Apr 15, 2013 | environment, Passage au crible (English), Security
By Clément Paule
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°88
Source : Wikipedia
At the beginning of April 2013, there were several radioactive leaks near Fukushima where a nuclear catastrophe had happened two years earlier. According to TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) – private operator in charge of the damaged power plant –, there has been a leak of 120 tons of contaminated water from an underground storage tank. So far, the Japanese company has been estimating that it represents a pollution of almost 710 billions of Bq (Becquerels). Also, at the end of March, the cooling systems that the operator was desperately trying to put back in motion were interrupted because of a power failure. In December 2011, the authorities said the situation had been stabilized with a cold shutdown of the site. Yet all these dysfunctions show how unclear things are when it comes to secure high-risk areas. In January 2013, three reactors of the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant were still releasing radiogenic isotopes – cesium 134 and 137 –, which represented 10 millions Bq/Hr. Therefore, the controversy on sanitarian and environmental consequences of that disaster has not disappeared but it is fueled by ambiguities and paradoxes related to the process of reconstruction.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The triple catastrophe of the 11th March 2011 was classified as Level 7 on the INES (International Nuclear Event Scale) – which is the highest level of seriousness on that scale – and many comparisons were drawn with the Chernobyl disaster (April 1986). The nuclear incident of this power plant situated North of Kiev remains the worst tragedy of all. Radionuclide emissions – especially iodine and cesium 137 – have contaminated more than 100,000 square kilometers and led to the evacuation and relocation of hundreds of thousands. Another example is the nuclear accident at Three-Mile Island that happened in March 1979: 43,000 Curies of radioactive gas were released in the air.
These three failures of civil nuclear power have something in common. Indeed, they all generated ongoing controversies regarding human health impacts. As an example, after the nuclear accident at Three-Mile Island, a scientific team from Columbia University conducted a study in 1990. And according to their results, there wasn’t any significant impact on the epidemiologically situation. However, several other reports showed an increased risk of cancers in Pennsylvania. More recently, in September 2005, the UN (United Nations) report on the impacts of the Chernobyl accident was highly criticized by several associations which accused the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) of minimizing the number of casualties.
Theoretical framework
1. A poorly managed global pollution. Japanese government and TEPCO operations to resolve this crisis keep on being hindered by many disruptions. That fragile situation is a permanent threat for Japan but also for every GPGs (Global Public Goods) as contamination is now worldwide.
2. An uncertain and controversial record. UN experts tempered the impacts of the Fukushima disaster. Yet the widespread failure of regulations seems to reinforce the absence of confidence against the official speech conveyed by actors who have lost their legitimacy.

Analysis
The disaster that took place on the 11th of March 2011 left a large territory completely traumatized, and there are several main elements to consider when it comes to its reconstruction. Indeed, 160,000 persons have been evacuated from the restricted area and, so far, no solutions have been found regarding their reinstallation and compensation. Also, local populations and authorities were very active whereas the authorities and TEPCO showed a great lack of initiative and are now both completely discredited. Anti- nuclear protests have gained in influence – such as the Sayonara genpatsu petition, “Goodbye to Nuclear Power Plants”, and its 8 million signatures – and several political parties are now militating in favor of these claims. However, the recently elected government seems to have abandoned the idea to phase out nuclear energy by 2030 despite what the outgoing Prime Minister was promoting. Indeed, in June 2012, two nuclear reactors were restarted. Also, the national recovery process was affected by a series of scandals which involved companies and mafia organizations (Yakuza). They were accused of embezzlement and fraud. Moreover, the media reported illegal working conditions and many violations of sanitary norms as reflected by the fate of the Fukushima 50 who were highly exposed to radiation. Japan’s economy suffered a lot from this very expensive catastrophe, especially its agricultural sector and its fishing industry. Also, the country’s lack of nuclear energy had to be compensated by energy imports. Shutting down the power plant is said to cost 100 billions dollars over a forty-year period.
Damaged installations also have to be fixed, if not renewed, and that includes changing the water of the spent fuel pools. However, the main objective is to decontaminate the 2,400-square kilometer area. It represents around 30 million cubic meters of residues – land, branches etc. – that need to be collected and treated. However, the storage of hundreds of thousands of tons of radioactive mud is a huge challenge, especially because of the development of the NIMBY (Not in my backyard) doctrine in many places. Civic associations have opposed to TEPCO’s idea of releasing polluted water into the Pacific Ocean. Even though the company was arguing that it wouldn’t be problematic, that water contained several thousands becquerels per liter. Pollution control devices showed that marine wildlife had been impacted. Many fishes show a level of Cesium above the threshold limit of 100 Bq/kg set by the authorities which rule seafood products. However, several scientists say they may be higher than what TEPCO alleged. In October 2012, a study postulated that there was a constant leak at the power plant since 19 months. That study didn’t rule out a possible contamination in deep ocean waters.
Today, there is a general uncertainty as to low-dose radiations and their consequences over the next generations. In May 2012, the WHO (World Health Organization) confirmed what had already been said by the IRSN (Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety), that global radioactive emissions were less severe than expected. According to the WHO, starting the 24th of March 2011, there were traces of radioactive materials – cesium 134 and 137, tellurium 132 – in France, but their levels were 500 to 1000 times below than after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. These results were later confirmed by the UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) which final report is expected for October 2013. However, another report of the WHO released in February 2013 was highly criticized by Greenpeace. This environmental NGO say that some data were minimized. Yet, the WHO was also blamed by the Japanese government because of their alleged exaggeration of localize increased of cancer rates. Such conflicting viewpoints fuel the growing suspicion on private and public actors of the nuclear field and, more broadly, on standards that seem to be less and less observed. Therefore, that controversial management once again raises the problem of the forced pooling of a global risk.
References
Paule Clément, « De l’opacité des responsabilités à la mutualisation forcée du risque. La gestion de l’accident nucléaire par TEPCO à Fukushima-Daiichi, 11 mars 2011 », in: Josepha Laroche, Passage au crible de la scène mondiale. L’actualité internationale 2011, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2012, pp. 17-22. Coll. Chaos International.
Site de l’IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) consacré à l’accident nucléaire de Fukushima: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/ [2 avril 2013].
WHO (World Health Organization), « Health risk assessment from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami », 2013, consultable sur le site de l’OMS: http://www.who.int [3 avril 2013].
