Jun 18, 2012 | China, Cultural industries, Culture en, Globalization, Passage au crible (English)
By Justin Chiu
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°69
Wikipédia
On 21 May 2012, the Chinese group Wanda bought AMC (American Multi-Cinema), the second largest operator of movie theaters in North America. Already owning 730 screens in China, the group acquired 5034 more with this new subsidiary. It thus became the world number one of the film industry.
This acquisition for $ 2.6 billion (2 billion Euros) caused a stir. Yet for many observers, it would not allow the Chinese group to benefit immediately. In effect, since the financial crisis broke out, the box office in the United States continues to fall and the AMC in 2011 experienced a net loss of $ 82 million. Moreover, the acquisition does not affect at all the operations of AMC. Convinced that this firm will soon meet with profits again, Wanda will help it reimburse its debts and modernize its equipment by providing $ 500 million. However, Wanda, not disposing of enough cash, took the risk of borrowing in order to invest. The question therefore arises as to what are the long-term objectives of the Chinese group.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Founded in 1988 in Dalian in Northeastern China by Wang Jianlin, the Wanda Group has initially developed in the real-estate sector. In 2011, its turnover amounted to 105.1 billion yuans (13 billion euros) of which 95.3 billion yuans (11.8 billion euros) only for the real estate sector of businesses and malls. The flagship of the group – Wanda Plaza, a mega-mall bringing together a shopping mall, a leisure center, luxury hotels and office buildings – is highly appreciated by local authorities. Indeed, Wanda Plazas could be built within a period of eighteen months, which would allow local officials to achieve the goal of urban development set by the state, especially since in recent years, construction sites the group have extended to the middle towns of the country. Moreover, being a member of the People’s Political Consultative Conference of China, manager Wang Jianlin undoubtedly has facilities for obtaining for building permits.
However, the development of the Chinese economy is slowing down while real estate prices fall. Wanda announced a projected 11% growth for 2012, ie, a much lower rate compared to the previous three years (40%). In 2011, the value of total assets of the group amounted to 203 billion yuans (25.2 billion euros), of which only 20.5 billion yuans (2.5 billion euros) in net assets. This means that the debt ratio of the Chinese group amounted to 89.9%.
In order to diversify its activities, Wanda has invested in the field of cultural industries since 2005. Let us recall that in China, this field has become a national priority as evidenced by the holding of many debates about soft power. Supported by the State with guaranteed low interest rates, since 2010, Wanda has signed partnership agreements with four major national banks – Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Exim Bank and China Construction Bank – so that these support its initiatives in the audiovisual industry and international tourism.
Theoretical framework
1. The financialization of the cultural industries. Globally, mergers and acquisitions have been part for two decades of an entrepreneurial strategy allowing to rapidly obtain market shares, technologies and optimal distribution networks. Marked by the concentration of supply and the financialization of trade, the globalization of communication has fostered the capitalistic development of the media sector. Backed by global finance, cultural capitalists embark at present in the conquest of these new market shares.
2. Building a global reputation. Robert Jervis’ analysis allows us to grasp the concept of reputation as a process of social construction. In fact, if an actor devotes much effort to perfect his image, it is because he is convinced that with this image, he will benefit from a more important resource in the future. In this perspective, the acquisition of AMC should not simply be analyzed as a mere financial decision. There is also a symbolic operation whereby Wanda can gain greater visibility and capitalize on an enhanced reputation internationally, even if it has to take risks in order to do so.
Analysis
With its recent acquisition, Wanda intends to occupy the place of world number one, rather than to increase profits on the North American markets. Especially since its extremely high cost has created a surprise effect. The financial capacity of the Chinese group has not only increased its visibility worldwide but has also antagonized its competitors within the country. Nevertheless, it remains a risky bet because Wanda does not have sufficient cash and has to resort to credit. The key for this company remains to acquire the management style of AMC and appropriate its experiences in installing IMAX screens. This is actually to the Chinese market that the group will have to apply these valuable skills. By a symbolic act and international dimension, Wanda thus targets, paradoxically, the flourishing cinema industry in China.
