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.
