*** YVES LUGINBÜHL (Ed.): Nouvelles urbanités, nouvelles ruralités en Europe. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2007, 532 pp, €44-90. ISBN 978-90-5201-954-3.
An invaluable follow-up to a scientific conference at the Council of Europe a few years ago, organised together with the CNRS in France and the Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris X Nanterre and Paris VIII Saint-Denis Universities, this book provides a previously unpublished explanation of the role now occupied by towns and countryside in the evolving Europe. In 41 articles and 12 special sections, nearly 80 European researchers representing various disciplines - anthropology, sociology, social sciences, ethnology, architecture, geography, economics, agronomy, public law and philosophy - are at pains to identify the still largely invisible dynamics that can be the harbinger of new forms of working, living, getting around and managing nature in rural and urban European landscapes. Yves Luginbühl explains in the introduction that there is a two-pronged central hypothesis underlying the book: it assumes that towns and the countryside have recorded the impact of big global movements over the past twenty years in different ways; and towns and the countryside still retain a heuristic capacity to experience social and spatial diversity, and despite speeches claiming the final victory of the city over the countryside, they are both subject to the same dynamic laws due, in particular, to the homogenisation of lifestyles. This leads on to a second hypothesis, summarised by the book's editor, an agronomist and geographer: "One assumes that social actors do not necessarily fit into the lifestyles that the main directions of the global economy encourage them to follow, but that they get round them, inventing new ways of living, new ways of adjusting the development of productive systems, new political areas and new ways of managing their environment".
The relevance of these hypotheses emerges and is irresistibly confirmed in the course of the book, which is of a rare density and structured around four main areas of study. The first takes as its starting point that modes of living shed useful and innovative light on the dynamics of rebuilding and adjusting society and rural and urban areas, with the researchers looking with this in mind at changing first and second home ownership, how people enjoy their leisure time, factors intervening in the choice of habitat, mobility, and new forms of sociality and solidarity. The second area of research looks at the reorganisation of productive systems in the twin movements of company concentration and the outsourcing of work at European level. In this connection, the book provides an elegant, detailed demonstration that rural and urban areas are experiencing these processes in a different way and, as Yves Luginbühl points out, they are transforming social forces at work: "new conceptions of work are appearing both in farming, where salaried workers are emerging and environmental issues are generating new forms of professionalism, and in industry and services, where informal work is crystallising forms of resistance and initiatives to deal with the increased precariousness of work". It should be noted that particular attention is paid to the differences between rural areas in Western and Central and Eastern Europe, although it is a fact that the rural areas of 'old' Europe do not present the same responses to global processes, with the Common Agricultural Policy itself being a differentiating factor. The book also shows that it is no longer appropriate to associate the rural world with farming and the urban world with industry or services, because "the dynamics tend to redeploy the industrial mode of production across all areas".
The third area of research is the spatial re-compositions which, from local to European level, express new forms of autonomisation and hierarchy of political powers. The authors aim to explore the exercise of citizenship in this connection and discern the new democratic forms which Europe, at its various levels, is moving towards. Finally, environmental issues are studied through the meaning they give to collective action and public action. This fine book provides a wealth of information and explanations which every European politician at European, national or local level, should have at arm's length
Pierre Bouvier
*** GILBERT NOËL, EMILIE WILLAERT: Georges Pompidou, une certaine idée de la modernité agricole et rurale. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (see above). "Georges Pompidou - Archives" series, No. 2. 2007, 481 pp, €43-90. ISBN 978-90-5201-057-1.
Firstly as prime minister under General de Gaulle, and then as President of France himself, Georges Pompidou was a key player in the updating of French agriculture, along with rural innovation, sustained liaison with professional organisations, and the setting up of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. He felt there should be a 'Green Europe' at the heart of the European project and led constant battle in this connection at the time when enlargement of the EC to the UK was being prepared, to ensure there was no dilution of the Common Agricultural Market, which explains the utility of this book, illustrating Pompidou's ideas on farm and rural issues and his strategy to promote his ideas at national and European level. This collection of documents, collected by the Georges Pompidou Association, is pooled from a wide range of speeches and media interventions by Pompidou himself, the French Presidency's secretariat-general, documents provided by people who worked with the statesman like Pierre Lelong and Michel Woimant, who worked on farm and rural issues. In addition, officials and other leading figures speak about their work at the time and analyse Pompidou's action. There is a thematic and chronological index commenting upon the documents, and annexes of further information to help readers understand France's role in the process of setting up a Green Europe.
(PBo)
*** CAOIMHÍN MACMAOLÁIN: EU Food Law. Protecting Consumers and Health in a Common Market. Hart publishing (16C Worcester Place, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - e-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Modern Studies in European Law" series, No. 13. 2007, 285 pp, £35. ISBN 1-84113-498-8.