In 2011, the film industry in the country increased by 28.93% to reach 13.12 billion yuans (1.63 billion euros). To support the growth of the sector, there is a need that the legal offer of films be sufficient and that the construction of movie theaters continue. On 17 February 2012, during his official visit to the United States, the Chinese Vice President Xi Jingpin signed an agreement authorizing the additional import of fourteen films in 3D or IMAX format, without raising the annual quota of twenty foreign films. In response, on 24 March 2012, Wanda signed a partnership pact with the Canadian firm IMAX so that IMAX intervenes exclusively in the construction of new movie theaters in China. After the acquisition of AMC, this event follows the IPO, in the Shanghai stock exchange, of Wanda Cinema Line. The outlook appears apparently increasingly favorable for the Chinese group. However, the reality is more complex and analysis must be qualified. Indeed, Wanda had to laboriously negotiate with various public and private partners, and negotiations with AMC, for example, lasted over two years. In fact, Wanda’s main asset lies in good relations with Chinese authorities and in the alliance and its various partners.
While the film market thrives in China, the future of the film industry in this country remains uncertain. Because even if it produced 558 long-feature films in 2011, the twenty American films alone have accumulated 46.39% of national income. Undeniably, Hollywood is a reference or even a safer bet for Chinese audiences. Finally, against all odds, the more the Chinese market grows, the more the dominance of Hollywood is increasing.
References
Bohas Alexandre, Disney. Un capitalisme mondial du rêve, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2010. Coll. Chaos International.
Braudel Fernand, La Dynamique du capitalisme, Paris, Flammarion, 2008.
Caixin – China Economics & Finance, « 万达50亿美元收购资金何来?», [D’où viennent les 50 milliards de dollars de Wanda pour les acquisitions ?], le 11 juin 2012, à l’adresse web : http://magazine.caixin.com/2012-06-08/100398578.html
China National Radio, « 2011年中国电影产量和票房收入均创历史新高 », [La production cinématographique et les recettes en salles en Chine battent les records historiques en 2011], consulté le 15 juin 2012, à l’adresse web: http://www.cnr.cn/gundong/201201/t20120111_509046175.shtml
Cerny Philip G., Rethinking World Politics, A Theory of Transnational Neopluralism, New York, Oxford University Press, 2010
Jervis Robert, The Logic of Images in International Relations, New York, Columbia University Press, 1989.
Le site officiel du groupe Wanda : http://www.wanda.cn
Thibault Harold, « Wang Jianlin fait du groupe chinois Wanda le numéro un mondial des cinémas », Le Monde, 23 mai 2012.
Jun 11, 2012 | Internet, Passage au crible (English)
By Adrien Cherqui
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°68
Source: Wikimedia
Anonymous regularly makes the headlines. On May 21, 2012, individuals claiming to be Anonymous stole from the U.S. State Department of Justice, then published on The Pirate Bay 1.7 gigabytes of data including notably internal emails. With its high media visibility, Anonymous continues to increase its actions over the past months.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Anonymous saw light on the imageboard www.4chan.org in 2006. A site enabling viewers to share images without prior registration. Under the generic pseudonym Anonymous, a growing number of Internet users and demonstrators took part, early 2008, in a series of protests against the Church of Scientology. The Church then tried to delete from the Internet a proselytizing video in which the actor Tom Cruise acted. This series of actions called Project Chanology marked the entry into politics of Anonymous. Its battles then multiplied to follow international news. In December 2010, supporting Wikileaks and responding to retaliation measures on the association, Anonymous launched a cyber-vedetta named Operation Payback. Since then, this has taken the form of attacks by denial of service (DDoS) aimed at businesses having discontinued services they had put at the disposal of Julian Assange 1. The Arab Spring also enjoyed the support of Anonymous and of Telecomix. More recently, Anonymous has conducted operations aiming to denounce the closure of the site MegaUpload and the establishment of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and of the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This multiplicity of interventions and the multiplicity of targets – whether public or private – is not unrelated to the heterogeneity which characterizes the movement.
Theoretical framework
1. A transnational network. As actors on the world stage, Anonymous has established itself in a reticular manner by facilitating relationships between sovereignty-free actors. These connections facilitate a greater mobilization thanks to the simultaneous maintenance of strong and weak links (Mark Granovetter) providing access to several social structures at once.
2. An imagined community of activists. With this concept of Benedict Anderson, we understand better the links between an aggregate of people not necessarily aiming at common goals. However, these people share a repertoire of actions and representations based upon a rejection of any hierarchy. That is why they emphasize horizontal relationships.
