Diplomacy & Crisis News

En dépit de la crise économique et des sanctions occidentales, le président russe Vladimir Poutine peut envisager sereinement les élections législatives du 18 septembre 2016. Outre la popularité de son discours nationaliste et le contrôle des médias, il peut aussi compter sur les divisions de (...) / Russie, Démocratie, Économie, Élections, Libéralisme, Parti politique, Politique - 2016/09

On July 15th, the world saw the consequences of the long-lasting struggle between religious forces and the secular military contending for control of the Turkish state. In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government in Ankara reacted with a series of purges unseen in Turkey’s recent history. Initially limited to the military, the punitive measures have now reached all corners of Turkish society. So far, more than 18,000 people have been reported detained, with another 60,000 suspended from office. Judges, journalists, academics, and civil servants have been among the victims of what some describe as the “biggest witch-hunt in the history of the [Turkish] republic.”

But the upheaval has not only highlighted the fragility of Turkey’s democracy; it has also revealed how little liberal democratic countries can interfere. The declaration of the state of emergency and the escalating number of arrests and suspensions has been deplored by civil society groups across the world. Outraged academics have denounced the arrests and suspensions of their peers. Journalists have decried the fate their Turkish confreres are facing. Many expected a firm condemnation of the illiberal actions the Erdogan administration orchestrated in the aftermath of the failed coup by their governments.

Much to their disappointment, most political leaders have limited their initial comments to carefully worded, deliberately vague reminders on the importance of the rule of law and the right of due process for the culprits of the coup. The gap between the normative expectations of how much foreign governments should be opposing the Erdogan administration versus what external actors actually can achieve through diplomatic means leads to a situation where public opinion is more outspoken than their respective governments in criticizing the actions of another state.

Those outside Turkey who demand more proactive checks on Erdogan’s expanding power base tend to disregard the limits imposed upon political leaders by the single most important ordering principle of the international system: state sovereignty. State sovereignty continues to govern our world and explains why leaders in democratic countries have exercised cautious restraint when commenting on the recent events in Turkey. This oft-overlooked but fundamental principle has both internal and external dimensions, both of which constrain a larger international response.

Internally, sovereignty defines “the highest authority within the state”.[1] In Turkey, the constituted power and hence the national sovereignty lie with President Erdogan and the elected government, who enjoy the authority to enact punitive policies against the alleged plotters and to restore order within the boundaries of the Turkish state. Of course, sovereign power does not automatically legitimize any measure taken by a state. Under international law, violations of peremptory norms— including the prohibition of genocide, slavery and torture—transcend inculpability, making the allegations of torture in Turkey especially serious. However, even if these allegations turned out to be true, external actors could only challenge the means but not the ends of Erdogan’s retaliatory policy.

External sovereignty applies more broadly to Turkey’s rights as an independent state. It is defined as a form of recognition that guarantees a state’s existence in an anarchic international society. In simple terms, states act according to a principle of equality where “none is entitled to command; none is required to obey”.[2]

The UN Charter explicitly prohibits intervention “in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state” (Art. 2.7 UN Charter) unless these matters pose a direct threat to international peace and stability. This provision mandates international actors to acknowledge the Turkish government to handle the situation at its own discretion.

Moreover, whether or not a state is pilloried for its domestic politics by the international community not only depends on the acts and violations it committed, but also on the role and position it holds in the international system. Turkey remains one of the foremost allies and strategic partners of the Western world. Be it in the fight against global terrorism, as a valuable NATO member, or as key to Europe’s migration and asylum policy, Turkey is a much need ally. Member of the Group of 20, Turkey also offers a huge consumer market for outside goods and services. These factors taken together are shielding the Turkish government from any hasty and overzealous moral condemnations of their domestic policy-making.

Lastly, any effective condemnation of the Turkish government would necessitate agreement amongst the remaining actors. History has shown that in matters of state sovereignty, the international community agrees to disagree. Already, Erdogan has reached out to Putin in an attempt to improve their bilateral relationship in case relations with the West should turn sour.