Apr 2, 2013 | environment, Global Public Goods, Passage au crible (English)
By Valérie Le Brenne
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°87
Between the 3rd and the 14th of March 2013, Bangkok held the 16th conference of the parties to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It gathered more than 20,000 participants from 178 countries. For its 40th birthday, the conference started with a call for “fighting overfishing, illegal logging, and crime linked with illicit exploitation of animal species“. At the same time, the parties to CITES removed several specimens that are now extinct from Appendix I of the Convention: As an example, the high-profile Tasmanian tiger.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The conference of the parties to CITES has been carried out every three years since 1976. It aims at representing a global regulatory body for animal and plant species trade to preserve biodiversity. In order to do so, it has an elaborate classification tool based on scientific expertise. This body of conventions is a dynamic guideline with three appendices that can be used by Member States.
In 1963, the CITES was created through a resolution that was passed by the General Assembly of the IUON (International Union for Observation of Nature). In order to “regulate export, transit and import of rare and endangered wildlife species“, there had to be an international convention. This is the result of the disappearance of wild fauna and flora because of their economic exploitation by the rural poor. That approach fitted fully with 1960s’ new preoccupations regarding environmental issues, and it preceded 1970s’ international summits. However, such an initiative wasn’t on the table until the Stockholm conference in 1972, when a plenipotentiary conference could finally be considered. On the 3rd of March 1973, eighty countries approved the creation of the CITES at the Washington Conference.
Today, with 178 Member States, environmental NGOs and private companies, the CITES remains one of the most ambitious international tools to preserve biodiversity. Indeed, 30,000 animal and plant species are protected, and there is a specific level of protection for high-profile species such as polar bears, African elephants and sharks.
Theoretical framework
1. A destroyed GPG (Global Public Good). Species of wild flora and fauna are GPGs and their safety requires the implementation of global governance in which States have to play a major role. Such a binding multilateralism seems to be the best solution to keep species of wild flora and fauna from being harmed. Indeed, they are mainly affected by international trade but mostly by environmental damage.
2. The obstacle of State sovereignty. The sovereign right of States to build their own legislative framework is the main obstacle to the achievement of this global regulatory system. Therefore, the production of normative instruments appears to be the only effective tool for that summit diplomacy. However, a growing number of environmental NGOs denounce the harmful effects of such system on species endangered through illicit trade.
Analysis
The 16th Conference of the parties to CITES shows how much Member States want to set up a global governance in order to regulate any GPG. One in a thousand species becomes extinct with an extinction rate 100 to 1000 times higher than in the pre-human period. That is mainly explained by environmental degradation due to human activities, but also because of the overexploitation of species for commercial purposes and poaching organized by transnational criminal networks and its significant impact. Indeed, legal wildlife trade has an annual turnover of €15 billion, and it doesn’t include benefits from fishing and forestry.
Without a world State entitled to set up a supranational organ, international trade of wild fauna and flora has to be regulated through an intergovernmental cooperation. Therefore, an international legal regime must be put into motion in order to preserve biodiversity – States, however, remain the sole actors able to regulate business dynamics in which they take part.
In this perspective, after several negotiation rounds, three appendices have been set up. They provide a precious tool for this multilateral arena. Indeed, this legal corpus includes species accounts based on scientific analyses and it provides their hierarchical classification: Endangered species (Appendix I), species that may become extinct unless trade is closely controlled (Appendix II), species included at the request of a Party to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation (Appendix III). Each time a Conference of the parties to CITES is organized, this legal corpus is updated – extinct species are removed and new ones are put on the list. However, in that case, decisions must be taken by a majority of the Member States and, most of the time, there is a confrontation between multiple interests. Thus, several derogations are authorized and some States don’t mind using them to avoid regulatory mechanisms whereas they usually are the ones with the most at stake. As an example, Japan has been granted the authorization to hunt whales arguing a scientific goal. This is why environmental NGOs strongly denounce bargaining that is said to take place between Member States every time there is a Conference of the Parties to CITES.
Legal trade regulation of wildlife species and plants can only be achieved through greater involvement from Member States. Yet, as of today, there are no binding instruments. Also, in terms of combating illicit trade, the CITES is not efficient. Indeed, several species which used to be in the Appendix I, are now extinct and others face great risks due to poaching. Worse still, it seems that the CITES could lead to counterproductive results. Indeed, when a species becomes a listed entity, it increases its value on illicit markets.
References
Constantin François (Éd.), Les Biens publics mondiaux. Un mythe légitimateur pour l’action collective ?, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2002.
lemonde.fr, Planète, « Constat d’échec pour la défense du monde sauvage », disponible à la page http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2013/03/02/constat-d-echec-pour-la-defense-du-monde-sauvage_1841752_3244.html, dernière consultation le 31 mars 2013.
lemonde.fr, Planète, « Le commerce d’ivoire qui menace les éléphants d’Afrique, a triplé en quinze ans », disponible à la page : http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2013/03/02/constat-d-echec-pour-la-defense-du-monde-sauvage_1841752_3244.html, dernière consultation : le 31 mars 2013.
Site officiel de la CITES, disponible à la page : http://www.cites.org, dernière consultation : le 31 mars 2013.
Mar 29, 2013 | Global Public Health, Passage au crible (English)
By Clément Paule
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°86
Source : Flickr Mikey
On the 19th of March 2013, the French company Spanghero was, once again, charged with presumed fraud. Indeed, 57 tons of British sheep meat – which import is forbidden within the EU (European Union) – were allegedly found in its warehouses. One month ago, Spanghero was already involved in a similar scandal. The company was accused of using horsemeat instead of beef in precooked dishes. Yet, this controversy of non-compliant labeling of such goods has become worldwide. The European agri-food sector is now in the spotlight, and even Russia, Hong Kong and Dominican Republic have been affected by this crisis. As a result, authorities intensified sanitarian checkups which led to reveal other flaws: Ikea’s deserts were said to contain fecal coliform bacteria. Consequences of non-compliant labeling are not yet known, however some have already started to talk about a deep crisis in the European agri-food sector. In February 2013, the NGO (Non Governmental Organization) Oceana conducted a study on the origin of fishes for sale in almost 20 States in the USA. Its results were shocking: 1/3 of the fishes didn’t fit the type mentioned on the packaging.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Starting the second half of the XXth century, the food supply chain started developing itself and became integrated in many European countries. In this process, private actors played a huge part, especially in the large-scale distribution sector with Tesco or Carrefour. In the meantime, states were deploying their action towards a flexible regulatory model. Today, this sector is an oligopolistic and specialized market ruled by several levels of regulations. Amongst those, at the international level, the Codex Alimentarius defined by the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) and the WHO (World Health Organization) in the 1960s, along with ISO standards (International Organization for Standardization). State actors also have their own food safety policies through national legislation and agencies like the FSA (Food Standards Agency) in the United Kingdom. Finally, the EU has an increasing role with the implementation of the ‘hygiene package’ (six European statutes) and the creation EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) during the 2000s.
