Book Reviews

Does the EU have a Value-Driven Vision of the World?
Sharon Pardo
Review of: Values and principles in European Union foreign policy / edited by Sonia Lucarelli and Ian Manners. - London and New York : Routledge, 2006. - xvi, 254 p. (Routledge Advances in European Politics). - ISBN 0-415-37136-0
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American Hegemony Demands a Different Kind of Leadership
Emiliano Alessandri
Review of: Liberal order and imperial ambition : essays on American power and world politics / G. John Ikenberry. - Cambridge ; Malden : Polity, 2006. - vii, 300 p. - ISBN 0-7456-3649-7; 0-7456-3650-0 (pbk)
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The US and the EU: An Alliance with no Alternative (also in Italian)
Gianni Bonvicini
Review of: Alleanze alla prova : Europa e Stati Uniti tra cooperazione e conflitto / a cura di Carlo Secchi, Enrico Sassoon. - Milano : Egea, c2006. - vi, 270 p. (Itinerari). - ISBN 88-8350-076-8
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Recent Publications

Theories & approaches

The dynamics of states : the formation and crises of state domination / edited by Klaus Schlichte. - Aldershot ; Burlington : Ashgate, c2005. - x, 213 p. - ISBN 0-7546-4504-5
The king is dead, long live the king ... The state is once again the focus of this book, the outcome of a debate among scholars from various nations. Recognising that the state has been going through an evolutionary crisis in recent times, they make an effort to work out a new definition - using a socio-political approach - that takes account of a broad range of factors and, in particular, the conflicting relations within and external to a state and the differences between a state's image and its practice. This original perspective is applied to seven case studies, almost all taken from non-OECD regions (India, North Africa, Mexico, Liberia, China, Uganda and Pakistan), with a chapter on each.
The authors hope that the comparison may also be usefully extended to western regions - even though they realise that it is not easy to predict the future of states - and that a new international political sociology will develop that follows the process of the reconfiguration of "state domination" and identifies new forms of it. (M.Cri.)

La guerra ineguale : pace e violenza nel tramonto della società internazionale / Alessandro Colombo. - Bologna : il Mulino, c2006. - 330 p. (Ricerca). - ISBN 88-15-11074-7
This essay examining the relationship between the rules of war and the norms for international co-existence turns into an enquiry into a dual crisis as the author is convinced that every weakening of the former is a sign of the enfeeblement of the latter. In the first part of the book, he deals with the limitations on war and why they have held up; in the second part, he investigates the limitations on the international order and its erosion. The starting point for his analysis is terrorism and the distinction between war and peace. Three chapters substantiate the first part. The first is dedicated to the use of terror, in battle and outside of it, and in interstate wars, and the progressive erosion of the relationship between the rule and the exception in international co-existence. The next two chapters deal with the conditions that make limitations on war possible, specifically, power in chapter two and institutions in chapter three. More precisely, the latter points out the parallelism between war and play, war and duels, by analysing the sphere of these limitations, why they hold and the way in which the players commit themselves to them. The assumption behind these curbs - defined as "groziani - is that the subjects that fight a regulated war consider themselves interconnected to a set of values, interests and common rules.
In the second part of the book, the first chapter deals with peculiar relationship that the modern political-legal order established between forms of war and forms of international co-existence; the second studies the decline and collapse of the modern political-legal order, the origin of violence in the 20th century and what has been done to counter both; the third chapter, finally, looks at the current context, wondering whether the conditions for putting limitations on war have been re-established.
The author admits that the point of reference for interpreting the crisis of the present international order is rooted in Euro-western political and legal events or, in other words, "the thinking that still constitutes the core of global discourse on peace and war is that which developed in the last five centuries, first in Europe and later in its American prolongation". (M.Cri.)