It is true that the classical definition of sovereignty with its absolute claim for sovereign equality has been increasingly challenged. In a globalized world where market economies co-exist within a complex net of interdependencies and where policies, capital, and people cross borders more easily than ever before in human history, sovereignty appears to be an anachronism from another age. Yet rather than bidding farewell to the concept as such, sovereignty should be understood as a subliminal force—always somewhere in the room, but usually covered underneath alternative ordering principles. It remains largely invisible to the eye as long as politics follow a steady path and the ship sails in calm waters. Yet, once a major crisis breaks out, sovereignty comes back in the limelight to define the rules of the game.

The storm in Turkey is taking place now. Many advocates had hoped that the successive accession rounds between Turkey and the EU would help bind the Turkish state within the European value system. However, neither long-lasting negotiations nor the fact that the EU being among Turkey’s most important trading partners has prevented the Erdogan administration from unilaterally suspending the European Convention on Human Rights and announcing the planned reintroduction of the death penalty. The principle of sovereignty, which Thomas Hobbes equated with “an artificial soul … giving life and motion to the whole body”,  provided the power to ignite nationalist feelings and undo concerted action in a blink of an eye.

If there is anything to take away from the post-coup purges in Turkey, it is the inability of the international community to effectively halt an alarming process that has not yet evolved into a full-blown tragedy. Therefore, any attempt to overcome the present crisis needs to recognize Turkey as an equal and sovereign partner and should refrain from stigmatizing President Erdogan as the villain of the Bosporus.

 

[1] Lake, David. 2003. “The New Sovereignty in International Relations”. International Studies Review 2003 (5): 305.

[2] Waltz, Kenneth. 1979. Theories of international politics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 88.

The post Sovereignty Strikes Back: Turkey’s Purge and International Silence appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Les centres commerciaux font-ils encore rêver l'Amérique ? S'inspirant de Walter Benjamin, le sociologue Marc Berdet présentait les malls comme les exemples les plus frappants des « fantasmagories, lieux clos saturés d'imaginaires, rêvoirs collectifs » que le capitalisme façonne « en vue de canaliser (...) / Capitalisme, Idées, Urbanisme, Architecture - 2016/09

Parfois, un détail suffit pour saisir un tableau idéologique. Le 13 août dernier, le décès de Georges Séguy fut expédié en quelques secondes, ou en quelques lignes, par des médias français alors enrôlés dans la guerre contre le burkini. / États-Unis, France, Idéologie, Médias, Politique, Syndicalisme - (...) / États-Unis, France, Idéologie, Médias, Politique, Syndicalisme - 2016/09

Le blog Reflets du Temps, qui consacre une large place aux questions internationales et des recensions de qualité, a publié le 27 août dernier un article mettant à l’honneur le Contrechamps du numéro d’été (2/2016) de Politique étrangère : L’Europe au défi des populismes.

« Le dossier principal de la Revue, cet été, s’annonçait de toute première importance, et fera du reste l’objet d’un prochain article (Moyen Orient, le nouveau « Grand Jeu »), mais notre propre Une de fin d’été, par sa composition et ses préoccupations se devait de cibler le sujet de Contrechamps : L’Europe au défi des populismes.

Deux forts articles dressent remarquablement l’état des lieux en ce domaine charriant les peurs de tout démocrate. Jean-Dominique Giuliani examine l’Union face à ces menaces, tandis que Georges Mink s’arrête sur le cas de l’Europe centrale, particulièrement la Hongrie et la Pologne.

[…]

« Extrémismes, populismes et nationalismes à l’assaut de l’Europe » : Leçon en tous points limpide et brillante, de Jean-Dominique Giuliani, président de l’institut Robert Schuman et Européen convaincu, à l’optimisme non moins ardent. Le paradoxe est posé d’emblée : « L’Europe reste un modèle pour le reste du monde… et les sociétés européennes sont en proie à des doutes profonds ». C’est par ces failles, à l’œuvre depuis longtemps, que s’infiltrent les menaces actuellement affichées des populismes (opposant systématiquement le peuple aux élites, aux dirigeants et aux partis de gouvernement) et autres nationalismes (subordonnant tous les problèmes à la domination hégémonique de la nation). […] Giuliani semble penser que ce ciel noir des populismes – la renaissance des nationalismes paraissant l’inquiéter davantage à long terme – pourrait garder un côté conjoncturel à régler au coup par coup, par des états qui conservent des défenses ; la résilience de l’UE lui semblant bien réelle, appuyée sur une image forte dans le monde… Puisse-t-il avoir raison.

