Critique internationale - Content
No Abstract
[Macedonia: A Mixed Appraisal of European Policy]
On August 1, 2001, the European Union and other international community representatives managed to negotiate a compromise between the Slavic majority and the Albanian minority in Macedonia, ending six months of armed conflict. The rebalancing of intercommunity relations – accepted reluctantly by the Slavic majority – comes, however, during an extremely difficult social and economic context. The reforms required by the reorganization of the economy and preparation for European integration have a high social cost and feed frustrations that could translate as identity-based claims. How long will it be before the palpable discontent in society is reflected politically and what form will this take? The intensity of the reactions sparked by the announcement of new territorial divisions, the last pillar of the Ohrid accords in July 2004, provides an initial indicator of the issues around which deceptions with regard to the majority elected in September 2002 might hinge in a context where acute suspicion reigns between the two main communities.
[Public Service versus Universal Service: A Baseless Controversy?]
The concept of “Universal Service,” which was introduced in France in order to implement European directives, has been hotly criticized, in part due to its American origins. The concept is aimed at making certain essential services available to the entire population. But it is considered less advantageous to the public than the traditional French notion of “public service.” However, a thorough investigation into the context in which “Universal Service” originated at the beginning of the 20th century suggests that this alleged opposition may be unwarranted.
[The European Elections in the Czech Republic: The Anatomy of Reluctance]
One month after their countries officially joined the European Union, the citizens of Central Europe were invited to elect their European Parliamentary representatives. In the Czech Republic, the election campaign focused mainly on criticisms of the reforms undertaken by the incumbent government to meet EU requirements. How should the low voter turnout be interpreted? What do the scores of the more or less openly Euroskeptic opposition parties mean? Last, should the Czech example be viewed as displaying the specific characteristics of new members or does it simply indicate more general trends affecting all member-states?
[Burma: The Junta’s Version of a Democratic Transition]
In August 2003, the new Burmese Prime Minister, General Khin Nyunt, announced a 7-point “Road Map to Democracy.” The first step of the regime’s initiative was to reconvene the National Convention in order to draft a new Constitution for Myanmar. But the divergent political visions of the Burmese junta, the democratic opposition behind Aung San Suu Kyi (under house arrest since May 2003) and ethnic minority groups might lead to another political stalemate.
[Chen Shui-bian and the Taipei-Beijing-Washington Triangle]
The snatched presidential and vice-presidential victory of Chen Shui-bian and Lu Hsiu-lien respectively, both candidates of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which supports independence, was helped by their exploitation of Taiwanese nationalism and a desire to fuel a certain degree of political tension with the People’s Republic of China. Reactions in both Beijing and Washington to this electoral strategy paradoxically facilitated this victory that neither government wished for. But the overall improvement of Chinese-American relations since September 11 may hamper Chen’s margin for maneuver and foster more explicit collusion between China and the United States as regards Taiwan’s future, especially if President Chen does not soften his policy toward the continent or prove to be more cooperative in military matters.
[What remains of Subaltern Studies?]
The Subaltern Studies project in the 1980s initially aimed at rehabilitating the autonomous domain of the culture and politics of the people, until then obliterated by the elitist viewpoint of the historiography of modern India. Subalternist scholarship since then has gradually identified with postcolonial criticism which, under the influence of postmodernism and cultural studies, mainly focuses on the textuality of colonialism, the defense of indigenous cultural difference and the critique of historicism and the epistemology of the Western social sciences. Although it is beset by a number of theoretical problems, it has gained wide academic currency in the context of the growing assertiveness of cultural identities.
[China: History in its Infancy]
Totally manipulated in the height of the totalitarian period, the history of Chinese communism in power generally remains controlled despite political changes that have occurred. The multiplication of testimonials and biographies has nevertheless considerably improved knowledge of the past. The facts brought to light do not alter the main scenarios, but complement and have gradually modified our perception of them. This perception is progressively entering the private and family realm, a shift that echoes social changes, but also the interests of the authorities
[Attempts at Democratization: The Role of External Actors]
The end of cold war, and more so, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have required scholars to re-examine the determinants and outcomes of the democratization processes. The radical shift in the international context has created a new trend of imposed democratization which calls for a reassessment of earlier analytical assumptions. If before 1989 internal factors seemed to prevail on the way to democracy, today, on the contrary, external democratic promotion seems to be the normal path. Most international organizations practice democratic conditionality, creating incentives for countries to qualify for this status. All this poses questions about the process itself: how can we evaluate the outcome of democratisation, who is qualified to do so, what is the role of local actors ? Furthermore, the tendency to consider non-democratic regimes as a threat to the international community since September 2001, which has led to number of interventions and security-driven efforts to impose regime change, has raised questions about the effects of promoting democracy abroad. What are the long term implications of these interventions? How, for instance, will failures affect the credit of the UN, which is one of the main actors involved? How strong will the resistance be to them?
[Democracy Prescribed from Abroad: Central America or Elections at Any Cost]
In Central America, unlike the rest of Latin America, external actors have a decisive role in propagating the norm of what democracy should be. In the 1980s, the United States meant to contain the danger of revolution by spreading a model of democracy based on repeatedly scheduled elections. Once a resolution of the conflicts had been negotiated, the United Nations sought to demonstrate to what extent democracy implied the active participation of all political actors in a pacified situation. Since then, the lack of a dominant interpretation has led to a more open debate on the various frameworks for analysis, especially between the institutionalist conception certain multilateral organizations have and the viewpoint advocated by the United States in which democracy is linked to a free-market economy and regional security. The success of these undertakings has nevertheless been checked by the deterioration of the social and economic conditions in the region.
[German Political Foundations in Central Europe]
German political foundations are specific actors of its foreign policy. Largely autonomous, they are involved in transnational party dynamics. Linked to the institutional evolution of the German Federal Republic and of its development policy, they have a long experience of international involvement on different continents. Their participation in the democratization process in Central and Eastern Europe prompts us to reconsider the political dimension of their action and rethink the traditional approach of “democracy assistance” by an interactive approach.
[The UN: Crafter of Election Processes]
The account given here by Nguyen Huu Dong, former United Nations official, reflects the complexity of international election assistance. In this interview he defends a pragmatic stance emphasizing the impossibility – and foolishness – of applying readymade solutions without taking into account the specificities of each country involved. But the official’s reflections on his own experience are not entirely devoid of ambiguity. David Recondo’s observations point out some aspects: the inevitably political nature of UN involvement in election matters; the contradictions and rivalries between organizations within the UN system itself; the procedural bias implied in election assistance; the limitations of elections as a means of conflict resolution; and last, the excessive optimism about the “collateral benefits” election assistance is supposed to deliver.
No Abstract
L’absence de parole et sa traduction Commentaire allemand sur la traduction française du livre de Winfried Georg Sebald, Luftkrieg und Literatur, traduit de l’allemand par Patrick Charbonneau sous le titre : De la destruction comme élément de l’histoire naturelle, Arles, Éditions Actes Sud, 2004,153 pages
Dru C. Gladney, Dislocating China : Reflections on Muslims, Minorities, and Other Subaltern Subjects, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2004, 414 pages.
Donal B. Cruise O’Brien, Symbolic Confrontations : Muslims Imagining the State in Africa, Londres, Hurst and Company, 2003, 243 pages
