*** GABRIEL FRAGNIERE: La religion et le pouvoir. La chrétienté, l'Occident et la démocratie. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Dieux, Hommes et Religions" series, No. 6. 2005, 255 pp. ISBN 90-5201-268-7.
Does religion or rather, do religions play a decisive role in changing the world in this day and age? Going by the abominable acts committed by the 'madmen of Allah', some people would immediately answer yes. In the process, people can tend to mix everything up together and diabolise entire communities, a serious fault rather than a simple, trivial error. According to the author of this startling book, people who think in this manner are not wholly wrong. Quite the opposite, in fact. But they are wrong about the most important part! The critical and erudite introspection by Gabriel Fragnière concerning the Western world in these 255 pages will shake up received ideas just as much as the most deeply rooted convictions by providing keys for interpreting various current behaviour that is fascinating and compelling. It is also, to an even greater extent, more disturbing reading for the United States than Europe because Europe is discovering good, new, reasons for being "different".
A philosopher by training and erstwhile rector of the College of Europe in Bruges, there is nothing of the firebrand about Gabriel Fragnière. His book aims to decipher the connections that have developed over the course of centuries between political power and Christianity, in order to provide a daring and original explanation of the particular role of Western civilisation in the big global phenomenon of how religion and culture mix and match at the start of the new Millennium. After setting religion against the backdrop of the history of humankind and outlining the seven dimensions of the religious phenomenon, the author explains why, over the course of history, Christianity has been at the origin of the secularisation of state power, a specific and unique phenomenon he describes as being a quality of the Western world. He argues that this cultural change allowed the development of democracy. In Puritan New England, the first state (the United States) was born where the Church was constitutionally separated from the state. This unprecedented revolution in the history of the Western world since Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire after Constantine, is paradoxically due, explains Gabriel Fragnière, to Roger Williams, "a prophet seeking the theological foundations of a perfect religious community" who "demanded the nudity of faith before differences in beliefs", refusing to allow the newly emerging state to get mixed up with religion. Federalist Papers activists Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Jay would leap into the breach to ensure, in the Constitution they drew up, that there was a "radical separation between the divine world of freedom and the political world of power", meaning, for the West, the end of the Augustinian idea of Christianity. In this new context, human beings became the source and the end of everything in this base world and democracy could be born. Secularisation - and democracy - in Europe would take a different route. Slower, of course, but safer perhaps.
In the United States, this type of secularisation only covers the state, because American society and its destiny remain well and truly in the hands of God, explains the author. He writes that the American people still identify the history of their nation as obeying the will of God. The author discerns two reference criteria in US political awareness, namely a domestic criterion justifying accepting the secularisation of the state as a decisive element in the political system, and an external criterion whereby the mission of the United States in the world is interpreted as God's mission. The Americans themselves see democracy as having been strengthened by the secularisation of the state, facing the rest of the world, democracy should manifest the divine plan conferred to the chosen nation - the United States of America. This type of idea enabled President George W. Bush to say that democracy is not America's gigt to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. The author describes this as religious messianic tendencies colouring the US empire's global power game. He says the people of the United States and their politicians have started a 'global crusade' from their 'promised land' to proffer their civilian religion and blast anyone blocking their path, a path 'traced by God, to build the universal kingdom of democracy'. Fragniere says these messianic tendencies are based on nationalism, a 'transposition of the theological idea of the Alliance into the political domain', and enable human freedom to be confused with national independence, and human rights to be freely sacrificed on the altar of national interests. The author's ideas seem strangely resonant when one thinks of Guantanamo Bay and the alleged 'extraordinary renditions' and secret CIA prisons! The war of religion is not necessarily what one imagines it to be… Under this radically new vision of the issue, the true challenge to Europe posed by Islam is that of its 'enculturation', meaning changing inside the European Union (itself thoroughly secularised) to be merely a religion and no longer the culture of political power. Fragnière is convinced that secularisation is even more fundamental than many fundamentalists believe it to be, and "a new history of the kingdom of humanity on an Earth that is in the process of becoming globalised" is still possible… if we take Europe as a model, rather than the Super Power.
Michel Theys
*** European View. Europe, its Borders and Role in the World. Forum for European Studies (67 rue d'Arlon, B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2854149 - Fax: 2854141 - Internet: http://www.epp-eu.org/eurpeanview ). 2005, No. 2, 179 pp
A think tank connected with the European People's Party, the 'Forum d'études européennes' has devoted all of this issue of its newsletter to Europe's borders and the role of the European Union in the world. It looks at transatlantic relations, the prospects for a common EU foreign and security policy, the EU's Neighbourhood Policy, counter-terrorism, the EU's relations with various countries and regions and other multilateral bodies. The newsletter's utility is boosted by the high rank of the people writing it, from the President of the EPP, Wilfried Martens, to the President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, via prime ministers currently in power, Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Franco Frattini, not to mention prominent MEPs. One article that stands out is a very instructive contribution from Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan making a very clear summary of what the Turkish authorities understand by preparing to join the European Union.
