*** CARLO ALTOMONTE, PIERRE DEFRAIGNE, LUCAS DELATTRE, KARL-THEODOR FREIHERR ZU GUTTENBERG, SYLVIE GOULARD, RUDOLPH SCHARPING: Le partenariat privilégié, alternative à l'adhésion. Fondation Robert Schuman (29 bld Raspail, F-75007 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 53638300 - Fax: 53638301 - E-mail: info@robert-schuman.eu - Internet: http://www.robert-schuman.eu ). "Notes de la Fondation Robert Schuman" series, No. 38. 2006, 106 pp, €10.
This Robert Schuman Foundation publication is both useful and disturbing at the same time. It is useful firstly because it describes what 'privileged partnerships' could (maybe should?) be, namely an alternative to further countries joining the EU in order, the book explains, to preserve the three fundamental missions of the EU which enlargement in the wrong conditions would jeopardise, i.e. ensuring economic growth, stability and social cohesion for its citizens; acting on the international stage; and promoting stability among its neighbours. The authors shed light on the benefits such a partnership would bring, namely avoiding what could be perceived as relentlessly flying in the face of all evidence - keeping a strong EU and giving confidence back to the citizens. When it comes to what privileged partnerships should contain, the publication quotes ideas expressed by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in 2003 on extending various common EU policies to privileged partners and strategic cooperation with them on foreign policy issues.
The publication is disturbing too because it is based on biased and (to say the least) questionable assumptions by the person who ultimately wields the pen at least. The introduction comments that the authors do not claim to provide 'the' answer, assuming it even exists. A footnote explains that the workgroup headed by Sylvie Goulard did not agree on all issues. All the same, a special, detailed sensitivity is expressed in the book. It can be challenged in several areas and since the authors themselves hope people will comment on the book, the author of these lines will take them up on the offer.
While recognising the 'formidable lever' of enlargement in terms of stimulating peace, stability and economic development, the author (or authors collective?) of the introduction calls for the lever to be used with 'discerning' (or rather 'circumspection') since by transforming the European project, it could weaken the EU. The greatest danger awaiting the EU these days is described as no longer being able to personify hope within the way it personifies hope on the outside. No doubt this is true, and yet…? Is the problem only a result of the 'most recent' enlargements? Is it totally honest to note that divergence has become more acute within the EU since the last ten (twelve) countries joined and to comment thereupon, as if there was a cause and effect at play, that Europeans have not discussed enough together the type of society they are planning to build, in other words the level of solidarity that should link them up, the level of political independence of Europe in the world, particularly faced with the United States and emerging powers, and the sharing of sovereignty that should logically follow from this? Surely it is specious and plainly absurd to suggest in this way that the old Fifteen shared the same vision of the future to be built together and to deceitfully slip in comments that while the EU meets the expectations of its neighbours by responding to strategic imperialism, it is at risk of losing its soul in the process. In the light of the current constitutional mix-up, surely it would be far wiser and more honest to ask oneself whether the EU still has a soul, since the first round of enlargement? Along the same lines, is it acceptable to swallow the call for readers to have the courage to say that some promises were made at diplomatic level without much consideration for the expectations and fears of European citizens? Europe's main political authorities, meeting at the European Council, will appreciate being reduced to this lower lever… And while the book comments that opinion polls could never be used to dictate political choices, is it really necessary to point out that it would be difficult to ignore the reticence of citizens to a greater extent? If citizens had been consulted at the start of the 1959s on the idea of creating a Community with the Germans, it is far from certain that the majority would have approved. Either way, the nobility of 'politics' lies today as it did yesterday in showing the way, even if this means not being followed and therefore having to leave!
To end on a positive note, in the book's conclusions there are a few lines which go in the exact opposite direction from the partial message in the preceding pages: 'the emergence of a more closely knit 'mini-EU' with objectives that have been made clear, reaffirmed solidarity, a considerable budget and strong institutions would radically change the question of future enlargements' explain the authors, going on to add that 'this scenario is probably even the only one that would be able to reconcile the hope of other countries of joining the EU and the hope of the populations of Europe to not feel forced in any way to leave it or at least not to be dispossessed. This is precisely the problem in fact. This problem is not the problem of enlargement but rather of the capacity of ambitious Europeans to give substance to a Europe which its citizens will dream of again, or at least its citizens who wish to share and shape this dream, the dream of the 'founding fathers'.
Michel Theys
*** Politique étrangère. D'hier à demain: penser l'international (1936-2006). Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) et Armand Colin (5 rue Laromiguière, F-75240 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40464989 - Fax: 40464993 - E-mail: revue@armand-colin.fr - Internet: http://www.editions-sedes.com ). 2006, No. 4, 379 pp. ISBN 2-200-92121-7.
The oldest French review of debate and analysis of big international issues, the 'Politique étrangère' is marking its 70th anniversary with the publication of a special issue delving into the treasure store if its past and present authors to, as Dominique David beautifully explains in the editorial, conduct a kind of polyphonic mixture of various epochs of thought. As one might expect, the reader will discover here that many controversies cross over from one epoch to another if no solutions are put forward. Via old essays (Stanley Hoffmann revisiting Raymond Aron's international relations theory, Richard N. Coudenhove-Kalergi describing in 1939 'tomorrow's peace', and Marcel Merle deciphering the world system in 1978, for example) and contemporary thought, the main threads of interpretation of the world are addressed, from conceptual questions to more concrete issues like the challenges of the grand paradigms and theories of international relations, international organisations and intervention, international governance between justice and law, the new security challenges, contemporary dimensions in the military field, globalisation and North-South relations, energy and climate issues, demographic change and, finally, the weight of cultural and religious challenges. A special anthology issue!