Introduzione alla politica mondiale / Fabio Fossati. - Milano : Franco Angeli, c2006. - 336 p. (Politica Studi ; 67). - ISBN 88-464-7301-9
This book, intended as a manual on international relations, summarises and analyses the questions relevant to political research - the so-called fundamentals needed to understand global politics - at times working out new theories, but deliberately leaving open some "areas of uncertainty".
The book is structured around thematic chapters (foreign policy, global order, military policy, international cooperation, global political economy) rather than around schools of thought, nevertheless, much of it is dedicated to the major western political cultures (conservative, liberal, "constructivist" socialdemocratic, "Manichean" socialist) and their relationship with global politics. Starting out from these cultures, the author (university lecturer in international relations) tries to work out four diplomatic models aimed at determining the regularity of certain behaviour. The book's underlying thesis is that after 1989 and, above all, after 9/11, ideologies play a more important role in the West and that scholars should define their characteristics so as not to be too influenced by their values.
In the conclusions, the author analyses the relationship between ideologies and political actors, putting forward some hypotheses and an evaluation of the interpretative capacities of the various theories (realist, liberal, Marxist) in each of the thematic areas considered.
The book ends with a rich bibliography, also divided into thematic areas. (M.Cri.)

Painful choices : a theory of foreign policy change / David A. Welch.- Princeton and Oxford : Princeton University Press, c2005. - xii, 275 p. - ISBN 0-691-12340-3
This book, which tries to build a theory that anticipates the behaviour of a state, reads almost like an adventure novel. While wondering about its practicability, the author tries to elaborate a theory of foreign policy change.
Rejecting the effectiveness of a theory to explain the normal behaviour of a state (where behaviour of a state is meant - as it usually is - the decisions of its policymakers with respect to their objectives), the author tries to identify exceptional state behavioural patterns. In doing so, he is inspired by three theories that substantially justify policy inertia: the theory of organisation; cognitive and motivational psychology; and the prospect theory. Thus, he works out a set of hypotheses: 1) foreign policy change is less frequent in states with autocratic regimes and little bureaucracy; 2) foreign policy change is more probable when the policy has repeatedly or catastrophically failed or when the leaders are convinced that it is about to; 3) the leaders are inclined to pay the inherent foreign policy costs (or accept the risks) in order to avoid losses rather than to make equally important gains. The corollary: only the prospect of enormous gains can motivate a foreign policy change.
Thus, the author sets out to test his theory with a few case studies that are apparently similar with respect to their rather long timespan. Thus, in Chapter 3, he wonders why Argentina took up arms to solve the Malvinas dispute with Great Britain while Japan persisted in using diplomatic means to recover the northern territories from Russia. Instead, Chapter 4 compares two political decisions of the same state: the United States' use of war in Vietnam in 1965 and its withdrawal in 1973. The fifth chapter tests the theory in the economic field: rather than the use of force, it examines three attempts, of which only the last was brought to completion, to establish a free trade zone with the United States, respectively in 1911, in 1948 and in 1988.
In the conclusions, the author sums up the limitations and potential of his theory, its implications for the theory of international relations in general and for the behaviour of policymakers. "We do not need to explain and anticipate state behavior. We need only explain and anticipate the deviations. Sometimes the best antidote to skepticism is simply to ask a slightly different question". (M.Cri.)