Analysis
Democratization of the Internet and the maintaining of the freedom of expression in the cyberspace remain issues in the fundamental fight for entities such as Telecomix or Anonymous. At a time when everyone can speak anonymously on the Internet, information is becoming a cause for which many militants are fighting. The proliferation of access to Internet and the emergence of new forms of contact via spaces of digital sociability favor the expansion of networks of individuals.
The Anonymous are involved in this phenomenon. Having become a unique forum for debate, the Internet has been used in various forms and has contributed to the establishment of an evolution within the repertoire of collective action. The diversity of Anonymous and their reticularity facilitate the resurgence of protests. Alliance of hackers, script kiddies or of mere activists refusing any leadership and favoring forms of self-management, Anonymous provides a tool enabling them to federate and bring in cooperation a broad spectrum of supporters. Similar to a nebula of interests and causes, Anonymous works as a label that can increase the symbolic dimension and legitimacy of operations undertaken. Let us emphasize in this regard that the use of the same diffusion processes of videos on the Internet contributes to the media economy of battles fought. Illustrating the liberal atomization, the Anonymous manage to reconstruct, through technology, a new space of resistance. Born into a dematerialized world, Anonymous tend to use at the same time a series of so-called conventional means – such as the demonstration or the raid – but also methods such as hacking, or dephacing.
Fraught with cyberculture, Anonymous is growing in part on an ideal breeding ground in favor of freedom of expression. The challenge of regulating the Internet in this regard is one of the main ideological bases. Moreover, one of the most striking features of Anonymous resides in the transnational circulation of ideas and practices. In doing so, we note that the development of social networks and of Internet Relay Chat used by them plays a fundamental role by participating to the creation of cyberspaces and the synchronization of numerous groups claiming affiliation to Anonymous. Let us mention in this regard how the creation of communitary Internet sites appears as a vector spreading common values. Also, although it is a global network, the causes espoused are part of a local environment: local problems are globalized through new technologies of information and communication. Local actors then ascribe to in local-global transactions, which transform them into political subjects with multiple scales. Here we find the overlapping scales at the heart of the mobilization highlighted by Saskia Sassen. For example, remember that people claiming to belong to Anonymous, outside the countries signatories of the ACTA treaty signatories, have intervened alongside other Anonymous, thereby revealing the transnationality of the movement and the interdependence of these protagonists.
Reinforced by an amplification of transnational communication, Anonymous is similar to an imagined community that transcends borders. Now, Anonymous offers to some citizens the means to challenge government action. Clearly, States can no longer ignore the Anonymous, as their presence is truly part of a global dimension.
References
ANDERSON Benedict, L’Imaginaire national. Réflexions sur l’origine et l’essor du nationalisme, Paris, La Découverte 2002.
BARDEAU Frédéric, DANET Nicolas, Anonymous : Pirates informatiques ou altermondialistes numériques ?, Paris, FYP, 2011.
DEVIN Guillaume (Éd.), Les Solidarités transnationales, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2004, Coll. Logiques politiques.
GRANJON Fabien, L’Internet militant : Mouvement social et usage des réseaux télématiques, Paris, Apogée, 2001. Coll. Médias et nouvelles technologies.
ROSENAU James, People Count! Networked Individuals in Global Politics, Boulder, Paradigm, 2008, Coll. International Studies Intensives.
SASSEN Saskia, La Globalisation. Une sociologie, Paris, Gallimard, 2009
1. Computer attack aimed at making a site inaccessible to a large number of simultaneous connections on it.
Jun 4, 2012 | environment, Global Public Health, North-South, Passage au crible (English)
By Armand Suiçmez
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°67
Pixabay
On April 4, 2012, Giovanni Conti, State court judge in Rio Grande do Sul condemned Monsanto to suspend the collection of royalties on GMO soybeans (genetically modified organisms). This decision also involves the reimbursement of licensing costs, paid since the cropping season of 2003-2004, on the grounds of a “violation of Brazilian law on agricultural species.” A daily fine of 400,000 Euros shall sanction the company in case of non compliance with this judgment.
This is far from being an isolated case. The multinational had already experienced a setback when it was dismissed by the ECJ (European Court of Justice) on July 6. Monsanto had then tried to prevent the export of GM soya, from Argentina to the Netherlands, for non-payment. This shows how the supremacy of the company has now crumbled.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Founded in the United States in 1901 by John Francis Queeny, the Monsanto firm was initially specialized in the marketing of chemicals. By the early 1980s, the firm obtained the first plants modified in the greenhouse after numerous efforts in genetic research. In 2002, the conglomerate became the leader of transgenic agriculture in the world after developing its international sales.
