Books August 22 | Conflicts: geopolitics review

Back to the reviews of recent publications. Similarly, The literary school year will be dense in the field of geopolitics, history and political ideas. For example, Reviews made by Tigrane Yegavian

Hamit Bozarslan. Therefore, Anti-democracy in the XXI^e centuryCNRS Éditions, 11 euros

Hamit Bozarslan, historian and politician, has occupied an important place for years in the analysis of political violence. Therefore, In Anti -democracy in the 21st centuryhe forges an operating concept to understand a disturbing phenomenon that crosses our. Additionally, Therefore, time: the emergence of “anti -democratic” regimes. Similarly, Based on the cases of Turkey from Erdogan. In addition, Russia from Putin and Post -Revolutionary Iran, Bozarslan explains that these systems are responsible for responding “nationally” to a liberal democracy accused of having weakened the nation. Therefore, They claim to be a prestigious tradition. In addition, dream heirs of defeated empires, books august 22 | conflicts: which nourishes a speech of revenge and national purity.

One of the forces of the work is to show that these regimes are not content to be classic dictatorships: they keep an electoral facade. Furthermore, rely on ballots to legitimize a charismatic leader while criminalizing the opposition. Consequently, The author details the “new state nobility” which organizes power around networks of parties. Furthermore, factions and clienteles, and insists on the importance of military and paramilitary devices. Meanwhile, In Iran. for example, the Pasdaran, created during the war against Iraq, constitute a real military -industrial complex; They have academies, a bank and control whole sections of the national economy. However, In Türkiye. Consequently, special forces like the Höh and the Pöh complete the paramilitary arsenal, while in Russia the company Wagner illustrates books august 22 | conflicts: the rise of active militias on external theaters.

The portrait of the anti -democratic leader that Bozarslan draws up is striking: almost fictional. In addition, omnipresent and enigmatic figure, he embodies the nation and claims to operate a synthesis between past and future. Therefore, Inspired by Hannah Arendt, the author emphasizes that these leaders perceive themselves as historical “bridges” and require total allegiance. Therefore, Religion serves as civilizational cement. However, makes it possible to inscribe the struggle in a Manichean opposition between good and evil. Moreover, The war. Similarly, finally, is presented as the driving force of these regimes: it merges internal and external policy into a “single field of war” and legitimizes the brutalization of society.

Bozarslan has the merit of replacing these analyzes in the long term. Similarly, by comparing current anti -democracies with totalitarian regimes of the 20th century and by exploring ideological, institutional and security continuities. books august 22 | conflicts: It also shows that these systems are halfway between competing concepts, such as “illiberal democracy” or “democrature”, without reducing there. The book, dense and accessible, reads as an investigation into radicalization mechanisms and the brutalization of politics. It constitutes a warning addressed to weakened democracies: behind ballot boxes. flags, regimes are built which transform nostalgia for magnitude into war logic and undermine the foundations of the rule of law.

Alessandro Stanziani. The intertwining of the world, global history global thoughtCNRS Éditions, 12 euros

Historian and research director at CNRS, Alessandro Stanziani delivers with The intertwining of the world An ambitious synthesis on what is today called “global history” or “connected history”. In a context where history is still largely available on a national scale. the work recalls that the debate on the role of history in France oscillates between defense of national history, difficulty in criticizing colonial history and shy books august 22 | conflicts: openness to “other worlds”. Stanziani proposes to get out of these cleavages based on an approach that widens geographic horizons. goes beyond national frameworks and studies the world through the heterogeneous political and economic connections.

The work begins with a historiographical panorama: the first chapters come back to the rise of global history in the wake of globalization. its different variations – World History, Connected History, Crossed History. Stanziani stresses that this off -center story calls into question the teleological stories. insists on the mutual influence between several worlds. He also recalls that many Western syntheses. from Christopher Bayly to Jürgen Osterhammel, remain marked by Europeanocentrism and a certain superficiality. In response to these pitfalls. connected history has shown the interdependence between societies, but by focusing too much on the elites, it has sometimes books august 22 | conflicts: neglected non -circulations and hierarchies. Stanziani therefore pleads for a balanced articulation between comparative history and connected history, these two approaches being complementary.

One of the great original features of the book is to reflect on the relationships between history and other disciplines. Stanziani analyzes the filiation between philosophy of history. sociology and economics: it shows how the Enlightenment, often accused of Europeanocentrism, were more open than we imagine. He looks back on the influence of Max Weber. whose use of “ideals -acates” has long favored normative comparisons based on European categories and catch -up schemes. The author compares these approaches with the criticisms of subaltern studieswhich try to decentralize the look while sometimes reproducing. an essentialization of cultures. Over the chapters. he also analyzes the way in which law and economics import Eurocentric biases into their attempts to globalize phenomena.

Stanziani’s project is less to propose an abstract theory books august 22 | conflicts: of global history than to sketch a critical and historical epistemology. Faced with the return of nationalisms. he invites the historian to underline the interrelations and the fundamental mixing of societies while highlighting the processes of exclusion. This advocacy for interdisciplinarity. language learning aims to bring out a truly global story that takes into account circulation and ruptures, reciprocal and asymmetrical influences.

Stanziani finally recalls that global history does not provide ready -made answers: it calls into question the alleged superiority of such. such civilization and shows the contingent and mixed origin of values. His work. dense, but accessible, constitutes both an introduction to the challenges of global history and an in -depth study of the circulation of historical knowledge and their interactions with other disciplines. By certain aspects. he evokes the We and the others From Tzvetan Todorov, but is distinguished by a more historian than philosophical perspective. The books august 22 | conflicts: intertwining of the world is therefore a reference book for those who want to understand the ambitions. limits and promises of global history in the era of globalization and identity folds.

Marie Robin, Revenge and peaceCNRS Éditions, 11 euros.

Politist. specialist in conflicts and international relations, Marie Robin explores in this work a subject as taboo as they are: the place of revenge in international order. Faced with the stories that relegate it to the rank of archaic passion. the author shows that revenge acts in reality as a structuring force of relations between states, armed groups and societies. Through examples that go from Gaza to Ukraine. from Paris to Khartoum or Tehran, she analyzes how heads of state, organizations and citizens invoke revenge to justify extreme violence, repair humiliations or preserve a status. Far from being a simple communication tool, this rhetoric says a lot about what everyone books august 22 | conflicts: considers as right.

Revenge. peace Fits in the wake of research on emotions in international relations, showing that the management of resentments and humiliations is a decisive factor to understand the chain of conflicts and consider lasting peace. By mobilizing a historical perspective. Robin shows that revenge is not only a contemporary tropism: it crosses eras and shapes collective memory. The book also offers contemporary case studies which question the possibility of “making peace” when the desires of revenge. remain lively. The author stresses that. if we want to understand the springs of crises and think of reconstruction, we must hear – without legitimizing them – requests for revenge, because they reveal the values ​​and aspirations of the actors.

Beyond the analysis, Marie Robin invites us to rethink the peace processes. How to reconcile books august 22 | conflicts: justice and reconciliation? What to do with revenge claims to avoid climbing and build a more stable international order? By approaching these questions. the book questions international law, diplomacy and memory policies, and demonstrates that appeasement cannot be obtained without listening to grievances and work on recognition. Accessible. synthetic, Revenge and peace Offers keys to reflect differently on violence and pacification, at a time when collective emotions and resentments are taking an increasing place in political discourses.