Critique internationale - Content
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Andrew Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe. Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht, Ithaca, Cornell University Press et Londres, Routledge, 1998.
Thomas (Robert), Serbia under Milosevic. Politics in the 1990's, Londres, Hurst, 1999, XX-443 pages.
Wank (David L.), Commodifying Communism. Business, Trust, and Politics in a Chinese City, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999, XIV-298 pages.
Weiss (Linda), The Myth of the Powerless State, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1998, XVII-260 pages.
Uvin (Peter), Aiding Violence. The Development Enterprise in Rwanda, West Hartford, Kumarian Press, 1998, IX-275 pages.
Traduction française : L’aide complice ? Coopération internationale et violence au Rwanda, Paris, L’Harmattan, 1999.
Warnier (Jean-Pierre), Construire la culture matérielle. L’homme qui pensait avec ses doigts, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 1999, 176 pages.
[Middle East : Weak states, and the grounding of nations]
Politics in the Middle East takes on two logics : the dominant, which is based on the rootedness of nation-states, and the recurrent, or infra- and supra-national movements (ethnic nationalism, Islamism). The main problem is that many states (Syria, Saudia Arabia, Iraq) remain fragile because they refuse to open the political arena, permitting the integration of the general populace. Also, the arbitration role played by the United States, whose only strategy is to perpetuate this role, blocks the political evolution of these states. Transnational actors preserve their capacity to mobilize those left outside the political arenas of the region, without being able to modify the regional political stakes.
[The linguistic stakes of the Internet]
Whether happily or with much regret, the general assumption is that the Internet is the royal path by which the English language will complete its conquest of the world. But the large majority (85%) of English language pages on the Net only reflects the still very unequal distribution of this technology, which should progressively rectify itself. Since supply is virtually infinite on the Internet, the massive presence of English does not necessarily signify the decline of other languages. A survey of 2.5 million Web pages shows that, in non-Anglophone countries well connected to the Web, English is already a minority. Besides, the Web offers world access to newspapers in all languages whereas only English benefits from such accessibility in the classic media forms (CNN). And other Internet applications such as discussion groups or electronic mail add to linguistic diversity. Nonetheless, it is highly unlikely that this technology will fundamentally alter public debate and the constitution of national communities.
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[Civil war and charity works in Algeria]
After many years of clientelist practice amongst the FLN elite, the charisma of those who fought for independence has expired. A new force - the FIS - has taken over : through a strategy of charity works conducted in the name of Islam, those who were elected to municipal power in 1990 aroused the enthusiasm which led to the Islamist victory in the 1991 legislative elections. The interruption of the electoral process and the civil war gave rise to other figures of the "benefactor": the emir of the guerilla, and new elites such as the militiaman or the RND elected official. The war, racketeering, the liberalisation of the economy, and international aid lavished on the regime have established opportunities for enrichment, which expanded the possibilities for "charity". However, this has not led to the exceptional combination of charity works and a politico-moral ideal, which was central to the success of the FIS
[Hindu nationalism and the welfarist strategy. Diffusing the egalitarian demands of the low castes]
Since its inception in 1925, the main Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has always been less interested in capturing state power than in transforming society. Its goal is to reshape the minds of Hindus along nationalistic lines through grassroots activities. In order to reach the untouchables, who are generally not attracted to its brahmanical style, the RSS has started social work programs. This welfarist strategy reflects the almost aesthetic sense of dedication amongst RSS activists. Therefore, its guiding logic is not simply instrumental. Yet it does not aim at emancipating the untouchables from the caste system ; it is intended to diffuse the increasing egalitarian demands of the low castes by showing that upper castes can help them. The RSS’ efforts to imbue the untouchables with a new sense of Hindu-ness and to maintain them in a social hierarchy which is represented as harmonious only impacts upon the less assertive untouchable castes.
[Competing "philanthropists" in Rio’s favelas]
Since the mid 1980s, the return to multiparty politics in Brazil has been accompanied by an increase in social inequalities. In the context of austerity and hence vulnerability, those who inhabit the peripheries of large cities are sought out by at least three kinds of actors : politicians during electoral campaigns, drug traffickers, and members of evangelist churches. Their sometimes crude strategies of charity works involve creating clientelist relations in favelas with large concentrations of voters ; terrorizing neighborhoods, while at the same time constructing relationships of mutual protection ; and extending their hold over local consciousness. These actors meet and compete in the favelas. By constructing vertical loyalties, their strategies have a conservative social eff
[The Front National (FN) : between clientelism and the quest for social roots]
After the massive success of J.-M. Le Pen among the working classes and the unemployed during the presidential elections of 1995, the Front National (FN) has revised its discourse on "the social". The majorities won in four southern municipalities in 1995 and 1997 gave the party the means to revive its social assistance associations (Fraternité française, Front antichômage) and to develop a more ambitious strategy of charity works. However, this hardly came to pass : mistrust for all independent organizations and a profound disinterest in the impoverished (albeit potential electors) were such that the municipal leaders of the FN chose to stay on the more traditional path of clientelism, which deteriorated into nepotism and the compensation of activists