European and transatlantic security

Hard power, soft power and the future of transatlantic relations / edited by Thomas L. Ilgen. - Aldershot ; Burlington : Ashgate, c2006. - xiv, 207 p. - ISBN 0-7546-4753-6
The volume sets out to illustrate the present and future dynamics of the Atlantic partnership by studying the security and economic relations. The essays are grouped into four sections: in the first, Ilgen and Nye examine the evolution of the institutions (NATO, IMF, WTO on the one hand and the EU on the other) through which transatlantic relations grew and the kind of power resources that have developed in Europe and the United States as a consequence of these changes. The authors point out how integration and enlargement have favoured the consolidation of Europe's soft power resources ("the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments"), making the EU the closest competitor to the US. There has been a sharp drop in US soft power in Europe (and the rest of the world), but transatlantic relations can still be improved, on the condition that the US balances hard and soft power. Treverton and Coker analyse the structural changes in NATO and the ESDP and the divergence between the US and European security cultures. The two authors agree with Ilgen and Nye that "a viable post-modern alliance" is possible, but only if the US administration changes policy. In their opinion, it would be in the US interest to consider the EU's soft power a crucial resource for achieving shared objectives rather than a threat to what remains of transatlantic cooperation. They nevertheless see numerous obstacles in the path of such a process.
The second part of the book is dedicated to economic relations, considered the more stable dimension of the partnership. Analysis centres on the potential of the euro as a competitor of the dollar in the global monetary system (in particular, the euro-dollar rivalry in the Middle East) and the disputes that have characterised US-European trade relations both in the multilateral sphere (up to the Doha Round) and bilaterally (Airbus, GMOs, Microsoft, etc.). The authors agree on defining the rivalry between the US and Europe as "benign".
The last section of the book investigates the impact that domestic policies have on transatlantic relations. Further studies are on trade-related issues (agricultural subsidies and GMOs) which clearly illustrate how interests and domestic policy decisions create serious tensions between the US and Europe. The section concludes by looking at the strengthening of anti-Europeanism and Euro-scepticism in the United States - a phenomenon linked to the US agenda of British Euro-sceptics and the European agenda of US neo-conservatives - which the author nevertheless considers of little import as it is restricted to an elite. (A.B.)

The Nordic countries and the European security and defence policy / edited by Alyson J.K. Bailes, Gunilla Herolf and Bengt Sundelius. - Oxford [etc.] : Oxford University Press, 2006. - xiii, 427 p. - ISBN 0-19-929084-9
The book springs from research carried out by three Swedish institutes, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), the Swedish National Defence College (SNDC) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It contains revised papers presented at a conference organised by the three institutes in Stockholm on 28-29 October 2004.
The first part of the book analyses defence policies of four Scandinavian countries (Iceland is considered in the last part of the book) and their relations with the European Union and NATO. In the first chapter, Carsten Pedersen presents the emblematic case of Denmark, in which a combination of Atlanticism and Euro-scepticism led to the opt-out from EU defence activities (one of the four Danish opt-outs from the Maastricht Treaty). In the two chapters that follow, Tiilikainen and Herolf retrace the history of Nordic countries' affiliations to institutions in the postwar period, illustrating the diversity of their positions towards the transformation of NATO and, above all, the rapid development of ESDP. Wrapping up the first part, Miles and Kite analyse the strong influence that domestic politics have on Nordic countries' defence decisions. The authors emphasise the difference between the position of the political elites (favourable to ESDP) and the public opinion in the various countries, convinced supporters of the traditional policies (support for the role of the United Nations, non-alignment, Atlanticism, Euro-scepticism also as opposition to a "federal" or "militarised" Europe).
The second part analyses the difficulties of Nordic countries in the face of the strong acceleration of the process of "expansion of EU structures to handle defence capability targets and operational demands". This acceleration is described in the first chapter while the case of Sweden is presented in the second. Two factors - common to all Nordic countries - that hinder the implementation of ESDP are pointed out: military budget restrictions and the "weight" of obligatory military service, despite recent reforms towards a professional army. Two chapters review the arms industry in Scandinavian countries: Hagelin points to the limits of Nordic defence equipment cooperation in a detailed description of the intra-Nordic arms market and evaluates (as does Brzoska in the next contribution) the prospects for integration in the EU defence market, underlining the importance of the relations between Sweden, the largest producer in the area, and the US market.
The third part of the book examines the specific spheres of activity towards which security policy intiatives in Nordic countries have always been directed. A description of the participation and influence of these countries in EU peace-building and mediation is followed by two essays dealing with Scandinavian countries' commitment to arms control, looking in particular at the small arms and light weapons (SALW) initiative and non-proliferation policies. The last two chapters focus on the the interface between EU policies on external and internal security.
The fourth and last part of the book contains essays on the policies of specific countries as well as on other miscellaneous subjects: a comparative review of Nordic policies in relation to an EU security policy, which includes not only ESDP but also CFSP, counter-terrorism efforts and conflict prevention activity; analyses of Finland and its autonomous Aland Islands and the unique positions of the two non-EU countries, Norway and Iceland; discussion - from the point of view of the Baltic countries - of the main obstacles to achieving a security community in the Baltic Sea area. (A.B.)

