU into the global economy in a clear manner. The authors argue in favour of a European employment pact and an optimistic view of enlargement and globalisation that they see as opportunities to make the EU more effective and competitive. This is a pro-European brochure characterised by the spirit of liberalism.
(PB)
*** DAVID RUZIE: Droit international public. Dalloz (31-35 rue Froideveaux, F-75685 Paris cedex 14. Internet: http: //http://www.dalloz.fr - Distributed by: Patrimoine, 168 rue du Noyer, B-1030 Brussels. Tel./Fax: (32-2) 7366847). "Mémentos" series. 2002, 319 pp., 16.1 euros. ISBN 2-247-04709-2.
This book is already in its 16th edition, which of itself speaks volumes about its continuing relevance. Written by an emeritus professor at Université René Descartes (Paris V), it looks in turn at the sources of international law, the international status of the state and the international public arena. It also outlines a general theory of international organisations and international dispute settlement systems and gives a summary of major contentious issues dealt with by the International Court of Justice. The author lingers over the relation between international and internal law and considers new progress in international law, particularly in the field of international penal competence for suppressing war crimes and crimes against humanity, also touching on the field of environment law. Finally, he studies the initial reactions of the international community after the September 11 attacks.
(MT)
*** MARIA TERESA PEREZ MARTIN: Que fait le village planétaire de ses déchets dangereux ? La mise en œuvre de la Convention de Bâle sur le contrôle des mouvements transfrontières de déchets dangereux et leur élimination. Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels). 2001, 494 pp. ISBN 2-8027-1438-4.
In 1989, the Basel Convention on monitoring the cross-border movements of dangerous waste and its disposal was a move towards setting up an ecologically rational system for monitoring and managing the movement of hazardous waste. More than a decade on, it is time to draw up the first balance sheet and look at the problems encountered in applying the legal instrument and their ecological, economic, political and social implications. In other words, seeing to what extent the Green Conventions have actually been applied. This is the goal pursued by the author in her doctoral thesis for Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg where Maria Teresa Perez Martin explored the multifarious aspects of the implementation of the Basel Convention in order to gain a better understanding of how it impacts on cutting the amount of waste produced at global level. In one of the first chapters she deals with the globalisation of the problem of cross-border transport of waste, describing both the parameters and how the international community deals with the issue. In the first part of the book she studies the scope of application of the Convention and lists in great detail from the "ratione materiae" point of view the types of waste covered (or not) by the Convention. From the "ratione loci" viewpoint she looks at the states that are party to the Convention and the geographical areas covered.
The second part of the book on moving from monitoring waste to a ban on cross-border movements of hazardous waste to non-OECD countries, she describes ecologically rational management, the cardinal principle of the Convention and then looks at cross-border movements of waste, waste monitoring and bans. In the third and final part of the book she outlines the mechanisms used to help implement the Convention. Her research analyses the measures taken by nation states to apply the Convention and also the mechanisms available under the Convention to facilitate and enhance its implementation.
(AD)
*** MARC IYNEDJIAN: L'accord de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce sur l'application des mesures sanitaires et phytosanitaires. Une analyse juridique. Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 46338985 - E-mail: info@eja.fr). "Bibliothèque de droit international et communautaire" series, No 117. 2002, 262 pp, 38.5 euros. ISBN 2-275-02153-1.
The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) is one of the basic WTO agreements determining the extent to which the WTO Member States are authorised to ban imports of products that may be hazardous to their citizens or environment despite those countries' commitments to free trade. The Agreement has already been applied by the WTO's legal bodies in the framework of three trade disputes, the most infamous being the dispute between the EU and the United states over hormone-treated beef. The ever more frequent use of new and dangerous technology in the agri-food industry and the disparity of regulations applied by the WTO Member States in terms of the marketing of products produced using these technologies suggests there may be an increasing number of disputes involving the application of the SPS Agreement rules. Hence the obvious utility of this research (presented as a doctoral thesis at Lausanne University in Switzerland), providing a full legal analysis of the Agreement. The author pays particular attention to measures falling under the SPS Agreement and its demands, and how the Agreement meshes with other international treaties and the precautionary principle.