There has been an alarming proliferation of food crises and other food scandals in recent years, to such an extent that the issue has now become a major concern for ordinary people. The scandals have revealed the authorities' lack of mechanisms to prevent or solve such food crises. Aware of these gaps, the European Union wanted to introduce legislation to improve the protection of European citizens and ensure higher quality food standards. This did not prove easy, however, because the legislation governing the production and marketing of food products is itself a reflection of strongly held views and national agendas, which complicates matters enormously. Moreover, the free circulation of goods and the principle of mutual recognition that prevails within the EU are principles which can, to a certain extent, act against high quality food standards. The author, senior lecturer at Trinity College in Dublin, studies the entire issue in this comprehensive volume. He starts by examining the legal protection enjoyed by free circulation of food within the EU and the derogations authorised for member states in order for them to protect health and safety and safeguard the consumer interests. He goes on to explain how international trade influences the EU's food laws, before looking in greater depth at food crises themselves and the resources at the EU's disposal for solving them. Food law and related problems, like obesity and legislation on GMOs, organic farming, animal welfare and food product appellations of are also examined.
(NDu)
*** MARC LAFFINEUR: Les OGM en Europe. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 7 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40630033 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Documents d'information" series, No. 247. 2007, 50 pp, €3-50. ISBN 978-2-11-123024-8.
This brief comparative study looks at genetically-modified organisms, their pros and cons, and EU regulations. The way each of the EU member states reacts politically to GMOs and sensitivity among public opinion in this connection are then described, along with national expert bodies.
(MT)
*** WOLF-DIETRICH BRETTSCHNEIDER, ROLAND NAUL (Eds.): Obesity in Europe. Young people's physical activity and sedentary lifestyles. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse,CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "Sport Sciences International" series, No. 4. 2007, 323 pp, €45-80. ISBN 978-3-631-56469-1.
The problem of obesity has been an issue on the other side of the Atlantic for many years now and is spreading at an alarming rate throughout all EU countries. Some of the most rapidly expanding waistlines are found amongst teenagers, who tend to eat food stuffed with fat and sugar, and have more sedentary lifestyles these days, sitting in front of TV screens and computers for hours on end. As young Europeans get fatter and fatter (the Commission published a report on the issue in 2003) and medical science is lacking information in this field (with a dearth of figures on childhood obesity, nutritional habits and physical exercise and sport), this collection of essays analyses the lifestyles of teenagers in Europe. The first of the three sections looks at the link between lack of physical exercise and cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems and obesity, showing that the gap between young people taking exercise and those not taking exercise is getting even wider. The second part of the book shows that physical activity is related to cognitive performance but research has not yet established direct cause and effect. The essays also outline efforts made in prevention programmes, particularly in Germany, and highlight the need for young people to have a healthier environment through the removal of risk factors like high-sugar drink machines in schools. The last part looks at the situation in the various countries and the cultural background. It reveals a decline in young people's physical condition in Europe, where young people are making ever greater use of modern technology rather than going out and getting exercise. A distinctly disturbing situation…
(NDu)
*** STEPHEN WEATHERILL: European Sports Law. Collected Papers. TMC Asser Press (P.O. Box 16163, 2500 BD The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: (31-70) 3420300 - Fax: 3420359 - Internet: http://www.asserpress.nl ). "Asser International Sports Law Series". 2007, 379 pp. ISBN 978-90-6704-243-7.
Stephen Weatherill is Jacques Delors Professor of European Law at Somerville College in Oxford, and one of the academics paying greatest attention to European law and its impact, often indirect, on the world of professional sport. Prefaced by lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, this book is a collection of papers by Weatherill from 1989 to 2006. Following a general description of how sport meshes with the Community dimension, the author picks apart the legal questions underlying the Bosman Ruling and the issues it brought up concerning measures to combat doping and the sale of television broadcasting rights. This is a reference book on European sports law!
(MT)
*** WALTER LEAL FILHO, FRANZISKA MANNKE, PHILIPP SCHMIDT-THOME (Eds.): Information, Communication and Education on Climate Change - European Perspectives. Peter Lang (see above). "Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability" series, No. 26 2007, 213 pp, €32-50. ISBN 978-3-631-56682-4.
Natural catastrophes like hurricanes and the heatwaves in Europe in 2003 provided proof, if proof were needed, that climate change is a major threat facing the modern age. It is now recognised that most of the climate change over the past fifty years has been caused by human activities like deforestation and the use of fossil fuels, to name but two. Now that the problem has been recognised, it is time to try and solve it. Human beings will have to change their habits of often nearly a lifetime and ensure the people coming after us do not make the same mistakes. This is the aim of the book, which seeks education methods, new approaches and projects to deal with the problem. The authors show how education, communications and training play a major role in restoring balance in the climate. In twelve chapters, they describe ways of adapting infrastructure to the new situation and providing better protection against the inherent risks for communities which should themselves monitor their own carbon dioxide and monoxide emissions and actively work on keeping them at the lowest possible level. The authors also describe research into methods for raising awareness of the issue in specific sectors of the population. Several chapters cover the crucial role of education in this connection, looking at how climate change is covered at institutional level and in the scientific community in Italy, and how new technology like DVDs and the internet can be used to send out a more targeted message to reach a wider audience.
(NDu)