Pologne, histoire d’une ambition

Pierre Buhler, a former French ambassador to Poland (2012-2016), takes us on a journey of discovery of a Poland that has emerged from its abuse by History to become a country “on the front line of a Europe that is heading East” whilst facing “its most existential challenge since the end of the Cold War” (our translation throughout).

“Nobody embodies […] more accurately than the Polish the fight of a nation for its freedom, crushed by [...]

Le rapport soutenu par les cercles pro-Trump pour subvertir l’Union

Edifying is the only word to describe this text of some 40 pages published by “Le Grand Continent”, even though nobody could have expected anything else from the far-right European foundations which share the US right wing’s attachment to so-called traditional “values” and rampant nationalism of the 19th and 20th centuries. They also share a hatred of the European Union.

“The plan of the 40-page report [...]

D’où nous venons

“From my vantage point at the crossroads of two cultures, two languages, I have never found a French equivalent of the German word Heimat”, writes Géraldine Schwarz at the start of this lengthy historical fresco running to nearly 500 pages. And she is right, as “chez soi” refers to a dimension of identity, both local and regional, a dimension of the French word “pays” (country) in the 18th-century meaning of the word, which France has spent more than two [...]

Le jardin et la jungle

The work of journalist Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Monde and co-founder of the website Mediapart, can generally be described as beautifully written, eruditely argued and militant in tone. And this book is no departure from the norm, although some of its statements could do with some qualification. It draws its title from the unfortunate metaphor used by the former High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, in a speech in Bruges on 13 [...]

L’art de la paix

By giving this essay a title that echoes that of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, the French political scientist Bertrand Badie sets out his intention to demonstrate that war, as a means of dispute settlement, is not inevitable and that such an objective in fact requires the construction of peace.

In this work, which abounds with historical and philosophical references, the author starts by reminding the reader that very early on, war was presented as a natural and [...]

Financer la transition énergétique

Over the course of 16 articles signed or co-signed by 18 authors, this edition of the Revue d’économie financière provides a comprehensive overview of the key issue of how to pay for the energy transition. It has three chapters and over to the assessment of needs, the specific natures of the various sectors and the instruments.

In their introduction, Patrice Geoffron and Christian de Perthuis (Université Paris-Dauphine) observe that according to [...]

Albert Schweitzer

“I remain convinced that truth, love, a peaceful spirit, gentleness and goodness are forces superior to any other” (our translation throughout). This quotation, which features on the back cover of this new biography by the historian Matthieu Arnold, gives us a useful insight into what drove this great man from Alsace and important figure of the 20th century. By drawing from the best sources, many for the first time, the author takes us on a journey of (re)discovery [...]

Vers la guerre ?

Although this book, signed by the French Minister for Defence, does not really answer the question – although who can, with any certainty? – it certainly highlights what a dangerous place the world in which we live has become. It also stresses the need for France – but this also applies to all other European countries – to take their responsibilities in terms of rearmament and preparing society as a whole for the many threats it faces, which are complex and [...]

Qui fait l’opinion ?

In this work, which deals with the democratic crises affecting the European countries and the influence of the “new media”, the director of the Observatoire de l’opinion [Observatory of Opinion] of the Fondation Jean Jaurès takes a deep dive into how opinion is formed and how it affects voting participation.

Antoine Bristielle’s starting point is the widely shared view that the first manifestation of the crisis of democratic representation, in France and [...]

Le défi de la paix

In this book, Anne-Cécile Robert, deputy director of the Monde diplomatique and lecturer at the French International and Strategic Relations Institute (IRIS), takes readers back over the history of the international organisations, with particular focus on the United Nations, stressing the importance of breathing new life into them in order to maintain dialogue between States and preserve world peace, before it is too late to do so. Here are a few extracts (our own [...]