The marketing authorization of the NewLeaf potato, of the YieldGard corn, of colza, of Roundup Ready soybeans between 1995 and 1996 diversified ranges and offered new potential to the company. In 2001, taking advantage of the low levels of soybean harvests in South Africa and of the production of cotton in India, Monsanto established itself firmly in these countries. Since then, its progress in key producing states, remains steady and sustainable. This expansion is related to the sale of grain, but mainly to royalties levied on industrial property right, which prevents “on the one hand to replant the following years and, on the other, to give or exchange seeds. Clearly, these organizations of Brazilian farmers refuse to pay fee on seeds, whether harvested, sorted or replanted.”
In Brazil, a Federal Republic composed of 26 States, intellectual property is governed by Articles 10 and 18 of Law 9279. The first of them stipulates that are excluded from this definition “all or part of natural living beings and biological materials found in nature, or which are isolated from it, including the genome or germoplasm of any living thing and natural biological processes.” The second, bypassed by Monsanto when signing agreements directly with traders, notifies that “these microorganisms, with the exception of all or part of plants or animals, express, by direct human intervention in their genetic composition, a feature that normally is not achievable by the species under natural conditions.”
In 2009, the marketing of new generations of plants led to the increase from 48 euros/hectare to 145 euros, under the guise of profitability. In this context, agricultural workers from Rio Grande do Sul and associations of farmers and Giruá and Arvorezinha joined by those of Passo Fundo, Santiago and Sertão lodged a complaint for abuse. Monsanto responded immediately by challenging the admissibility of this judgment “since it has business relationships only with individuals.” The firm therefore appeals to the Federal Court of Brazil which, if it rules in favor of the plaintiffs, shall confer a national value to its decision.
Ultimately, the total reimbursement of payments from 2003-2004 would amount to about 6.2 billion euros redistributed to five million farmers.
Theoretical framework
Let us retain two lines of reasoning:
1. The patent at the heart of the profit system. Although primarily symbolizing the protection of research, the principle of industrial property – which allows forbidding any third party the right to exploit an invention – also serves to firms as leverage in negotiations. Companies benefit from the heterogeneity of standards which remains between countries – as in the case of GMOs – in order to increase their profits when they are not more or less directly in collusion with public authorities.
2. Symbolic contestation of monopolistic firms. The predatory strategies of companies which are in a position of monopoly, often show the inability of states to arbitrate disputes which these companies experience with their customers. Lawsuits are generally only the result of shaming campaigns, carried out by transnational actors such as NGOs.
Analysis
In a country where 95% of agriculture is transgenic, the practical monopoly of Monsanto induces a dependence of Brazilian producers, perpetuated by the collection of royalties. Therefore, already widely criticized by the public and the media for the absence of any competition in the GMOs market, the multinational suffers from a largely deteriorated symbolic image.
The organic growth of the industrial group is characterized by a reliance on industrial property, which serves to impose on producers the payment of a royalty. Therefore, the patent becomes a legal weapon aiming to ensure profitability. Contrary to popular belief, lack of commercial law in matter of innovation does not appear to be a weakness; rather, this lack allows greater flexibility to Monsanto in implementing its business strategy. Taking advantage of this asymmetry, the firm can thus take in regular profits in the face of more and more isolated farmers. Bypassing laws in order to negotiate directly with farmers, Monsanto takes advantage of its majesty in the field of GMOs and imposes its conditions.
In this context, the complaint filed by farmers’ associations is a contest of strength that appeared, two years ago still, again, as naturalized. Indeed, the complicities which Monsanto had with governments unable to respond to the vagueness of normative frameworks, offered it so far a very wide field of action with impunity. However, the assistance of sovereignty-free actors, such as the new community of trader-farmers and the local government of Rio Grande do Sul, puts an end to this situation.
In foresight, the recent opposition to Monsanto’s practices has opened a breach in the strengthening of international standards dealing with industrial property. So far, lax and non-homogeneous initiatives have already been proposed by the WTO (World Trade Organization), but they are still embryonic. Moreover, the involvement of national courts indicates an attempt to bring back under State monitoring (réétatisation) some transnational exchanges.
