*** JÜRGEN HUBER: Eine Vision für ein dynamischeres Europa. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel.: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). 2006, 188 pp, €36-40. ISBN 3-631-55632-2.
This book was awarded the Dr. Alois Mock prize in 2006. It was published with support from the Dr. Alois Mock-Europa-Stiftung (foundation) and is more of a heartfelt plea than a rigorous scientific examination. The author is open about this, admitting it in the Appeal launched at the end of the book where he explains that he wrote the book because the issues he had been writing about had got under his skin. A young academic and doctor of economic and political science, Jürgen Huber is a visiting professor in the United States and has been staggered by the recent political changes in the world's most powerful nation. He therefore views an opportunity to be seized at this point in the Earth's evolution at the start of the twenty-first century, an opportunity for Europe to take more proactive advantage of the danger the author espies in politics in the United States. He writes that it is illusory to expect constructive policies to emerge from the United States in coming years and is convinced that it is the duty of the unifying Europe to take greater responsibility upon itself in the world and provide a viable alternative to the aggressive policies of the United States. This book, a new vision of what the European Union should become if it is to be able to take action, is written against the backdrop of this bipolar, simplified (and sometimes rather simplistic) viewpoint.
The first part of the book assesses the dangers facing balance in the world caused by President George W. Bush's war on terror, particularly the dangers arising from sacrificing the West's fundamental values. The second part describes desirable changes in Europe (the humanist and peaceful description of Europe is a little simplistic at times) in order to enable the EU to play its new role, particularly ending the clash between the West and the Muslim world that the United States' military interventions have brought in their wake. Such changes would include a new Citizens' Europe; more democratic institutions; an open continent where different cultures and religions are accepted; allowing new countries to join the EU; partnerships with Africa and Latin America; and above all, a new social and environmental economic policy to put the EU in the avant-garde of development with reinforced education and new investment in research.
The image of this new Europe that emerges from the author's ideas is not one hundred percent realistic or convincing. His enthusiasm is infectious but it would be nice to see it backed up by more convincing arguments. A 'vision' is, of course, needed in order to have any influence on how the future unfolds, but the vision has to be realistically backed up by facts if it is to inspire certainty and create the desired dynamism. The task is not fully achieved in this book.
Gabriel Fragnière
*** ROBERT J. LIEBER: The American Era. Power and Strategy for the 21st Century. Cambridge University Press (The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: (44-1223) 312393 - Fax: 315052 - 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA - Internet: http://www.cambridge.org ). 2007, 293 pp, £14-99. ISBN 978-0-521-69738-5.
If there are two bodies which have been excelling at the love-hate game in recent times they are the United States and the European Union. In this melting pot (or pot-pourri, depending on mood) of contradictory feelings, fantasies, real divergences and attractions, the title of this book by Robert J. Lieber cannot fail to arise curiosity. It is the reprint of a book published in 2005, along with new sections to deal with events in Iraq. The title of the book sounds like a course of study and Robert Lieber provides balanced reflection, aiming to avoid excess and overexcitement, on the role of the United States in the world, how the US views itself and how it is viewed by others. He looks at the nature of US power and the schools of thought and doctrine (often debated within the country itself) which guide this power. The book does not fall into navel-gazing, however, and from a study of the US projection and the image reflected back to it, along with the position of the country in the international system, the author also sheds light on other parts of the world. He enables readers to get an idea of how the United States perceives the reasons for the hostility to the US that is expressed around the world. The book obviously looks at the question of Iraq and the Middle East but also considers the United States' relations with other regions of the world, including Europe. The author feels that 'regardless of highly publicized differences, Europe and America continue to have far more in common with each other than any other regions of the world.' The author concludes that divorce is not on the cards in the near future. Several issues will raise eyebrows or set jaws a-clenching but one can obviously decide not to go along with all the analysis and it is always good, in any relationship, to know how the other party sees things and this is always very useful in order to clarify positions and restore calm minds. Robert J. Lieber provides readers with an extremely clear and well though-out book which will be of interest to people interested in transatlantic relations and/or geopolitics and international relations in general.
(FRo)
*** La troisième guerre du Golfe. Analyse politique, stratégique et économique. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'École-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: harmattan1@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). "Comprendre le Moyen-Orient" series. 2007, 596 pp, €42. ISBN 978-2-296-02474-8.
This book, entitled 'The Third Gulf War', does not focus on a specifically European issue as such but rather on an issue which concerns Europe as a mirror of its divisions and reflection of the state of EU defence and foreign policy. Also because it provides information about various aspects of the world in which the EU has to evolve. Written by a dozen authors from the 'Réseau Multidisciplinaire d'Etudes Stratégiques', most of whom are trained in politics and some of whom have specialised in military issues, the Middle East and European affairs, it looks at the Third Gulf War (the war in 2003), how it arose and some of its implications from a multitude of different viewpoints. The word 'war' necessarily involves 'military force' and the book discusses this domain at length, focussing on battle plans and how they were adjusted, for example, along with changes in the United States' military doctrine, the United States' rhetoric for justifying war, weapons used and the fallout for the defence industry. That said, the book generally outstrips strictly military issues to consider geopolitics and geostrategy in the Middle East (and also to a certain extent in the world in general), the deterioration of relations between the US and Turkey and the active or passive role of the European Union (which will have to reconsider its security and defence policy in the light of the war) and disagreement between EU member states, whose different viewpoints are described in the book.