Despite these safety nets, in the last twenty years a great deal of health crises sparked: the trauma of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) – as known as the ‘mad cow’ disease – in 1996, FMD (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) in the UK in 2001 and 2007. More recently, with a greater impact, the outbreak of gastroenteritis and HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome) caused by the Escherichia Coli 0104 H4 bacterial strain in 2012, causing the death of at least fifty people in Europe. In the killing bacteria case, Spanish cucumbers were first blame for that disease. This statement was later denied, but it was too late: exports had collapsed and several countries, such as Russia, had established an embargo. All these crises revealed many flaws of the safety nets and discredited the food industry and the public authorities, especially in France and in the UK. Such context enabled to discover different fraud in the labeling in British islands in the end of 2012. The Findus company was the first to be criticized – the media were even talking about a Findusgate. However, investigations conducted by the authorities showed that several irregular branches were involved. At the same time a coordinated plan of action was put into motion at a European level.
Theoretical framework
1. Liability. So far, every actors of this scandal have kept on acting as victims and blaming other parties of the food-supply chain. As a result, this obscure system looks less legitimate than ever and unable to regulate itself.
2. Breakdowns in the traceability process. The concept of traceability emerged after the BSE crisis. It was, for everyone, the best solution to restore the confidence of risk society within an industry which had been discredited. Those recent fraudulent practices show how unsafe food safety really is.
Analysis
This crisis shows how economic activities of the food supply sector are now deterritorialized and it explains why the food supply chain is jeopardized at all levels (slaughterhouses, traders, large food retailers). Several companies of distinct nationalities are involved (Cyprus, France, Netherlands, UK, Romania etc.), it shows that the whole process looks more complicated than ever and that transnational firms have become the major actors. Thus, primary investigations brought to light the unclear role of financial intermediaries who take part in this process, between meat producers and the transformation phase of the product. One of the main suspects for those frauds is the Draap Trading firm. This Cypriot brokerage company managed by a Dutch trader already had a record with a similar offense in January 2012. This food scandal is not a health crisis yet, but there have been major economic consequences: Tesco, British leader in the food supply field, saw its market share fall by 30%, the worst in a decade. However, the most important thing remains the direct impact on the reputation in the middle of a climate of global suspicion, as it was revealed in the first place with the Findus example. Indeed, it was the first company to be publicly exposed in that scandal. The firm didn’t only suffer from a loss of sales; its reputation was also affected.
So far public authorities have illustrated themselves in being unable to regulate the process. Public officials have to find a compromise between reassuring consumers with the implementation of several investigatory measures and enforcement actions, and to bring conciliation to a powerful sector quite keen on self-regulation. Therefore, all governments involved operate exclusively on a rhetoric action basis. As an example, the UK Secretary of State for Environment mentioned an international criminal conspiracy whereas the French Minister for the Social Economy accused Spanghero of “economic deceit“. However, such statements don’t question the system which led to these crises, they only stigmatize actors seen as deviants. As a result, some environmental activists and parties have been claiming the existence of collusion between industry and political power. It is difficult for states to coordinate their actions – as it was shown by the frictions between France and Netherlands –, and public regulatory agencies seem useless as they suffer from a lack of means.
Broadly speaking, those repeating cases of fraud stress the dilution of responsibilities in the agro-food sector and reveal an obscure and shady movement of products. The current situation is weakening the fragile balance found with the concept of traceability in the 1990s. This principle was built to bring the consumer closer to the producer, yet it also included the mainstreaming of techniques already used by the companies for cost-efficiency purposes and in order to ensure standardization. Therefore, on one hand traceability constitutes an effective control tool, but on the other hand it contributes to push an industrial agricultural model to its limits, which makes it less likely to last for long. Unless there is a thorough reform of the regulation systems, predation strategies, revealed by this scandal, seem to characterize a new black hole of the economic and financial globalization.
References
Aginam Obijiofor, Hansen Christina, « Food Safety and Trade Liberalization in an Age of Globalization », United Nations University Press,Policy Brief (6), 2008.
Andreff Wladimir (Éd.), La Mondialisation, stade suprême du capitalisme, Paris, PUN, 2013.
Granjou Cécile, « L’introduction de la traçabilité dans la filière de la viande bovine », Cahiers internationaux de sociologie (115), 2003, pp. 327- 342.
Hugon Philippe, Michalet Charles-Albert (Éds.), Les Nouvelles régulations de l’économie mondiale, Paris, Karthala, 2005.
Site de la DGCCRF (Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes): http://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/viande-cheval-dans-plats-cuisines-0 [27 mars 2013].
Mar 22, 2013 | Articles, Fil d'Ariane, Publications (English)
Par Daniel Drache
Extract
How did you become a historical materialist? You began life in Montreal in an Anglo Canadian family. When you look back over the years, how did you come to this very large, rich, and diverse theoretical viewpoint?
When I was at McGill University studying history, I was not only studying history in the sense of certain times and places — medieval, modern, European or Canadian, and so forth; but I also began to think about what is the nature of history. In that regard, one of the things I read was a book called The Idea of History, a collection of lectures and papers by R.G. Collingwood put together and published after Collingwood died. It is a rather coherent collection and it showed me a way of thinking about the nature of history as a form of knowledge. And that stuck with me pretty well through my life. I keep going back to it. Collingwood began with the study of Giambattista Vico who lived in the 18th century in Naples. He was a counterpoint to the Enlightenment. René Descartes, the great father of modern science, theorized the method of modern science based on the separation of the observer from the observed. Vico was more aware of the unity of observer and observed – of how the individual was creating the world through his thought and actions.
Later, when I began to study Marxism, I was constantly comparing the Marxist theory of history with Vico’s. Karl Marx thought in terms of a progressive history, history leading towards an ideal end, an end that was going to result in a communist society. Vico was concerned with history as a cyclical process and the organic way societies evolve from birth to maturity and decline with the possibility of rebirth and a new cycle beginning. It was a very different concept of history from the Enlightenment view of progress towards some ultimate goal.
As an innate pessimist, I found Vico’s conception more compatible with what I understood about the world. So, when I came to reflect upon Marxism, I thought that Antonio Gramsci approached it from perhaps a more subjective – a more Vician — point of view. This was the point of view of ideas, motivations, and the creation of the collective will to change, something that Gramsci derived from Georges Sorel. Sorel is another person I keep returning to who influenced my thinking – especially his idea of the social myth and the way an idea is inserted into the collective consciousness and becomes a powerful force for change.