References
Info’OGM ; Brésil – La justice refuse à Monsanto le droit de prélever des royalties sur le soja OGM; http://www.infogm.org/spip.php?article5124 ; dernière consultation : 31/05/2012.
Sägesser Caroline, «Le dossier des OGM dans les instances internationales», Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP, (19), 2001, pp. 5-34.
Fok et al Michel, « Un état de coexistence du soja transgénique et conventionnel au Paraná (Brésil) », Économie rurale, (320), juin 2010, pp. 53-68.
Laroche Josepha, La Brutalisation du monde, du retrait des États à la décivilisation, Montréal, Liber, 2012.
May 4, 2012 | environment, Global Public Goods, Passage au crible (English), Security
By Clément Paule
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°66
Source : Wikipedia
For over a month, the oil giant Total has been trying to stem the gas leak that broke out on March 25th 2012 in the G4 well of the Elgin platform in the North Sea. To this end, the firm is using simultaneously a “dynamic kill” procedure – injection of heavy clogging sludge – and a long-term solution based on two relief wells. Evaluating its daily losses at more than $ 2.5 million, the super major said on 20 April that the volume of gas emission, initially estimated at 200,000 cubic meters per day, had been divided by three. According to officials of the group, the environmental consequences would in addition be limited, which tests conducted by the Scottish Navy partially confirmed early May. This reassuring account was however challenged by the INGO Greenpeace (International Non Governmental Organization), which sent on April 2nd a boat in order to perform sampling near the disaster site. Beyond its immediate impact at the economic level – the business performance and market crude Forties – and at the ecological level, this crisis has revived the controversy over the international risks associated with offshore installations.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
For the past three decades, the demand for natural gas has increased steadily and world production has more than doubled. As such, the industry has established itself from the late 1960s in the North Sea, the main hydrocarbon reservoir in Western Europe. However, the decline of mining in this space – a decline of 6% per year on average ; the peak was reached in 2000 – led companies to develop new techniques for exploiting deposits that were less accessible, in extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. Operational in 2001, the Elgin infrastructure was thus presented as a showcase of innovation pushing the boundaries of deepwater drilling. In 2011, investments in the sole UK EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) amounted to 8.6 billion euros.
However, technological advances do not outweigh the risk, as recalled by the Piper Alpha disaster occurred in July 1988. In this case, the explosion then the catching fire of this platform operated by Oxy (Occidental Petroleum Corporation) had killed 167 people and caused several billion dollars in damage. We should also mention the numerous anomalies recently exposed on the site of Gullfalks C between November 2009 and May 2010: the report of the Norwegian PSA agency (Petroleum Safety Authority) had then emphasized the failure of security procedures. According to the British Ministry DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change), these near-accident occur almost daily. Indeed, the Ministry has identified 69 leaks of hydrocarbon or chemical products during the first quarter alone of 2012.
The third company involved in the North Sea – after Shell and BP (formerly British Petroleum) – Total holds the largest stock-exchange capitalization in the euro zone with 93.2 billion euros as of the end of 2011. The group’s share in the Elgin-Franklin field stands at 46.2% and these two fields provide 2% – or 53,000 barrels per day – of its total production. As for Greenpeace, an association founded in 1971 in Canada, it has representations in about forty countries: in 2010, this transnational network counted nearly three million members, including several thousand employees and volunteers – and a budget that relies exclusively on membership fees, amounted to about 225 million euros. If this INGOs is famous for its spectacular actions, lobbying, legal action and expertise are now at the heart of the repertoire of this centralized and professional organization.
Theoretical framework
1. Non-state management of a limited crisis. The post-accident arena is mostly invested by private actors, while the British authorities remain behind. This configuration facilitated the exercise in communication by Total, however challenged by the militant deployment of Greenpeace.
2. Regional regulation of the offshore sector. This accident has contributed to the intensification of the controversy over the intervention of the EU (European Union) in the regulation of the operations in the North Sea. Supported by environmental INGOs and some MEPs, this project – suggesting increased constraints on oil and gas activities – is strongly opposed by industry.