[…]

Georges Mink est spécialiste de l’Europe centrale, notamment polonaise, de ces endroits de l’UE, où le ciel se couvre… « L’Europe centrale à l’épreuve de l’autoritarisme » met l’accent sur la Hongrie – notamment celle d’Orbán et la Pologne actuelle. Deux pays, sortis du Communisme en mettant en place des démocraties à l’occidentale, dont on a oublié la phrase prophétique de Geremek en 1990 : « la voie de la liberté est ouverte, celle de la démocratie reste incertaine ». Démocraties pourtant retravaillées et non simples copiés-collés, entraînant par exemple un communisme de libertés dans leur sillage. Échecs et déceptions, pour autant, accélérés par le monde ouvert des déplacements et du Net. Aussi, un Orbán en Hongrie se fit-il dès les années 2010 le propagandiste de cette « démocratie illibérale », qui fit émules en Europe centrale.

[…]

La conclusion de Georges Mink – alarmante au bon niveau – vaut pour l’ensemble du dossier : « L’épuisement idéologique des acteurs politiques traditionnels, mettant en avant la valeur absolutisée de la démocratie (joue à l’avantage de ce genre d’expérience), face à une jeunesse tentée par des idéologies d’apparence nouvelle, installant en leur centre la violence et la xénophobie ».

Valable seulement pour l’Europe centrale ? Croyez-vous… »

Pour lire l’article dans son intégralité, cliquez ici.

S’abonner à Politique étrangère.

 

(Own report) - The German Bundeswehr's new "White Paper" is conceived as just a milestone in the ongoing development of German global policy and its instruments, according to an article published by Germany's leading foreign policy periodical. According to the article's two authors, who had been in charge of elaborating the "White Paper" for the German Defense Ministry, the White Paper's explicit claim to shape global policy and policy for outer space must be implemented and "brought to life" in the near future. While the German government is initiating new projects for upgrading military and "civil defense" measures, the EU is boosting its militarization: A growing number of government leaders of EU member states are supporting the creation of an EU army under openly proclaimed German leadership. According to a leading German daily, the balance sheet of recent German military involvements is "not exactly positive," but this should not discourage future military interventions. One should, however, not expect too much and harbor "illusions about rapid successes."

Anti-China protester at Taipei airport, Aug. 22 (Storm Media Group, Taipei)

A visit to Taiwan by a top Chinese Communist Party official from Shanghai was met with angry protest on August 22-23. Sha Hailin (沙海林), head of the party’s United Front Work Department in Shanghai, was greeted at the Taipei airport August 22 by pro-independence demonstrators shouting, “Sha Hailin, go back to China” and “Expel propaganda communist, defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.” Protesters followed Sha and Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to a Shanghai-Taipei cross-strait cities forum on August 23.

Sha’s visit has come at a time of strained relations between Taiwan and the mainland since Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency of Taiwan in January. Beijing broke off official contact with Taipei in June following Tsai’s refusal to acknowledge the “one-China principle” on which Beijing insists as the basis of cross-strait relations. Sha is the first high-level mainland official to visit Taiwan since official contact was broken off.

The United Front Work Department is a propaganda agency under the direct authority of the Communist Party Central Committee charged with asserting party “leadership” over non-party groups in China and abroad. The “shadowy agency” has been noted for its role in Beijing’s efforts at gaining control of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province of China. Mainland attitudes stand in stark contrast to those of Taiwan’s 23 million residents, the vast majority of whom are opposed to “reunification” with mainland China and consider themselves to be of “Taiwanese” rather than “Chinese” nationality.

Beijing has shown little interest in the opinions or wishes of Taiwan’s people, insisting that “reunification” with the mainland is the only option for Taiwan’s future. The role of the United Front Work Department in Beijing’s efforts consists of attempting to manipulate public opinion and forging alliances with influential groups with the aim of neutralizing pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan. Given Beijing’s economic clout and close economic ties with Taiwan, much of this effort is directed at the island’s business and political elite, who have shown far greater willingness to bow to Beijing’s demands than ordinary Taiwanese.