Télécharger l‘Interview with Robert W. Cox par Daniel Drache
Feb 12, 2013 | Constructivism, Passage au crible (English), Security
By Thomas Lindemann
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°85
Pixabay
On the 12th of February 2013, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) conducted its third nuclear test after 2006 and 2009. This was immediately followed by an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
This happened only two months after a previous missile launch by North Korea which led the UN to take measures against this so-called “satellite launch“. Also, on the 25th of January 2013, the DPRK warned South Korean authorities not to support UN economic sanctions. If not, they would expose themselves to a military attack. In the end, those economic sanctions (a freeze of assets against some nationals of the DPRK and their companies abroad) were lightened because of China’s active diplomatic efforts. Yet, there were violent reactions from North Korea.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
After World War II North Korea emerged on the international scene as an opponent against Japan. It then quickly gained independence from its former allies and protectors (USSR and China) and implemented a closed political system. Today, ideologically speaking, North Korea is completely isolated. Yet, this country has kept on sparking major crisis since the end of World War II. As an example, in December 2010 South Korean military maneuvers led to limited military confrontation in the Korean peninsula.
Theoretical framework
According to a constructivist approach, an actor is never driven by interest in itself. On the contrary, it is shaped by traditional community beliefs built through interactions with other actors. For North Korean leaders, their heroic action reflects a defense of a dramatic script. The latter refers to a strong belief in the superiority of North Korea on the rest of the world. However, that magnificent representation of self (E. Goffman) remains fragile as every foreign actor is a potential threat to this script. The gap between this representation of self and the way international scene looks, can lead to dramatic measures in order to uphold this dramatic script. It is composed of these following elements:
1. The cast. If the self-representation is based on an oversized and charismatic legitimacy, the leaders have to take risks on the international stage in order to show how exceptional their country is. Thus, peaceful solutions can be easily ruled out if the official story is built on innocent parties being allegedly attacked (villagers, elderly people, women and children). Lastly, if the official story includes adverse parties characterized as “cowards, aggressive, heartless“, it will justified payback.
2. Dramatic scenes. In its national history, if the country is shown as a victim through specific scenes such as an act of aggression (Japanese imperialism, American imperialism), suffering (“comfort women“) and a response (guerrilla, autarky), it will justify violence. Finally, in the dramatic script, the more military force is described as trivial, compulsory or glorious, the more it will be legitimate. Therefore, a confrontational policy can be implemented by political leaders as soon as foreign actors affect that dramatic script. Otherwise, the country may suffer a loss of its legitimacy and its self-esteem may be affected too.
Analysis
Juche (subject) official ideology is not very concerned with the aggressive and dominant position of the country. The essential aspect remains in fighting against any foreign influence (chaju means independence). North Korea is cast in stone and that makes it more prone to be challenged from other countries. There are several examples: mobile phones were forbidden until 2008 and external communications are still banned today. Moreover, North Korea’s hostility seems to be justified by its necessity to avoid any corruption of their ideology. In December 2011, three Christmas trees on the Korean border were the cause of serious tensions. Isn’t Kim dynasty shown as a family of secular gods deified by the founding father Kim-Jong-Il and his heroic wife Kim Jong Suk? As such, North Korean calendar begins with Kim-Jong-Il’s year of birth. The greatness of North Korea’s power is also symbolized through architecture with both the 150 meters tall Juche tower and its 20 meters tall illuminating Pyongyang, and the May Day Stadium (biggest in the world with its capacity of 150,000). This hubristic self-representation needs to be taken into consideration in order to fully understand North Korean continued provocative actions. Indeed, new leader Kim-Jong-Un knows that he has to reveal its direct line of divine descent to the population and the elites. Therefore, the nuclear test of February 2013 and the missile launch of December 2012 were nothing but Kim-Jong-Un’s way of showing how manly he was. There are several striking elements to notice. Firstly, in North Korea, missile launch are closely filmed in order to make the missiles look more powerful (whereas Ariane rockets launch are always recorded from a certain distance). Secondly, the calculated speed of the rocket (claimed by North Korean authorities) was far too fast to obey the physical laws of universal gravity. Lastly, North Korea immediately claimed responsibility for the third nuclear test in the most provocative and spectacular way possible against its perpetual enemies. Those are often described, in an abstract way, as imperialists or dominating countries. The main criterion for this designation remains social class. After both the missile launch and the UN sanctions, North Korea military announced that several tests were to be conducted along with a major nuclear test. The United States, enemy, were the main target of those announcements.
In North Korea, violence is punished, yet it has been trivialized. There are many major military parades and it has the fourth-largest army in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel. According to the official line, nuclear taboo has not been internalized yet and its utilitarian function is still very popular amongst North Korean leaders. As an example, in 2010, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Ri Yong-Ho said he would use the atomic bomb “if the imperialists and their followers dare to violate North Korea’s sovereignty and dignity“.
Therefore, because of their hubristic self-representation and their cult of military power, it seems very complicated to talk the North Koreans out of something they want to do. In the end, most of their ambitions are national. Thus, more adequate policies have to be found, otherwise North Korea will always bare its teeth and, eventually, bite.
References
Cha Victor, The Impossible State. North Korea, Past and Future, New York, Ecco, 2013.
Goffman Erving, La Mise en scène de la vie quotidienne, 2 vol., trad., Paris Minuit, 1973.
Goffman Erving, Les Rites d’interaction, trad., Paris, Minuit, 1974.
Miller Steven E., Sagan Scott D., “Nuclear Power Without Nuclear Proliferation”?”, Daedalus, 138 (4), Fall 2009, pp. 7- 18.
Lindemann Thomas, Causes of War. The Struggle for Recognition, ECPR, Colchester, 2011.
Lukacz Georg, Théorie du roman, Paris, Gallimard, 1968.
Narushige Michishita, North Korea’s Military-Diplomatic Campaigns, 1966-2008, Londres, Routledge, 2013.
Feb 4, 2013 | Africa, Defense, Passage au crible (English), Security
By Philippe Hugon
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°84
Pixabay
On the 28th of January 2013, an international donor conference opened at the AU (African Union) headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in order to finance the deployment of an African stabilization force and rebuild the Malian army. This event gathered the UN (United Nations), the AU, the European Union, Japan and the United States. According to the AU, $460m are required to support the AFISMA (African led International Support Mission to Mali). Most of this amount ($240m) shall be used to rebuild the Malian army and to fund Chadian troops. The AU is committed to pay 10% of the total amount.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The UN passed resolution 2085 on the 20th of December 2012, a necessary first step towards any conflict resolution. The next step was supposed to be political negotiations or the use of international armed forces to help African and Malian troops. Yet, France decided there was no time to deploy AFISMA, to rebuild Malian military and to establish a legitimate government in Mali. Thus, the French intervention in Mali didn’t violate the UN resolution 2085, on the contrary, it was asked by President Traoré. Only Qatar, Tunisia and Egypt denied approval of such intervention (not even China, Russia or Algeria) and it was broadly supported by Malians and Africans. France is now on the front line, feeling a bit lonely despite the logistical support provided by its Western allies (aerial refueling tankers, Transall, drones and intelligence).