Old Europe, new security : evolution for a complex world / edited by Janet Adamski, Mary Troy Johnson, Christina M. Schweiss. - Aldershot ; Burlington : Ashgate, c2006. - xxi, 175 p. (Ethics and global politics). - ISBN 0-7546-4644-0
The book is directed at US readers which, in order to understand the European approach to security "must move beyond a single-minded focus on hard power and increased military spending". A description that takes account of "traditional American perceptions or misperceptions of the ESDP" would run the risk of simplification, but the risk is overcome by a detailed analysis of the interactions between US hard power and European soft power.
The first four chapters retrace from a theoretical and historical point of view how the soft power aspects of European security came into being. Reflecting on the values that inspire the EU's security apporach and describing the historical precedents for ESDP, the authors highlight the continuity - from the aborted European Defence Community to present - of the security preferences expressed in Europe, in particular, through legal frameworks and institutions.
The next chapters look into security institutions and structures within and associated with the European Union. One is dedicated to European military capabilities: the small size of European defence budgets is considered functional to soft power which gives priority to conflict prevention. Another studies the transformation of NATO. Eastward enlargement, in particular to the Baltic states, is described as advantageous for NATO from a political point of view, but extremely critical from the military point of view. The author feels that NATO has partially abdicated its nature as a military alliance and is pessimistic about the future development of an Atlantic partnership in which it is increasingly difficult to reach consensus and conduct out-of-area missions (see Iraq and above all Afghanistan).
The second part of the book analyses the instruments and mechanisms of Europe's soft power. Some case studies are used to describe the practical application of a security policy that relies mainly on the coordinated development of non-military instruments: member state building in the case of the more proximate countries and the strengthening of institutional and economic links with the others. In all case studies (the Balkans, especially Macedonia, the Middle East, Russia and Central and South America), the security policy of Europe and the US and their interaction are examined. The authors agree on one point: the EU's action towards these areas, even though it has almost always been marginalised by US policies, is more suitable for developing a context for cooperative security. (A.B.)

Wider Europe : Nordic and Baltic lessons to post-enlargement Europe / edited by Fabrizio Tassinari, Pertti Joenniemi and Uffe Jakobsen. - Copenhagen : Danish Institute of International Affairs, 2006. - 145 p. - ISBN 87-7605-159-5
This book focuses on the problems inherent in promotion of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the Baltic Sea area and also analyses the regional cooperation initiatives in the area. It is broken down into two parts: the first chapters provide a theoretical discussion of the ENP's distinctive features and the "marginal" location of the countries in the area. They are followed by a look at the main cooperation experience in the area, the Northern Dimension Initiative (and the group of Northern European countries within the European Economic Area). The second part examines the current position of the Baltic countries and Russia in relation to the ENP.
The first chapter by Bonvicini emphasises the close link between ENP and security, illustrating the reasons why the EU decided to flank CFSP and ESDP with this new initiative. Other authors - Bailes, Lehti and Tromer - point out that the problem of security is central to Baltic states as well, but how that is an obstacle to implementation of the ENP in the region, given these countries' difficulties in considering Russia a regional partner rather than a threat.
Bonvicini's contribution also suggests the other main thread of the book, that one of the ENP's objectives should be to encourage forms of regional cooperation among the neighbouring countries. The EU would have difficulty in pursuing such a complex policy, however, which would have to combine the multilateralism of the reference agreement with the bilateral dimension (present in the ENP implementation agreements with each country), with the regional dimension and, finally, with strong conditionality. For example, Russia's decision to stay out of the ENP inevitably means that the policy will have less impact in the area.
A solution to this problem is suggested by Joenniemi in the last chapter: it involves resuscitating the Northern Dimension Initiative as a regional instrument of bilateral cooperation between the EU and Russia. (A.B.)