Sha Hailin (Shanghai Municipal Communist Party Committee)

In typical form as a mainland official, Sha Hailin insisted on the “one-China principle” as the basis for cross-strait relations in a speech at the August 23 forum as protesters demonstrated outside. “I believe most Taiwanese support peaceful unification and closer exchanges and cooperation between the two cities,” said Sha in willful ignorance of Taiwanese public opinion, “Some Taiwanese who opposed the forum either lacked understanding of the actual situation or did it on purpose.”

For his part, Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je said prior to the forum that the United Front Work Department has been unfortunately “vilified” in Taiwan, citing this as an example of “cultural estrangement” between the democratic island and the authoritarian mainland. Said Ko at the forum with Sha: “When we understand and respect Beijing’s insistence on some aspects, we hope Beijing can understand and respect Taiwan’s insistence on democracy and freedom.”

Protesters don’t seem to have been convinced by Ko’s and Sha’s wishful thinking on cross-strait relations, calling the Taipei mayor a “sell out” and his mainland guest a “communist bandit.” Most of Taipei’s city councilors boycotted the forum, citing Sha’s “obvious ‘united front’ intention” among other complaints. Mainland Chinese media ignored the protests, trumpeting Sha’s visit and the Shanghai-Taipei forum as a “boost” for cross-strait ties.

Faced with the seemingly impossible task of “winning hearts and minds” in Taiwan, mainland leaders continue to live in a world of make-believe.

The post Shanghai Communist Party Boss Met with Protest in Taipei appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Certes, bagnes et travaux forcés appartiennent au passé. Pour autant, le travail n'a pas disparu de l'univers carcéral. On le présente désormais comme un outil de réinsertion. Mais un détenu est-il un travailleur comme un autre ? En Allemagne, cette question a franchi les murs des maisons d'arrêt (...) / Allemagne, Droit, Intégration sociale, Prison, Protection sociale, Syndicalisme, Travail, Retraites - 2016/01

Principale incarnation de l'autorité islamique en France, les imams suscitent l'intérêt des pouvoirs publics, qui leur prêtent une grande influence. Il faudrait donc les surveiller, les encadrer, voire les former, pour éviter toute dérive communautaire. / France, Culture, Éducation, État, Femmes, (...) / France, Culture, Éducation, État, Femmes, Identité culturelle, Immigrés, Islam, Religion, Société, Spiritualité, Associations - 2016/04

Dans Le Monde daté du 26 août

Cela fait bien longtemps, en réalité, que la relation entre Ankara et l’Occident – pris ici au sens de l’OTAN et de l’Union européenne (UE) – a cessé d’être simple. L’espoir initial d’un dialogue serein avec un gouvernement « islamiste modéré » respectueux du jeu démocratique et des accords stratégiques s’est étiolé au fil des crispations politiques et des brouilles diplomatiques d’Erdogan.
En moins d’un an, cet éloignement s’est transformé en crise, jusqu’à poser la question de l’avenir de la Turquie dans l’Alliance atlantique. La stabilité du pays, l’évolution de son armée et les orientations internationales de son exécutif constituent trois inconnues de taille face auxquelles il est pour l’heure difficile de manœuvrer, tant que la réflexion opposera intérêts stratégiques et valeurs politiques.
Un constat s’impose : la Turquie traverse des heures difficiles, et ce n’est une bonne chose pour personne. Le tableau est sombre : une tentative de putsch militaire ayant fait plusieurs centaines de victimes civiles ; une réaction gouvernementale, avec la mise en garde à vue de plus de 18 000 personnes au 3 août 2016 ; un coût indéniable pour l’économie du pays (chiffré à 90 milliards d’euros par les autorités) et pour son image ; un conflit kurde (avec le PKK) qui s’intensifie ; une population victime de plusieurs actes terroristes majeurs (comme l’attentat du 28 juin à l’aéroport d’Istanbul) ; une diplomatie en délicatesse avec les principaux partenaires et voisins...

Lire la suite sur Lemonde.fr

 

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Elites can overturn Islamophobic laws, but the public's illiberalism isn't going anywhere.

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South Sudan's peacekeepers not only failed to protect civilians during the country's latest round of violence — it put them in even greater danger.