The Franco-Malian military operation, (Operation Serval) was a long-time planned operation. But because of the failure of the Ouagadougou negotiations and the change in the Ansar Dine position, there was no other choice left but to intervene as quickly as possible. The occupation of the town of Konna by the Jihadists was threatening the strategic base of Sevare along with Mopti and Bamako, further South. Also, due to climate conditions, the intervention couldn’t take place between March and September. The intervention of January the 11th of 2013 mobilized French airforce (Rafale and Mirage planes, helicopters), light armored vehicles and 2500 land soldiers (special forces, and 250 paratroopers in Timbuktu on the 27th of January). French troops first stopped the military advance of the Jihadists, they then took control of the Niger Bend backed up by Malian armed forces (first in Gao, then Timbuktu) and Chad troops (in Kidal, where the NMLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) was present). Jihadists scattered in Northern Mali (in the Adrar of Ifoghas) and along the border with neighboring countries (in the forest near Djabali). France allies (Germany, Canada, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates and Italy) gradually supported this operation, especially after the In Amenas hostage crisis on the 16th of January. After the initial French intervention, African countries started to deploy their troops, such as Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Theoretical framework
1. The war in Mali is another example of asymmetrical warfare. In such conflicts national or international troops fight armed militias. Whereas the former are motivated and fully equipped, to a greater or lesser extent, the latter are determined fanatics up for guerrilla activities and acts of terror. Yet, in Mali, those armed militias are not homogenous. Firstly, there is the NMLA: A cross-border group of tuaregs which follows a more secular Islam and which asks for greater autonomy in the Azawad area, if not independence. Secondly, there is Ansar Dine: This AQIM-affiliated (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) group is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly and calls for the full application of Sharia law in Mali. In January 2013, a new group which calls itself the Islamic Movement for the Azawad and claims to be closer to the NMLA, split from Ansar Dine. Thirdly, there are other groups such as AQIM, its enemy the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa which profits from drug trade, and the Northern Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.
2. This war also shows how local conflicts can now easily become international. As an example, in this situation, there are interlinkages between Mafia groups and radical Islamists. They both fight against Western presence which is commonly associated with multinational companies working in the hydrocarbon sector and the mining industry.
Analysis
The war in Mali is a multiscale situation with its specific factors and actors. It was caused by several things: Firstly, the Tuareg people had been making claims for a very long time, and they recently took advantage of the fact that mercenaries of Gaddafi were returning to Mali after the war ended in Libya. Secondly, radical Salafism has gained in popularity. And thirdly, when President Amadou Toumani Touré was in power, neither the army nor the government was tough enough against criminal activities. In fact, the military coup on the 22th of March 2012 only confirmed the disintegration of the Malian State and its army. This led Northern Mali to become an uncontrolled area.
The social and economic dimension of the Sahelo-Saharian crisis has to be taken into account despite the small share of Northern Mali in the national GDP (5%). Indeed, on one hand many young people are left with no future because of a demographic boom. Whereas on the other hand, there is a proliferation of all kind of traffics (mostly drugs and guns) plus a spread of environment and food crisis because of climate conditions and the vulnerability of ecosystems in this region. The growing insecurity made the failure of the Malian State and its regional and local authority even worst. Mali was about to become the epicenter of a crisis in the whole Sahelo-Saharian region. That is why several regional and international organizations, along with major states, agree with the military intervention, as it was shown by the international donors’ conference in Addis Ababa. The first part of the intervention was a great success thanks to air force (bombing of storage facilities for fuel and weapons, and destruction of armored combat vehicles) and the troops who took cities back. Yet, Jihadists chose to defect rather than fight which means that there will be many sources of resistance all across a huge territory. This is a very serious problem because hiding and launching surprise attacks are what they do best while most African armies don’t have the experience of such combats. Today, the main question is whether or not African armies will be up for this job. And the answer doesn’t look too promising, especially when it comes to the Malian army which clearly needs to be rebuild. Yet, a solution must be found because as in any other asymmetrical conflicts, the war could get caught in a spiral system and last longer than expected. Still, Mali is not Afghanistan, whereas the Taliban are very popular amongst Pashtuns, Jihadists are seen as aliens. Effective border checks would allow keeping them from getting fuel, ammunitions and trucks. Nevertheless, the major unknown factor in the region is Algeria. Many Algerians are involved in various traffics in Northern Mali and it is difficult to say how the authorities will deal with that situation. Lessons of the failure in Afghanistan have to be learned, otherwise all the financial assistance will be lost in the network of corruption. This military intervention must include other dimensions: political (elections, democratic power, more autonomy for Northern Mali), humanitarian, economical and diplomatic. French troops are to be replaced by Malian and African armies. That is mainly why the international donors’ conference was organized. Also, local populations have to take part in restoring security in the country, especially the Tuareg people who must join in this political and military game. There are many diplomatic commitments just like this international donors’ conference, but it is not enough to finance AFISMA with its 8000 soldiers or to rebuild the Malian army. Those are two essential points that have to be dealt with, even if a peacekeeping operation is being planned. Finally, there can’t be military support without proper international financial help (to fight against illicit trafficking, to implement urban renewal policies, to promote local projects and a decentralized cooperation etc.).
References
Gourdin Patrice, « Al-Qaïda au Sahara et au Sahel ». Diploweb.com, 11/3/2012
Hérodote, Géopolitique du Sahara, (142),2011.
Holeindre Jean-Vincent, Geoffroy Murat (Éds.), La Démocratie et la Guerre au XXIe siècle. De la paix démocratique aux guerres irrégulières, Paris, Hermann, 2012.
Hugon Philippe, Géopolitique de l’Afrique, Paris, SEDES 2012.
Jan 23, 2013 | Globalization, North-South, Passage au crible (English), Sport (English)
By Josepha Laroche
Translation: Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°83
Pixabay
Owned by Amaury Sport Organization, the Dakar rally raid (ex Paris Dakar) started on the 5th of January and ended on the 20th. It includes three types of vehicles: motorcycles, cars and trucks. It is the biggest off-road race in the world.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The Dakar rally raid first took place in 1979. Since then, the route was changed almost every year: Paris wasn’t always the starting point, nor Dakar was the arrival. In 1992, Dakar was replaced by Capetown and in 2002 the rally was organized between Dakar and Cairo.