(FRo)
*** DIETER MAHNCKE, JÖRG MONAR (Eds.): International Terrorism. A European Response to a Global Threat? Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "College of Europe Studies - Cahiers du Collège d'Europe" series, No. 3. 2006, 191 pp. ISBN 90-5201-046-3.
Following on from a conference organised by the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) two years ago, this book includes essays by academic figureheads and Hans G. Nilsson, Director at the Council, reflecting on the nature of the new international terrorist threats now being experienced and asking whether international cooperation is the right way to deal with them. They also consider the way the EU should position itself to effectively deal with these threats, overcoming its current failings. As Dieter Mahncke explains in the introduction, anti-terror Europe is like "a building under construction for which we have many architects by few common and clear plans". There is good news, however, in the fact that people are becoming aware that only cooperation will enable the building to be stabilised. Contrasting views are also expressed on the direction of anti-terror relations between the United States and the European Union. Wyn Rees of Nottingham University in the UK believes the two sides are already connected by 'transatlantic norms' that they now have to disseminate by using their influence in international bodies and trade, but other authors are far more sceptical, with Edwin Bakker of the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands explaining, for example, that there is no common perception of the terrorist threat in Europe.
(MT)
*** ECKART D. STRATENSCHULTE (Ed.): Europas Außenpolitik. Peter Lang (see above). 2006, 148 pp, €23-20. ISBN 3-631-55670-5.
This book was published following a conference in Saarland last year, held under the auspices of the German foreign ministry and the Asko European Foundation, which provides additional training for young diplomats on areas of the European Union's foreign policy. The book contains information documents from the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, along with documents from NGOs active in international cooperation, along with scientific essays and analysis. It is a highly useful working tool providing factual, well thought-out and critical views on the issues in question. The essays look at the relationship between the United States and the European Union, the new EU Neighbourhood Policy to the East (particularly with regard to Ukraine and the Caucasus), the very special relations between Europe and Islam and key issues for countries in Africa and Latin America. The editor explains very well in the introduction that Europe does not have a voice in the world if it speaks in several voices. The different voices of the authors of the book's essays are useful, however…
(GFr)
*** EWA CZERWIÑSKA-SCHUPP (Ed.): Values and Norms in the Age of Globalization. Peter Lang (see above). "Dia-Logos" series, No. 9. 2007, 571 pp. ISBN 978-3-631-55171-4.
The current round of globalisation does only involve changes in economics, trade, politics and information flows but also, and perhaps above all, it has a profound impact on the way people think, and moreover, their values and norms also influence the form that globalisation takes. Researchers from a series of human science disciplines decided to meet up in Poznañ (Poland) to "deliberate about the direction of transformations in ideas, outlooks and morality as well as in social and political life (including political systems) in the contemporary world". This highly philosophical book therefore considers the nature of globalisation, "the question of values, standards, principles and mechanisms supporting or hindering the unifying processes", explains Ewa Czerwiñska-Schupp in the introduction, and is also assesses what thus unification brought about by globalisation means in terms of risks and benefits when it comes to culture, mentality, society and politics. The book also looks at European integration, considering for example, its utility against the backdrop of globalisation, the concept of solidarity and the formulation of its values. This book is a welcome addition to globalisation and European integration literature, providing an overview and new thoughts on issues often discussed in a rather bald style though the prism of economic and political science. Some of the thirty or so essays are written in German.
(FRo)
*** DJAMAL BENMERAD: Chants d'exil - Lettres à mon fils. Editions Le Coudrier (24 Grand' Place, B-1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert. E-mail: lecoudrier2005@scarlet.be). 2007, 90 pp, €12. ISBN 978-2-930498-02-7.
A professional Algerian journalist and Guevarist, Djamal Benmerad swapped his firearms for a pen in Kabylie. In exile today in the shadow of the Berlaymont and the Caprice des Dieux in Brussels, he combines the two in his poems, which are implacable and moving calls for resistance, as the following extract reveals:
J'ai trempé ma plume
dans la bave du lion
afin que mon poème soit
le compagnon de la révolte
que j'offre à la faim
qui rôde autour de vos palais
(MT)
*** Politica Exterior. Estudios de Politica Exterior SA (49 Núñez de Balboa, E-28001 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312711 - Fax: 4354027 - E-mail: suscripciones@politicaexterior.com - Internet: htpp: //http://www.politicaexterior.com ). May/June 2007, No. 117, 194 pp, €12. Annual subscription: €99.
Politica Exterior provides articles on Europe and also general analyses of international relations. There are articles, for example, on the increased risk of regional war in the Middle East, democratisation in countries that were once part of the USSR and the way energy supplies in Africa are being covetted by big emerging economies and the United States.
(FRo)