(PBo)
*** NICOLAS HAYOZ, ANDREJ N. LUSHNYCKY (Eds.): Ukraine at a crossroads. Peter Lang AG (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Berne 9. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Interdisciplinary Studies on Central and Eastern Europe" series, No. 1. 2005, 269 pp. ISBN 3-03910-468-3.
This collection of essays is the proceedings of annual Eastern European Days conferences at Freiburg University in Germany. They aim to provide an overview of the various arms of research into Eastern Europe carried out in Switzerland. Most of the essays were written in 2001 and 2002, with some authors providing impressions and comments about the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2004, when the book was going to press, added in the form of a post-script. The editor has updated the book following the Orange Revolution that took Ukraine to the crossroads mentioned in the book's title. The book reveals how the former USSR's bread basket is sitting between market economy-facing democracies in former satellite countries and the old USSR republics of Central Asia still run by despots. It looks back over ten years of Ukraine's independence, during which the former President, Kravchuk, kept the country together, but there was also blocking of the democratisation process under the influence of the ruling class led by his successor, President Kuchma. Kuchma and his supporters were past masters in the art of 'virtual rhetoric', talking about fighting corruption and restoring legal order while keeping the country, despite its good constitution and viable laws, in a state of semi-authoritarianism and 'partial retrenchment' so lucrative for some. The essays also shed light on the doublespeak of the Kuchma era when he called for moving closer to the European Union while staying within the orbit of the former colonial power, Russia, which has a huge influence on Ukraine. The book looks at Ukraine's relations with the European Union and the impact of EU enlargement on these relations. It also covers the media, seen as a tool with which to manipulate, and Ukraine's economic prospects. Despite satisfactory macroeconomic indicators, its economic future is still far from secure. Two essays look at Ukrainian literature as a reflection of the country's soul.
(FRo)
*** THOMAS BALIVET: Géopolitique de la Géorgie. Souveraineté et contrôle des territoires. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'École-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - e-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr). 2005, 180 pp, €16. ISBN 2-7475-8384-8.
Georgia is a very new country but at the same time it has deep roots in history because Georgia is the huge expanse of wide open spaces where religious ceremonies and prayers are said in the Georgian language, according to a monk at the dawn of the tenth century. These wide open spaces no longer provide this country of the Caucasus with prosperity; it is floundering in a deep economic crisis where corruption rules the day. The land mass is parcelled off into various regions that tend to escape from central control, demonstrating autonomist and separatist tendencies. Georgia is also vital to international geopolitics, hosting Russian and US military bases and Chechen separatists. This is an instructive book of useful information about Georgia.
(FRo)
*** L'atlas des atlas: Frontières, conflits, idéologies, prospectives, utopies. Courrier international SA (Boutique du Monde, 80 bd Auguste-Blanqui, F-75013 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 57282778 -Fax: 57282140 - Internet: http://www.courrierinternational.com ). 2005, 130 pp, €12.
This special issue of the 'Courrier international' newsletter is the fruit of fifteen years of press coverage and interpretation of world affairs, looking at the media in all five continents. Editorial director Philippe Thureau-Dangin explains that these fifteen years were spent looking at how other countries and their newspapers and activist movements represent the world, or at least, their version of it. Hence the idea of this well laid out atlas with maps representing one thing while saying another. Firstly, mappa mondi focussing on particular parts of the globe, then maps as they have changed over history. Then a chapter on frontiers, presenting the problematic borders around the world in the form of maps (Belgium is included in the section on Europe because of its language divide, not to mention the Basque Country, Cyprus, Padania, etc). In the section looking at the future, we leave physical geography behind to concentrate on human geography and the threats facing the planet and its inhabitants. The last part of the book looks at maps of the 'imagination', depicting philosophy and pure artistic creations.
(PBo)
*** JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VICTOR (Ed.): Les dessous des cartes. Atlas géopolitique. Editions Tallandier / Arte Editions (18, rue Dauphine, F-75006 Paris). 2005, 252 pp, €29. ISBN 2-84734-234-6.