Despite its designation, this event no longer goes from Paris to Dakar. Since 2009, it takes place in South America across Peru, Argentina and Chile. On the 24th December of 2008, four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania. As a result, the organizers cancelled the 2008 edition and decided to leave Africa for Latin America. It didn’t come as a surprise, as several editions had already been disrupted (if not threatened) before, forcing the organization to cancel several stages of the rally or to change the initial route.
Theoretical framework
1. Civilizational dynamics. In his work, Norbert Elias showed that the propensity of people who enjoy hurting others started reducing after the Middle Ages in Western Europe. As a result, it lowered the tolerance threshold of physical violence and it showed the wish to put it “behind the scenes” (E. Dunning), to punish it or to magnify it through sports.
2. An unaccomplished sportification. Elias insists on the fact that the sportification process is part of the slow effort of self-control and of evolution of one’s feelings. This has been accomplished by the civilization since the Renaissance period, along with the state building project. Sports allow a “regulated release of feelings” but they also include affections and aggressiveness. However, they are contained within a strict framework where violence remains limited in a specific time-space continuum. For the German sociologist, everyone’s inner emotions and impulses are always defined and tamed with sports in the end. In other words, sportification is an essential step on the civilizational process: it is a pacifying key-device.
Analysis
Since its creation, the Dakar rally raid received strong criticism and was a matter of widespread debate. Firstly, opponents insist on the high number of deaths and wounded people that happens in every edition: children or spectators fatally struck by a vehicle, or competitors getting killed in an accident. There have been many victims over the editions and this iron law also applies to journalists and organizers (like Thierry Sabine, in 1986). Secondly, they say it is an act of ecological aggression and a plundering of energy resources, even more today, in the context of the fight against global warming.
In front of such risks, the French association CAVAD (Group for the Dakar rally raid anonymous victims) was created in 2006 to campaign against this event. It calls for a parliamentary investigation on “various incidents and misdeeds that occurred during the rallies” in Africa and Latin America, and expresses its doubts at to whether such social disorders are appropriate. Its members refuse to become “accomplices of such a widely advertised rodeo in the land of poverty” and say this rally shouldn’t be ignored. By doing so, they condemn using developing countries as a playground while those are being “highly exposed to AIDS, hunger and over indebtedness“. For them, the Dakar rally raid is a “neocolonialist provocation with a huge waste of money and energy”. Therefore, every year, they call for a boycott of this “obscene and shameful slave trader crusade”, as they call it.
On the opposite side, the organizers of the Dakar rally raid, say they are not to blame for any physical or symbolical harm. Yet, they barely regret “inevitable” but rare accidents. As a main argument, organizers report the great support and dedication shown by both the authorities and the inhabitants in every host countries. To clean themselves, they use the “economic development” as an alibi. According to them, this sporting event attracts foreign currencies, builds new roads and other facilities which is an extraordinary chance for the local population. This Western-centered paternalist attitude not only shows a profound denial of the reality, but it also reveals how societies are culturally alienated. Indeed, some countries even ask to host the Dakar rally raid when they know perfectly well that there won’t be any economic benefits – the only big winners are the brands. Meanwhile, the local populations fail to see the cultural domination comprised in this so-called sporting event. Yet, the organization of the routes since the beginning of the Dakar rally raid already speaks on the domination of the South by the North.
Organizers not only want to make the Dakar rally raid looks like an epic, they also want to make the audience believe it’s true. Thus, they argue this event is an opportunity for the competitors to go beyond their limits, to promote cults of both speed and technical achievement. Yet, they can’t ignore that such presentation is a de facto promotion of a manly prowess demonstration in its most primal form. While rallying, competitors are engaged in a battle with no risk of physical harm: this confirms the position of Norbert Elias. Indeed, thanks to their interdependent relationship, the social ties are more linked and operational between them than at the beginning of the rally. In other words, as Emile Durkheim referred to, an organic solidarity is set in motion, strengthening the cohesion of the group. However, the process of sportification that brings them closer also enables them to show more brutality around the symbolical limits of the Dakar rally raid. As a matter of fact, the latter acts as a sanctuary for the competitors and fulfills a cathartic function. In contaminating host countries, the Dakar rally raid shows so-called higher beings displaying “signs of affluence in the most ostentatious nature way possible” (Veblen). All this leads us to believe that the trivialized – or glorified – violence of this globalized annual trespass is the sign of the implementation of a brutalization process.
References
Barthes Rolland, Mythologies, Paris, Seuil, 1957.
Douglas Mary, De la Souillure : Essais sur les notions de pollution et de tabou, trad., La Découverte, 2001.
Elias Norbert, Au-delà de Freud, sociologie, psychologie, psychanalyse, trad., Paris, La Découverte, 2010.
Elias Norbert, La Civilisation des mœurs, [1939], trad., Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1973.
Elias Norbert, La Dynamique de l’Occident, trad., Paris, 1975.
Elias Norbert, Dunning Eric, Sport et civilisation, la violence maîtrisée, trad., Paris, Fayard, 1994.
Laroche Josepha, La Brutalisation du monde, du retrait des États à la décivilisation, Montréal, Liber, 2012.
Renaud, « 500 connards sur la ligne de départ », https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct5SeoMQhew
Veblen Thorstein, Théorie de la classe du loisir, [1899], trad., Paris, Gallimard, 1970.
Jan 22, 2013 | Articles, Fil d'Ariane, Publications (English)
Par Rémy William Angora, Florent Bédécarrats et Cécile Lapenu
Evidence from 126 Assessments
www.cerise-microfinance.org cerise@globenet.org
Abstract
Is social performance profitable?
The question may be cynical, but nevertheless relevant for microfinance to keep its “promise” of being an economically viable development tool (Morduch, 1999). For years, the sector focused on sustainability and growth, measured in terms of financial performance. For the most part, sSocial performance was taken for granted, which led many microfinance institutions (MFIs) to neglect its measure and management. Concerned by this trend, pioneer practitioners, investors and donors have taken steps to address social performance by developing tools, methodologies and assessment frameworks. As criticism of the sector has increased, social performance has been mainstreamed (Copestake, 2007). But has it been expense of financial performance?There are contradicting viewpoints regarding the pairing of financial sustainability and social objectives. Some observers suggest an incompatibility, pointing to problems of mission drift experienced by MFIs that pursue profitability by insisting on physical guarantees, increasing loan amounts and targeting the better-off (Christen, 2001). Others emphasize synergy, arguing that social performance improves mutual trust, client participation and satisfaction, which translates into higher repayment rates and lower transaction costs (Lapenu, 2007). While these assertions draw on case studies, the research has not been extensive enough to draw sector-wide conclusions.Insufficient data has long been the main obstacle to answering this question. Reliable results are simply not easy to come by. Impact studies are limited, costly to replicate and difficult to compare (Copestake, 2003). Recent works using sophisticated techniques (Cornée, 2006; Gurtierrez-Nieto & al., 2007; Cull et al., 2009; Mersland & Strøm, 2009; Lensink & Niels, 2009) have mainly used financial data and inadequate social performance indicators such as portfolio size, average loan size or number of women clients (Armendariz & Szafarz, 2009; Dunford, 2002). These proxies offer little more than a vague idea of depth of outreach–only one of the many dimensions of social performance. Moreover, they only account for credit operations, effectively ignoring other aspects of microfinance.