Unconquerable nation : knowing our enemy, strengthening ourselves / Brian Michael Jenkins. - Santa Monica : RAND Corporation, 2006. - xiv, 236 p. - ISBN 0-8330-3893-1; 0-8330-3891-5 (pbk)
Brian Jenkins is one of the greatest experts on terrorism in the world and has been studying the subject for more than 40 years, that is ever since he came to RAND as a specialist in insurrections and guerrilla warfare. His slim book is in some respects a summa of his experience, but above all it is a cry of pain at how the United States has undertaken its "War on Terror" and a clear and brief description of what should be done.
At the heart of the matter is the awareness that this war cannot be won with the use of military force alone and above all that it is profoundly wrong to base an anti-terrorist strategy on military foundations. The main problem is not to kill or neutralise the individual terrorists, but to win the political battle for the consensus of the Muslim world and to manage to sever wherever possible the links of solidarity within the terrorist groups.
For example, the prisoners at Guantanamo should not be seen simply as enemies, but as potential friends or at least "convenient" allies. It is more important to gain the cooperation of one terrorist than to torture a thousand to obtain dubious information. This is also because, to win this kind of war, the bar of principles has to be kept high, thereby demonstrating that Western society is stronger and better than the one the terrorists want. This is one of those cases in which defending one's principles and pursuing one's own interests go hand in hand.
Every anti-terrorist strategy is by its very nature complex and articulate, but would be a serious error to limit one's actions on the basis of wrong ideological premises. It is an error, for example, to think that terrorists cannot be "dissuaded". The real problem, instead, to identify their vulnerabilities correctly in order to act on them (Jenkins thinks, for example, that it should be possible to carry out successful dissuasive actions that interfere intelligently with their recruiting and training activities, as well as on other occasions).
Overall, this is a book to read, one that allows you to make an important step forward in your understanding of the terrorist phenomenon and the best strategies for containing and combating it. (S.S., also in Italian)

Middle East

Hamas : a beginner's guide / Khaled Hroub. - London ; Ann Arbor : Pluto Press, 2006. - xxii, 170 p. - ISBN 0-7453-2591-2; 0-7453-2590-4 (pbk)
As announced in the title, Khaled Hroub's new book is a short and easily readable introduction to the "real" story of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. Written for the broad public by a leading expert, the book aims at informing the debate generated by Hamas' landslide victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections in January 2006. Considered by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organisation, Hamas today embodies the Palestinian political legitimacy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: its historical electoral victory makes it the major force of the Palestinian national movement.
The book is organised into ten sections covering all aspects of Hamas' history, ideology, military strategy and recent evolution. Written in a smooth question & answer format, the information and analyses presented are the result of the author's accurate fieldwork and unique knowledge of Palestinian politics and society. (D.P.)

Il grande Medio Oriente nell'era dell'egemonia americana / a cura di Michelguglielmo Torri. - Milano : Bruno Mondadori, c2006. - 481 p. (Ricerca). - ISBN 88-424-9869-6
The 2003 Iraq war opened a new and more aggressive phase of US policy in the Middle East, which in Italy as elsewhere in the world was followed with much apprehension by the media and the public. More often than not, however, the public debate was influenced by self-declared experts and biased political analysis generating more bewilderment than clarification.
This book is a collective effort by a group of Italian scholars coming from different scientific backgrounds to give a more accurate and empirically-based picture of the dramatic events that recently enfolded in the vast area stretching from Egypt to Pakistan, today identified with the "Greater Middle East".
The book's chapters cover various issues ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and its effects on Pakistan and Iran; domestic politics in countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Syria and, finally, the geopolitics of sub-regions such as the Caucasus and the Persian Gulf. The red line unifying the different contributions to the book is the specific attention devoted to the interaction between local, national and regional dynamics and the rising US hegemony in the last 10 to 15 years. (D.P.)