Standing back helps one get a clearer picture. At the start of the new Millennium, modern technology has advanced to the stage that we can learn about the latest horrors and catastrophes virtually as they happen, with images from all four corners of the globe. But our vision of the world is losing focus. Overcome with emotion, audiences are losing the ability to think for themselves. To regain this ability, you need to… stand back! Franco-German TV channel Arte offers exactly this in its 'Le Dessous des Cartes' series, taking the long view rather than failing to see the wood for the trees. Understanding the world first of all means understanding its history, and that's what the first part of this geopolitical atlas aims to do. Five chapters look at themes like the limits of EU enlargement, the unusual and sensitive issue of Kaliningrad for the EU, the growing importance of Brazil in Latin America, US foreign policy for the Americas, the Kurdish question and the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The second part of the book analyses various wars and hot spots around the world, pointing out the reasons for and logic of war, the question of world terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The last part raises questions and asks readers to reflect on whether we can continue with our current development mode, the ever more flagrant gaps between rich and poor nations, global warming and the devastation that excessively high levels of pollution are wreaking on the oceans. The maps are beautifully laid out and user-friendly, which is highly appropriate given that the book is aimed above all at readers wanting to make sense of the modern world.
(NDu)
*** HAGEN SCHULZ-FORBERG (Ed.): Unraveling Civilisation. European Travel and Travel Writing. Editions Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Multiple Europes" series, No. 30. 2005, 343 pp. ISBN 90-5201-235-0.
Travelling, whether as a tourist or on business, pits you against the unknown. Without our usual points of reference, we often fall back on our own culture, which becomes a standard against which we measure the unknown and form opinions. Over the course of centuries, many writers in this situation have described savage and exotic communities for the European masses (hugely boosting the development of tourism in the process). This book looks at travel writing and exploration from its inception to the modern day, focussing on the idea of 'European civilisation' emerging from this writing.
(NDu)
*** First European Quality of Life Survey: Income inequality and deprivation. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, IE-Dublin 18. Tel: (353-1) 2043100 - Fax: 2824209 - E-mail: postmaster@eurofound.eu.int - Internet: http://www.eurofound.eu.int ). 2005, 62 pp. ISBN 92-897-0921-9.
The series of publications on the First European Quality of Life Survey (looking at the EU's current 25 Member States, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey) includes this booklet looking at income inequality and deprivation. Analysis based on objective and subjective measures, studded with statistical tables, covers perceptions of doing without, variation between countries and regions, the connection between income and quality of life, and the connection between economic exclusion and social cohesion. The report aims to be a more useful and informative guide to the European Union's social and economic policies than the previous studies by going beyond simply pooling snapshots of life in each country. In fact, enlargement has accentuated the gaps in quality of life in the EU and has therefore had an impact on ideas about relative poverty, because somebody relatively well-off in a poor country would be classified as poor in a rich country, and vice versa.
*** HESA Newsletter. ETUI-REHS - Département Santé-sécurité (5 bd du Roi Albert II, bte 5, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2240560 - Fax: 2240561 - hesa@etui-rehs.org - Internet: http://www.etui-rehs.org ). October 2005, No. 28, 51 pp.
This special issue of the health and safety newsletter of the European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Heath and Safety has been published in collaboration with the European Trade Union Confederation. It looks at REACH, the EU directive on registration and assessment of chemicals, which has often seen representatives of civil society clashing with industrial interests in the difficult search to strike a balance between competitiveness and health.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 av. Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-8) 25800929 - Fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http//http://www.liaisons-sociales.com ). November 2005, No. 139, 16 pp, €32. Annual subscription: €867-85.
The front page of the Liaisons sociales Europe newsletter looks at President José Manuel Barroso's idea of setting up a Globalisation Adjustment Fund to provide rapid aid when needed for people suddenly made redundant because of company restructuring. Other articles look at a new French law on criteria for EU citizens travelling to and residing in France, a conference on the health and safety of temporary workers in Europe and the social legislation implications of the new gay marriage law in Spain.
*** Youth Opinion. European Youth Forum (120 rue Joseph II, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2306490 - Fax: 2302123 - E-mail: press@youthforum.org). 2005, No. 2, 34 pp.
This is the second issue of the European Youth Forum publication reviewed in the previous European Library of book reviews, outlining other areas of the EYF's work to promote democracy and the interests of young people, working with local young people's associations and taking part in measures implemented by the UN.
*** La Lettre de l'Institut. Institut d'Etudes européennes de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles (39 av. F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503067 - Fax: 6503068 - Internet: http: //http://www.ulb.ac.be/iee ). Autumn 2005, 8 pp.
This newsletter from one of the most renowned Belgian university European studies institutes opens with a column by its editor, Prof. Paul Magnette, and goes on to cover conferences, seminars and other events held by the Institute in the spring and summer of last year, a schedule of events for the autumn and details of recent publications.
Reviews in Brief
*** EurOman Magazine. Foundation The Netherlands - Sultanate of Oman. Winter 2005, No. 13, Brussels. In the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Sultan Qaboos, this publication looks at the good relations between the Netherlands and Oman.