Télécharger l’article The Relationship Between Social and Financial Performance in Microfinance
Jan 7, 2013 | Digital Industry, Globalization, Passage au crible (English)
By Justin Chiu
Translation : Anton Stzepourginski
Passage au crible n°82
Pixabay
On the 21st of December of 2012, the Samsung company was addressed a warning by the European Commission. This action was taken against an abuse by Samsung of its dominant position judging on the excessive use of its patents. Indeed, patent infringement litigations between Apple and Samsung are still ongoing in Japan, South Korea and in several Western countries. As an example, in August 2012, the South Korean Samsung Group was ordered to pay a record $1-billion fine to Apple.
In this worldwide range of patent battles between the two electronic giants, the European Commission has become the first supranational body trying to ease the tensions. Yet, the question remains as to why smartphone manufacturers don’t mind using their competitors’ patents while they know they could face legal proceedings.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
In 1983, the first mobile phone was put on the U.S market. Since the Motorola DynaTAC 8000, the development of the mobile phone market symbolizes alone technical progress. However, the introduction of the GSM standard (Global System for Mobile communication, also called 2G for “second-generation wireless telephone technology“) in the middle of the nineties was the real kick start. Indeed, the 2G allowed data to be transmitted through an analog signal, a much cheaper operation than using the previous analogous mode. At the same time, the telecommunication sector was being financialized, but after its worldwide deregulation, merger and acquisition policies started to be implemented; especially in developing countries, by every incumbent operator in the Triad. All of those are now private companies.
Once again, the telecommunication sector changed in the middle of the two-thousands when the 3G hit the market. With a high-speed network it became possible to use new services such as mobile applications (apps) or audiovisual content. Thus, this gave birth to a new economic scheme represented by three components: mobile telephony, electronics, and software. Nowadays, only smartphone manufacturers have the required technical resources to connect those three components. Meanwhile, benefits of the former incumbent operators were declining.
Today, the smartphone market constitutes a global booming sector. With 153.9 million units sold in the second quarter of 2012, this market increased by 40% compared to the analogous period of the previous year. Samsung and Apple own almost 50% of this market. The former has been on the telecommunication market for decades and now holds a large number of key patents on 3G. As to the latter, it greatly influences its competitors with patents on control interface and design. Smartphone-related manufacturing techniques are frequently exchanged between competitors, if not copied. Yet, as trade war is raging on, they have to find new adapted means in order to increase their sales. As a last resort, legal proceedings can be used to reduce competitors’ sales. Since the first trial opposing Nokia and Apple in October 2009, patent-related cases between smartphone manufacturers keep on making headlines.
Theoretical framework
1. A telecommunication sector with no order. Today, there is no form of global governance in the field of telecommunication. In fact, as they are becoming more and more transnational, the number of trials between smartphone and tablet manufacturers keeps increasing. The international telecommunication rules set by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) are now obsolete. As a matter of fact, the treaty was reformed for the first time at the World Conference on International Telecommunications in 2012. In 1997, the WTO concluded a General Agreement on Telecommunications introducing deregulation in this sector. However, its provisions are hardly implemented on this market once owned by nation-states. Because of this lack of international authority, rules are only implemented on a national basis. As to the courts precedents, they are piecemeal.
2. A transnational spread of technical data. Over the past three decades, operators got their supplies from a globalized market. It helped unifying telecommunication norms and standards at a global level. This process allows interoperability in mobile telephony, a matter of critical importance for both companies and individuals. Smartphone manufacturers are in the heart of innovative industries and their goal is to sell their goods all over the world. Yet, their smartphones need continuous improvements considering the speed of technical progress and the free-access to data. Therefore, patent infringements are strongly recommended, if not compulsory.
Analysis
Engineering technology gives relevant information on techniques, and according to Marcel Mauss it constitutes an important part of sociology. In other words, the smartphone industry has its place within international relations and thus doesn’t have to deal with economic improvements and advancements of knowledge and innovation in these target areas. However, it is essential to point out how fast and intense the changes in the market can be and, as a result, the way they impact on our society. The smartphone is not only a communication device it is above all a status symbol: as an example, Blackberry mobiles were very popular amongst businessmen. However, prices have declined thanks to the competition between manufacturers that’s why all social classes can now afford a smartphone. This is good news for customers who need to be connected at all times in order to share information with the outside world through their social networks.
It is very difficult to enter the smartphone market without a large portfolio of patents and solid legal expertise. Therefore, the main actors of this market are only transnational companies organized in an oligopoly. Quarterly sales results play a major role in the competition between the manufacturers, indeed, poor profits outlook can cause steep decline in companies’ stock market capitalization. This global market is growing fast, and its actors must always penetrate new markets or consolidate their assets if they don’t want to get kicked out of the game. Also, another problem is that the computer electronics life cycle is shortening while investment costs in research and development are increasing. This vicious circle is very difficult to break for companies facing difficulties, whereas, in the meantime, dominant companies strengthen their sales. This is why Samsung was asked by the European Commission to grant license to its essential industry-standard patents. However, in the legal struggle between Samsung and Apple, the former often finds itself in a bad situation because claims don’t deal with internal control related patents.
Out-of-court settlements happen a lot in this field. A surprising example is the settlement found in the case between Apple and HTC in November 2012. They decided to avoid litigation and they agreed on a 10-year reciprocal license agreement for existing and future patents. In fact, HTC has suffered a lot from its trials and is no longer Apple’s enemy. Today, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer no longer partners with Google and Microsoft. HTC is Apple’s ally, for now.
As long as Samsung and Apple will keep their dominant market position, this patent war will last. Ironically, the real challenge doesn’t lie in these patents but in the innovative business strategies of those smartphone manufacturers and in the implementation of an international arbitration mechanism.
References
Commission européenne, « Abus de position dominante: la Commission adresse une communication des griefs à Samsung pour utilisation abusive possible de brevets essentiels liés à une norme de téléphonie mobile », Communiqué de presse, 21 déc. 2012, à l’adresse web : http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1448_fr.htm [28 déc. 2012]
Elias Norbert, La Dynamique de l’Occident, trad., Paris, 1975.