(MT)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg) has published the following documents:
*** European solidarity with the victims of humanitarian crises. Humanitarian aid and the European Union. DG Press and Communications (Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/echo/en and http: //europa.eu.int/comm/world). 2002, 17 pp. ISBN 92-894-0552-X.
The toll of the victims of humanitarian disasters, conflicts caused by man or natural calamities rises year on year. Hence the size of the European Union's pledges to relieve human suffering is rising, as is well illustrated in this brochure. The mushrooming of crisis zones over the last decade led the Union to considerably strengthen its action and presence in the form of humanitarian and reconstruction interventions. This publication lists the ways in which the EU intervenes, describes the permanent strategic dialogue between the EU and its partners, the assessment and monitoring of aid and numerous examples of where the Union has intervened (the Balkans, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Colombia, Timor, Western Africa , etc).
*** Environmental signals 2002. Benchmarking the millennium. European Environment Agency (6 Kongens Nytorv, DK-1050 Copenhagen K. Tel: (45) 33367100 - Fax: 33367199 - E-mail: eea@eea.eu.int - Internet: http://www.eea.eu.int ). 2002, No 9, 148 pp. ISBN 92-9167-469-9.
As usual, this third report by the European Environment Agency makes an in-depth analysis of the state of the environment in Europe in 1999. This assessment is a key element of integrating the environment into economic and sector-specific policies (agriculture, energy, transport and tourism). Much remains to be done to achieve this objective, to ensure the importance of the environment is recognised on a par with economic and social dimensions. The report does not reveal any drastic changes in the state of the environment in Europe, but does highlight signs of potential changes in the direction of sustainability on the one hand, and towards more alarming situations which could arise in the near future on the other.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 av. Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-825) 825371 - Fax: (33-1) 299668 - Internet: http://www.ls-europe.com ). 13-26 June 2002, No. 58, 7 pp. Subscription: 506 euros.
"Meagre social balance sheet for the Spanish Presidency" is splashed across the front page of this review specialising in social affairs. It reports that the most recent Employment and Social Policy Council ended a six-month period that generally went unnoticed on the social front. The only exception was a high-level compromise on the draft directive on asbestos. Other issues covered include Arcelor (that used an exemplary negotiations technique to set up its European works council), a year of social security in Europe (focussing on 2001, the year of converging European social policies) and the recently adopted Vibrations Directive.
*** Notabene. Newsletter of the European Social Observatory. European Social Observatory (13 rue Paul Emile Janson, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5371971 - Fax: 5392808 - E-mail: info@ose.be - Internet: http://www.ose.be ). April-May 2002, No 125-126, 23 pp. Annual subscription: 20 euros.
"Is Europe unreformable?" is the question posed in this double issue. Answers are provided in a rich series of articles on the future of public services in Europe, from Nice to Barcelona; the work of the European Convention; equal treatment of men and women, myth or reality?"
*** Europe Infos. Monthly publication from CESIC and OCIPE (42 rue Stevin, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2350510 - Fax: 2303334 - E-mail: europeinfos@cemoce.org). June 2002, No 39. Subscription: 25 euros.
In an editorial entitled "Opening up to others", this joint publication from the Catholic European Study and Information Centre and the Commission of European Episcopal Conferences proposes abandoning fear of the unknown and looking beyond the populist phenomenon to enjoy democracy, a united Europe, and an inevitably global future in which communications and mobility will bring people ever closer together. Other issues discussed include an open door for research, revitalising links with the South, debate at the Forum on the Future of Europe, the ATD Quart Monde movement, the honour of the excluded, Europe and the Middle East, continued efforts in the country of change (Hungary) where there is broad consensus over joining the European Union, plural education in Europe and the freedom of religious minorities in Russia.