(PBo)
*** GERARD DUSSOUY: Les théories géopolitiques. Traité de Relations internationales (I). L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). "Pouvoirs comparés" series. 2006, 363 pp, €30. ISBN 2-296-01183-7.
Quite simply a remarkable book! Indispensable for readers interested in inter-state relations and how the world is changing who agree to dive into complex theories of the modern age and yesteryear explaining global 'geopolitics''. Professor of geopolitics at Montesquieu University in Bordeaux in France and researcher at the 'Centre d'analyse politique comparée, de géostratégie et de relations internationales', Gérard Dussouy sets the tone of the book right from the introductory chapter which, in 102 pages no less, explains in a knowledgeable and detailed manner the epistemological challenges of the global system. Declaring himself to be 'neo-systemic, neo-realistic, neo-cultural and neo-pragmatic', the author notes the return of cultural and ethnocentric concerns in connection with the history of the world, going on to observe that while capitalist globalisation is a fact, resistance to it, arising in the first place from social and economic nationalisms, also feeds on the exacerbation of cultural differences by globalisation and the threat that globalisation brings to bear on identities. Later in the introduction, he analyses with a multiplicity of references the six Western paradigms of international relations (Grotius, Hobbes, Locke-Smith, Kant, Marxist and pragmatist-constructivist). Taking a deliberately inter-ethnocentric approach, Gérard Dussouy goes on in the main body of the book to deal with the culturalist visions of the natural world corresponding to the classical 'geopolitical' representations 'as deformed by the geographical position of the observer and by the cultural, historical and social content of the space being apprehended by the observer'. This treatise will include two further volumes, one on visions of the 'world of states' and one on visions moving beyond the inter-state system, anticipating with globalisation a global society.
(MT)
*** ALICE LANDAU: Théorie et pratique de la politique internationale. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). "Questions contemporaines" series. 2006, 203 pp, €18. ISBN 2-296-01225-6.
Professor of international relations at Geneva University, Alice Landau here interprets international relations and great contemporary issues like governance, globalisation and the North-South divide by revisiting the great theoretical paradigms of realism, neo-realism and institutional liberalism. A good introduction to the issue.
(PBo)
*** JUSTIN VAÏSSE: Etats-Unis: le temps de la diplomatie transformationnelle. Institut d'études de sécurité de l'Union européenne (43 av. du Président Wilson, F-75775 Paris cedex 16. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - Fax: 56891931 - E-mail: info@iss.europa.eu - Internet: http://www.iss.europa.eu ). "Cahiers de Chaillot" series, No. 95. 2006, 118 pp, €10. ISBN 92-9198-103-6.
Elections do not guarantee stable, well-governed democracies. Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories remind us of this every week. Faced with this situation, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched 'diplomacy for change' at the start of last year, aiming to act not only on the scene of foreign policy but also on the scene of foreign society. In this issue of the Cahiers de Chaillot, historian Justin Vaïsse, head of mission at the French foreign ministry's 'Centre d'Analyse et de Prévision', studies the scope and limits of action to change society. Is the realistic paradigm of rival powers really out of date? Can diplomats be converted into agents promoting good governance? Are other countries prepared to accept them and welcome them without complaining about meddling? Can this new democracy really change the world? The author provides answers to all these questions, all nuances fully explained and backed up with arguments. In the preface, Nicole Gnesotto writes that one of the merits of this issue is that is distinguishes in the American concept between what arises from excess ideological fervour and what is a vital ingredient for modern management of international insecurity.
(PBo)
*** ERHARD BUSEK (Eds.): 10 Years Southeast European Cooperative Initiative. From Dayton to Brussels. Springer (P.O Box 89, 4-6 Sachsenplatz, A-1201 Vienna. Fax: (43-1) 3302426 - E-mail -books@springer.at - Internet: http://www.springer.at ). 2006, 207 pp, €45. ISBN 3-211-37244-X.
If the impact of the war that was being waged in the former Yugoslavia only a little more than ten years ago has now abated and the whole region is benefiting from relative stability, it is partly due to the work of the South-eastern European Cooperative Initiative (SECI). Now celebrating ten years of existence, this initiative was jointly created by the EU, countries in South-Eastern Europe and the United Nations. It is made up of Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Slovenia and aims to encourage cooperation among its members to improve the economy and social and environmental conditions, thereby reducing the danger of friction, and facilitating their integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. SECI coordinator and former Vice-Chancellor of Austria Erhard Busek, describes its institutional aspects and daily workings. The book is structured in a surprising manner because the main body of the book describing SECI is only twenty-three pages long (out of a total of two hundred and seven pages - the rest is listed as annexes). But the utility of the annexes should not be underestimated. In addition to documents concerning SECI (the constitutional agreement, list of members of the trade council, etc) and development indicators for the various countries, there is a series of ideas by SECI pioneers providing different perspectives to help readers gain greater understanding of how this type of body takes form and operates.
(FRo)
*** Südosteuropa Mitteilungen. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft (49 Widenmayerstr., D-80538 Munich. Tel: (49-89) 2121540 - Fax: 2289469 - E-mail: info@suedosteuropa-gesellschaft.com - Internet: www. suedosteuropa-gesellschaft.com). 2007, No. 1, 128 pp, €12. Annual subscription: €60.
This issue of Südosteuropa Mitteilungen is based on an international conference on the "German Presidency of the EU: Civil Society and the Human Security Agenda in the Balkans" organised by the organisation in November last year. The guiding principle is that EU security action in the Balkans ignores the individual and local facets because EU policy tends to be focussed on states, despite the fact the EU is aware of the importance of the individual aspects. This dossier calls for greater involvement of civil society. The publication is written in English with some parts in German.
(FRo)