Le Monde, « Samsung condamné à verser plus d’un milliard de dollars à Apple », 25 août 2012, à l’adresse web: http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2012/08/25/guerre-des-brevets-apple-remporte-une-victoire-ecrasante-contre-samsung_175 0814_651865.html [28 déc. 2012]
Mauss Marcel, Techniques, technologies et civilisation, Paris, PUF, 2012.
Musso Pierre, Les Télécommunications, Paris, La Découverte, 2008. Coll. Repères.
Roseau James N., Sign J. P. (Ed.), Informations Technologies and Global Politics, The Changing Scope of Power and Governance, Albany, State University of New York Press, 2002.
Strange Susan, The Retreat of the State. The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Jan 2, 2013 | Globalization, Internet, Passage au crible (English)
By Alexandre Bohas
Passage au crible n°81
Pixabay
The ITU conference (International Telecommunication Union) ended in December 2012 by a disagreement among Member States concerning the type of regulation for the Internet. However, this lack of consensus turns out to be decisive for the future of the sector while it reveals antagonisms of powers and worldviews.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Since the end of the 19th century, the ITU regulates telegraph, telephone and radiotelephony, in particular through the attribution of radio frequencies. It was placed under the control of the United Nations after the Second World War, and is still often considered as a specialized and technical organisation. Yet, this conception was questioned in the Seventies by the partisans of the New Information and Telecommunication World Order who underlined the political dimensions.
Although the Internet has developed out of this organization, it belongs to the domains of information and communication technologies. It is managed by a non-profit organization based in California, the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). This body deals with, on the one hand, the systems of domain names and, on the other hand, the coordination of actions in favour of security, stability and unity within this virtual space. Its functions confer upon it a considerable influence with the introduction of this medium in every social, economic and political sphere. This is the reason why China, Russia, Saudi Arabia wished to integrate it in the regime of the ITU despite the opposition of Western nations. To justify this decision, they invoked the right of each government to manage “Internet numbering, naming, addressing and identification resources” 1. After the vote of the proposition by a majority of States, 55 states led by the United States refused to sign a treaty including such an enlargement of competences which, according to them, would threaten the governance model and the unity of the Internet.
Theoretical framework
The international system as a “historical bloc”. According to the holistic perspective of Gramsci, the global sphere would be marked by the domination of hegemonic coalitions, with economic, social, institutional and ideological bases (Robert Cox and Stephen Gill). From this perspective, States would constitute nothing but heterogeneous superstructures, stakes of power conflicts, whereas transnational interests, organisations and groups would engender global structure. The advantage of this paradigm is to identify changes in the system as much as to escape from the state-centred tropism.
The global governances at the service of the American preponderance. Globalisation favours the rise of “formal and informal processes et institutions, whereby rules are created, compliance is elicited, and goods are provided in pursuit of collective goals” 2. Non-state actors are fully recognized to the detriment of governments which lose their privileged status. These types of hybrid public regulations ratify new balances of power while they reinforce a configuration of the international arena favourable to the United States.
Analysis
Conflicts on the Internet highlight the scope of the upheavals that are provoked by this medium in developing countries. Resulting from Western technology and discoveries, its use implies values such as freedom of speech and equality among users as much as interdependencies and transnational solidarities. In addition, its contents are available everywhere in the world and project ideologies, specific representations, and living standards. In this respect, its socio-cultural dimensions are transmitted in the rest of the world through its global expansion. Hence the distrust, even the opposition, of governing elites whose regimes enter into contradiction with messages delivered on the web. Indeed, the latter thwarts the pillars of their power by exposing them as illegitimate and by allowing increased means of action to skilled individuals. With this concept, the late James Rosenau wanted to underline growing capacities and resources of individuals on the global scene.
In addition, this opposition to the building of a numerical space unveils a reaction of Nation States against the proliferation of transnational bodies of governance where they are overstepped by non-state actors and processes. Compared to an international organization, these bodies favour implicitly civil societies. For example, the direction of the ICANN is composed of a council of sixteen members who represent all the stakeholders of the Internet: computer sectors, internet-user communities, e-business companies, notably through the Generic Names Supporting Organization and the At-Large Advisory Committee; whereas States are only associated with an advising role, thanks to the Government Advisory Committee. Although they are present, they remain without a privileged status. In other words, they are bypassed by this organization which maintains direct bonds with members of civil societies – technical specialists, militants, internet users and economic operators – thanks to regular meetings and participation within nomination and decision organs.
We could add that authoritarian states prove to be structurally weak in these configurations due to constraints that they imposed on their social groups. In doing so, global governance favours America, which is characterized by the dynamism and the diversity of its society. This mode of regulation insures it a de facto preponderance faced with the rise of state power which is led by strong men, an accelerated growth and sovereign funds. As a consequence, it contributes institutionally to forming the American “historical bloc”. In denouncing the agreement of Dubai, the United States are the spokesman of Western economic interests with their information and communication technologies constituting the spearhead. Besides, the free exercise of the Internet consolidates the competition advantages of its large firms which are already fully developed. Finally, its defence of the Internet brings it support and recognition from Western opinions, freedom militants but also silent internet users in emerging countries. Consequently, it gains the implicit consent of a hegemonic type which contributes to the expansion of its international system.
This study leads us to establish relationships between the evolution of international institutions and the structuration of the global sphere. Only a systemic perspective makes it possible to identify these links, which allows us to introduce politics in these governmental transformations which are reportedly only functional.
References
Cox Robert W., Sinclair Timothy J., Approaches to World Order, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Garber Megan, “How the UN’s ‘Game-Changing’ Internet Treaty Failed”, Atlantic online, 14 Dec. 2012.
Gill Stephen, Gramsci, Historical Materialism and International Relations, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
“Global Internet Diplomacy” The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2012.
ICANN, Nominative Committee. Final Report, 2012, available at the page: http://nomcom.icann.org.
Kelley Lee, Global Telecommunications Regulation: A Political Economy Perspective, London, Pinter, 1996.
IUT, Final Acts. Conference on International Telecommunications, 3-14 Dec. 2012, available at the page: www.itu.int/en/wcit-12.
Koppell Jonathan, “Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers”, in: Held David, Hale Thomas, The Handbook of Transnational Governance: Institutions and Innovations, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2011, pp. 176-182.
Rosenau James N., Turbulence in World Politics: a Theory of Change and Continuity, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1990.
“UN Telecom Treaty Approved Against U.S. Web-Censorship Concerns”, The Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2012.
1. Garber Megan, “How the UN’s ‘Game-Changing’ Internet Treaty Failed”, Atlantic online, 14 Dec. 2012.
2. David Held, Thomas Hale, The Handbook of Transnational Governance: Institutions and Innovations, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2011, p. 12.