Central Asia

EU stakes in Central Asia / Anna Matveeva. - Paris : European Union. Institute for Security Studies, 2006. - 125 p. (Chaillot paper ; 91). - ISBN 92-9198-094-3
The author assesses the security problems that are common to the countries of Central Asia, through analysis of their political problems and their relations with the European Union. The volume is organised into five chapters: the first three examine the key issues in the region which can be seen as threats to EU security, while the last two chapters examine EU policies towards the area and the instruments used, that is, aid and development programmes.
The first chapter is dedicated to internal factors - state fragility and poor governance - that are potential causes of instability: political systems organised around a highly personalised presidential rule, based on networks of patronage, corruption and repression, widespread poverty and a parallel economy. The second identifies the main threats tosecurity in the region: the activity of fundamentalist groups and related government repression, drug trafficking and consequent harsh border regimes, ethnic tensions in the "internal region" of the Ferghana Valley, competition between states in the region for energy and hydro resources. The third chapter discusses the influence of the major actors present in the area and their interaction, starting with Russia and China, and then analyses the involvement of the US and the EU, especially after the war in Afghanistan, and of such international organisations as the OSCE and NATO.
The last two chapters deal with the EU's policy towards Central Asia and advance some recommendations to improve European strategy. The author examines the Commission's activity, especially its development and security assistance programmes and the emerging role of the Council. Matveeva suggests rethinking the premises of the EU's policies in order to go beyond the technical, project-driven approach. In fact, she describes the role of the EU's development agent as passive and limited in the region, in spite of a large aid package, and identifying numerous causes (use of the "countries in transition paradigm" and the regional cooperation approach, etc.). In the last chapter, the author makes recommendations for a more concerted strategy in the region, claiming that "the EU would serve its interests best by adopting a low-key, low-expectations but long-term political approach".
See the article by the same author on Russia and Central Asia in this issue, p. 43-63. (A.B.)

Eurasia in balance : the US and the regional power shift / edited by Ariel Cohen. - Aldershot ; Burlington : Ashgate, c2005. - xii, 214 p. (US foreign policy and conflict in the Islamic world). - ISBN 0-7546-4449-9
This interesting book quite rightly analyses Central Asia and the Caucasus together - the Eurasia of the title - acknowledging the importance of their strategic, political and economic ties. Specific chapters are devoted to international actors - China, India, Russia, the United States and Turkey - which, while geographically not part of either of the two areas, nevertheless have particular and evident interests in them and the clear intention of playing a role. There are also references to multinational actors such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Central Asian Cooperation Organisation (CACO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Basically, the complex political and economic picture in the Eurasian countries emerges above all from their interplay with international and multinational actors.
Interesting, furthermore, is the key adopted by the various authors in their analysis, centred on the importance of the instruments of soft power and of economic factors - energy resources in particular - in the domestic and international political decisions of the Eurasian countries and all the "external" actors mentioned. Attention is also dedicated to emerging factors such as terrorism, drug trafficking and religious extremism, destined to have an impact on the future development of the situation in the region.
As for the external actors, analysis is carried out mainly considering their interests and objectives towards Eurasia. While focused essentially on events and policies since 9/11, the book offers an articulated vision of the varous and complicated aspects of the military, political and economic aspects of Eurasia and the role that the interests of the "great" external powers, as well as the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, drug trafficking and the ethnic differences and rivalries that are having overwhelming effects especially in the Caucasus. On the whole, the book is important and, in its conclusions, full of suggestions for further research. A book to be read, therefore, even if some parts of it have been outdated by the rapidity with which the situation in Eurasia has changed recently. (M.Cre., also in Italian)

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