Passage au crible
A short Critical Analysis of International Current Affairs
The intention of the critical analysis reports Passage au crible on international current affairs is to encapsulate and clarify the mechanisms of world affairs. Using a transnational approach, the reports are delivered in a concise and educational format each week proposing: 1) A brief and factual reconstruction of a significant event; 2) Historical context; 3) A theoretical framework which gives the non-specialist, with an interest in international relations, access to an approach which goes further than the simple empirical descriptive approach. 4) A specialist’s analysis; 5) A short bibliography providing key references – official documents, books, articles – by recognised specialists on the matter.
PAC 61 – The Sanitary Liability of Agrochemical Firms The High Court of Lyon, France, Convicts the American firm Monsato
By Valérie Le Brenne Translation: Pierre Chabal
On February 13th, 2012, the high court of Lyon, France, ruled that the American firm Monsanto was guilty of the poisoning of a grain farmer by a pesticide, Lasso, banned in France since 2007…
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PAC 60 – The Slow Empowerment of Social Networks in China China’s Veto of the Drafted Security Council Resolution on Syria
By Justin Chiu Translation: Davina P. Durgana
On February 4th, 2012, China and Russia vetoed a Security Council draft resolution condemning UN repression in Syria. Beginning in Derra in March 2011, the Syrian revolt has already killed over 8,000 civilians…
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PAC 59 – China’s Land Investments in Africa From Agricultural Development to Re-Colonization
By Philippe Hugon Translation: Melissa Okabe
Meetings dedicated to food security multiplied at the beginning of 2012, while studies reporting the assessment of land transactions show that between 2000 and 2010, on 200 million hectares of monopolized land…
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PAC 58 – The harsh governance of the Internet The closing of the Megaupload site by the American authorities
By Alexandre Bohas Translation: Melissa Okabe
The Megaupload affair could simply be considered as the last of a long series of copyright disputes. But its global character as well as its consequences, with the rejection of the PIPA and SOPA laws…
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PAC 57 – The Environmental and Sanitation Cost of Chinese Development The Pollution of the Longjiang River by the Mining Business Guangxi Jinhe Mining Co. Ltd.
By Valérie Le Brenne Translation: Davina Durgana
On January 15th, 2012, mining company Guangxi Jihne Mining Co. Ltd. Polluted the Longjiang river (situated in the autonomous region of Guangxi, south of China) by dumping cadmium…
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PAC 56 – The economic stakes of community conflicts Nigeria undermined by its internal divisions
By Philippe Hugon Translation: Melissa Okabe
At the beginning of 2012, Nigeria, ally to the United States and Great Britain, has been undermined by two great crises: 1) that of the North-South confrontation characterized by the spiral…
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PAC 55 – Ostracized North Korea The Death of President Kim Jong-Il
By Thomas Lindemann
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°55
The death of President Kim Jong-Il and the probable succession by a triumvirate driven by his son Kim Jong-Un raises the question again of available options to appease and transform the North Korean regime…
PAC 54 – The crimes of Cultural Relativism The Death Sentence of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani
By Armelle Le-bras-Chopard Translation: Melissa Okabe
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani death sentence for alleged adultery proves symbolic of the violation of human rights and the situation of the women under sharia law which rages in Iran. ..
read morePAC 53 – Public Health Battles Against the Interests of Private Subcontracting The PIP (Poly Implant Prothesis) Breast Implants Health Scandal
By Armand Suicmez
Translation: Melissa Okabe
Passage au crible n°53
On January 4, 2012, the investigating judge of the city of Marseille led a search on the premises of the French PIP (Poly Implant Prosthesis) company located in the Var region, following the scandal over the breast implants…
PAC 52 – An Erroneous Concept of Power The Acquisition of European Firms by China
By Alexandre Bohas
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°52
Many observers are moved by the iconic movement of firms operated on the Old Continent by the Chinese, while at the same time, they regret the outsourcing and Foreign Direct Investment of European firms outside of Europe…
PAC 51 – The Desecration of the Diplomatic Monopoly of States The Appearance of U.S. Soldier Manning in Military Courts, December 16th, 2011
By Josepha Laroche
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°51
On December 16th, 2011 American soldier Bradley Manning appeared before the military court in Fort Meade, Maryland. He was suspected of having provided Wikileaks between November 2009 and May 2010 American army…
PAC 50 – The Triumph of the American Way of Life The Failure of the Vehicle of the Indian Car, The Nano
By Alexandre Bohas
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°50
Announced with a bang by Western media, the Nano was hailed in March 2009 as the car of the emerging world, while others have condemned the pollution that its mass-market production would entail…
PAC 49 – The Formation of a Transnational Space of Indignation The World Day of October 15th, 2011
By Clément Paule
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°49
Five months after the emergence of the 15-M Movement (Movement of May 15th), the success of the world day of indignation demonstrates the consolidation of a new transnational space of social movements…
PAC 48 – From Just War to Just Peace The death of Mouammar Kadhafi, October 20th, 2011
By Jean-Jacques Roche
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°48
The National Council of Transition announced that the former Libyan leader, Mouammar Kadhafi, was killed on October 20th, 2011 and was buried that Tuesday in a secret location somewhere in the Libyan Desert…
PAC 47 – The Deficit of Economic Governance in the Heart of the Euro Zone The Crisis of the Sovereign Debt of Greece
By André Cartapanis
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°47
The crisis of the sovereign Greek debt is far from being resolved. These uncertainties remain based on the magnitude of the drop in ratings, which now inevitably must be assumed by the holders of this debt…
