*** MATTHIEU TROUVE: L'Espagne et l'Europe. De la dictature de Franco à l'Union européenne. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes/Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: pie@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Euroclio" series, No. 43. 2008, 542 pp, €47-90. ISBN 978-90-5201-459-3.
This book starts with a comment by José Ortega y Gasset at the start of the twentieth century: "The problem is Spain. The solution is Europe". Some 500 pages later, a relaxed retort is given by the author to the great Spanish philosopher's comment: "Through Europe, with Europe and for Europe, Spain has woken up". Marginalised in international relations since the start of the twentieth century, ostracised by other countries in 1945, sidetracked on the edge of Europe and largely undeveloped economically until 1959, Spain under Franco was not part of the European integration project in the 1950s and did not fully join the process until after the democratic transition after the death of dictator. It is this very "long march “by Spain in the direction of Europe that Matthieu Trouvé describes in detail in this fine historical book following on from his doctoral thesis. His research brings alive the series of intense diplomatic contact and relations between Madrid and the European Economic Community in February 1962, and dates back to January 1986 when Spain made its official request to join the EU, the date when it effectively joined the European club. The author looks at success and failure during the same period, along with the starting and stopping of the EU's policy towards Spain over the long-term and the challenges, strategies and figures involved in Spain's application to join the EU. The author lectures in contemporary history at the political studies institute of Bordeaux in France. He delves into Spanish diplomatic (and private) archives and the historical EU archives in Florence, where he made use of writings by figures like Emile Noël and Emmanuele Gazzo and organisations like the 'Mouvement Européen,' the Union of European Federalists and the Socialist group at the European Parliament. He added two dozen interviews with key figures of the time involved in the negotiations between the EU and Spain, from Raymond Barre to Carlos Westendorp.
In the first part of the book, Matthieu Trouvé shows how Spain under Franco moved closer to the EEC from 1957 to 1975 due to economic necessity and also, in the minds of some, with ulterior political motives. He demonstrates how Spain managed to negotiate and obtain a preferential trade agreement in June 1970, rather than an Association Agreement, as it had initially desired. He shows that during this period, the idea of moving closer to the European Economic Community "gradually became synonymous with the idea of democracy" and was used by the Spanish democratic opposition and within Franco's regime itself. A "European plan” was set out amongst the political, government, diplomatic and economic elite, making "a request to join the EU when Spain returned to democracy inevitable". The second period studied, from 1975 to 1982, starts with Spain's transformation into a democratic monarchy and the immediate request to join the EU, backed by "unanimous support from public opinion and politicians". The author dissects this shared "passion" for Europe that was able to overcome the reluctance manifested in Greece and Portugal. The accession negotiations became very long drawn-out, partly due to the attitude of the French at the time. The progress and setbacks in the third and final period, from 1982 to 1986, are analysed with the same scientific meticulousness, examining the arrival of the Socialist government under Felipe Gonzalez, when Madrid developed a "both pragmatic and political" approach to the accession talks, which also applied to relations with France. As an epilogue, the author briefly describes Spain's EU career from 1986 onwards, outlining the country's European policy.
In this chronological and thematic study, Matthieu Trouvé brings out the crucial idea that "the history of Spain's relations with the EEC was a time for reflection on the identity of Spain itself to a much greater extent than the European identity as such". Summing up, the author observes that "since it joined the European Community, the Madrid government has made a spectacular return to the centre of the international stage". The entire book, a model of its genre, shows that Spain's return to Europe was a win-win for everyone. For Spain, of course, but equally for Europe.
Michel Theys
*** JURGEN ELVERT, SYLVAIN SCHRIRMANN (Eds.): Changing Times: Germany in 20th -Century Europe. Presses Universitaires Européennes/Peter Lang (see above). "Cadernos de Yuste" series, No. 5. 2008, 548 pp, €44-50. ISBN 978-90-5201-483-8.
When awarding the 2006 "Premio Carlos Quinto" to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the 2007 version of the annual conference organised by the European Yuste Academy was dedicated to examining the role played by Germany in the European integration process. The essays collected in this book look at Germany's view vis-a-vis the former Soviet bloc and the consequences of Germany's attitude for the European Union and the countries in the region. The relations between Spain and Germany during the Hitler-Franco period are also examined, how relations between the two countries developed in the years following the Second World War, and interaction between Spain and Germany at the institutional and economic level today. The authors then examine the role played by the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) during the change of regime in Spain, examining the history of the integration process from the 1960s to the 1990s, paying particular attention to the 1980s when Helmut Kohl was in power - the period when the Berlin Wall came down. This fascinating book sheds light on the leading role played by Western Germany in the European project and Helmut Kohl's contribution.
(NDu)
*** EGUZKI URTEAGA: La sociologie en Espagne. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - email: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). "Logiques sociales" series. 2009, 171 pp, €17. ISBN 978-2-296-07837-6.
The Spanish Civil War, followed by forty-five years under the dictatorship of General Franco plunged Spanish society into silence, or at least the Spaniards living in Spain, where the censors blanked out the work of Spanish exiles. Since the transition to democracy, the academic discipline of sociology has been reborn in Spain and once it had caught up by taking on board the ideas, trends and research from abroad, it has achieved a level of maturity that enables it to invest in new areas of research like political violence, consumerism, the environment, values, knowledge, science, technology, migration and gender. Written by a professor of sociology at the University of the Basque Country, this book describes the situation in the field of sociology at the start of the twenty-first century, focussing on how the subject was introduced and developed, theory, methodology and interesting areas of research.
(PBo)
*** JAMES KER-LINDSAY, HUBERT FAUSTMANN (Eds.): The Government and Politics of Cyprus. Editions Peter Lang (1 Moostrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2008, 293 pp, €48. ISBN 978-3-03911-096-4.
Despite its small size, Cyprus is often centre stage in world events. From the movement against British occupation in the 1950s until the long-standing conflict between Greek and Turkish speakers via membership of the European Union, Cyprus has an importance that some describe as symbolic. Most literature about the island focuses on the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, how it originated and how it might be solved, but there is very little discussion of Cyprus as a nation with its own institutions, democracy and voluntary and community sector. The authors of this book fill that gap by providing a guide to the government and politics of Cyprus. They describe the various aspects of the island's political parties and politics in general, describing how the parties were created, how they developed during occupation and their current importance. They review the powers of the president, the council of minsters and the parliament, looking where decision-making power lies. The authors describe political developments in the Turkish part of the island as well as the Greek part.
(NDu)
*** ARMIN BOHNET (Ed.): Poland on its Way to a Federal State? Editions Peter Lang (see above). "Schriften zur Internationalen Entwicklungs- und Umweltforschung" series, No. 22. 2008, 325 pp, €46-50. ISBN 978-3-631-57148-4.
When a new series of countries joined the EU in May 2004, many of them were from the former Communist bloc and were used to operating in a highly centralised economy. Since then, much work has gone into reform and harmonisation to update their economies and make them compatible with the Single Market in Europe. Against this backdrop, this distinctly technical book studies the Polish budget system to evaluate the post-2004 changes and compare them with developments in neighbouring countries. The authors start by studying Poland's budget structures (municipal spending, state income and the financial situation of governance bodies), comparing them with budget structures in Germany. They set out several suggested improvements, recommending that Poland's budget system be federalised, which they argue would benefit the economy of the country. A detailed study written for expert economists.
(NDu)
*** OTHO LUTAR (Ed.): The Land Between. A History of Slovenia. Editions Peter Lang (see above). 2008, 558 pp, €27-90. ISBN 978-3-631-57011-1.
Fed up with having their country mixed up with neighbouring states and aware that most Europeans know little or nothing about Slovenia, several Slovenian authors decided to describe the history of their country so people no longer think of it as an extension of the Tyrol or a little Switzerland inhabited by Slavs. To this end, they decided to go back as far as prehistory and the ancient world to demonstrate their differences from the other Slav ethnic groups who set up in the region after the fall of the Roman Empire. They say that the Slovenians were present in the region well before the Barbarian invasions and managed to keep their identity during the various occupations until the present day, which is why they should never be put in the same bag as the other Balkans nations. The book then shows how over the course of time, Slovenia came to terms with the various regional powers it was subject to, reappearing later as an independent state that is a member of the European Union, and laying claim to its special cultural identity, an exception that the authors see as connecting up the centre of Europe with its periphery, bridging the gap between east and west.
(NDu)
*** DOMENICO ROSSETTI DI VALDALBERO: Mapping European integration through its cities. Homes International (Brussels). 2009, 218 pp. ISBN 978-2-74237000024-9.
Is the race of "activist civil servant" working for the European cause dying out? People worried about this can reassure themselves because within the European civil service, there are people continuing to fight the good fight with the same passion and commitment as their precursors! Domenico Rossetti di Valdalbero is clearly one of them.. He is a manager at the European Commission, where he is Secretary General of the Belgian section of the Union of European Federalists and writes many articles and books expounding on the European integration process for the general public. This latest publication gives free rein to his creativity in his explanation of the grand principles and policies of the European Union by means of the many European cities that have given their name to the European process for nigh-on sixty years - the treaties of Rome, Paris, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, the Cardiff, Cologne, Lisbon and Bologna Processes, not to mention "Schengen," a Luxembourg village of some 400 inhabitants on the borders of Germany and France, which has given its name to the free circulation of individuals in Europe. In his odyssey through these twenty-five cities, the author gives an overview of Europe, along with its achievements and challenges. Sixty other cities are cited in the book, from Petersberg to Lomé, Yaoundé and Cotonou. This very user-friendly book is elegantly illustrated, with photos of European figureheads accompanying cities where they achieved notable battles. The French version of this book is entitled "Villes phares de l'Union européenne" (ISBN 978-2-74237000023-2).
(MT)
*** Fedechoses… pour le fédéralisme, depuis 1973. Presse fédéraliste (Maison de l'Europe, 18 av. Félix Faure, F-69007 Lyons, France. Internet: http://www.pressefederaliste.eu ). 2009, No. 143, 28 pp, €4. Annual subscription: €15.
The phylactery in the illustration on the front page says "Je veux être Sarkovizir à la place du Klaus-trofob" (“Better Sarko-Vizir than Claus-trophobe"), giving an idea of the wonderfully acerbic wit pervading this federalist publication. It calls for the outgoing MEPs of the current European Parliament to be saved, as the political parties prepare a “European Parliament for Dummies”. On a more serious note, this issue contains a special report on federalism as a possible solution to the interminable Middle East conflict.
(MT)