Analysis
From 28 March 2012 already, Greenpeace condemned the multinational firm, citing the precedent of the Deepwater Horizon disaster involving BP in 2010. Also, the mobilization of INGOs focused on challenging the monopoly of the diagnosis by very managers of the incident, in this case Total and experts of the Wild Well Control Company. But this process of stigmatization has not led to an economic collapse of the firm, despite the melting of the initial market capitalization of the giant firm, whose stock exchange share still went down by 8% between March 25 and April 8, 2012. Total seems to have mitigated the impact of the gas leak by developing a crisis communication based on the control of information. The absence of victims and of an oil slick as well as the alleged low impact at the environmental level and the tacit support of the British and Scottish governments, in this respect, played in favor of the operator of Elgin. Note that the CFO of Total quickly addressed shareholders by announcing that the event did not alter its dividend policy, based on profits estimated at $ 12 billion for 2011. This shows the ambiguous relationship between the degradation of the image of the company – worsened in April 2012 by another accident in Nigeria and by the aftermath of the Erika case – and the market reaction. The main brokers – including Exane BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and HSBC – thus remained neutral or moderately optimistic about the group’s performance, especially since the group’s insurance should cover damage up to a billion dollars.
Total seems relatively untouched by the disaster. However, the entire sector is facing renewed criticism from NGOs – from Greenpeace first and foremost – and MEPs who advocate a more stringent regulation of offshore operations in the North Sea. Structured on a national basis, the current system relies on cooperation between the regulatory authority of the state – like the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) in the UK -, industry and unions. Despite reform following the Piper Alpha disaster, this organization has been accused of perpetuating failure and promoting some collusion between the various stakeholders. In 2010, the European Commissioner for Energy had even declared in favor of monitoring the inspectors accompanied by a moratorium on drilling in deep water. However, the proposed regulatory initiative formulated by the Commission in October 2011 mainly focused on the standardization of procedures and stricter conditions for obtaining new licenses, which could now include financial cover for any accident. According to the Fitch Ratings agency, the amount of risk provisions could reach 10 billion euros, which would not be without effect on the ratings of companies operating in the North Sea. These measures have thus met with widespread opposition, from the industry – the 200 companies represented by the Oil & Gas UK – to the labor unions – RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) and Unite the Union – including the British government. Emphasizing the quality of their standards, these actors denounce the transfer of this competence to a new entity devoid of experience, at the expense of a pragmatic and concerted approach within the sector.
Clearly, the mobilization of Greenpeace in connection with the Elgin leak ascribes to its global campaign Go Beyond Oil, directed particularly against the risks induced by investment projects in the Arctic. Based on a report by the insurance company Lloyd’s, the environmental contractor denounced the rush to the North Pole, symbolized by the SDAG project (Shtokman Development AG). Remember also that the IEA (International Energy Agency) fears further accidents in the wake of the disengagement of oil companies from the production in the North Sea. The cost of decommissioning the 500 platforms and 8000 wells in that maritime space could reach $ 100 billion, as estimated by Douglas-Westwood and Deloitte Petroleum Services. These represent as many aspects hidden by the technological race to exploitation, driven by a highly competitive market with State support. These alternative expert figures indicate that the regulation of offshore extraction seems more structured by financial logic and by insurance company interests than directed at the preservation of global public goods.
References
Ravignan Antoine de, « Greenpeace, entre contestation et négociation », L’Economie politique, (18), 2003, pp. 86-96.
Greenpeace International, Annual Report 2010, consultable à l’adresse web :http://www.greenpeace.org [April 25th 2012].
Lloyd’s & Chatham House, Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North, 2012.
Site de Total consacré à l’incident : http://www.elgin.total.com/elgin [1er mai 2012].
Apr 15, 2012 | environment, Global Public Goods, Multilaterism, Passage au crible (English)
By Valérie Le Brenne
Translation : Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°65
Pixabay
From March 12th till March 17th, 2012, the World Water Council organised in Marseille, France, the 6th World Water Forum. Entitled Time for Solutions, this triennial conference brought together over 20 000 participants from 140 countries. These tabled all issues and problems linked to the access to water and to sanitation. On this occasion, governments, ministers present adopted a declaration aiming to speed up the implementation of the right to drinking water recognised by the UN General Assembly in July 2010. Moreover, an on-line Forum – the Solutions for Water @platform – was inaugurated with a view to collect various proposals from world citizens.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The World Water Forum, held every three years since 1997, is an initiative of the World Water Council or WWC, created in 1996. The WWC is an independent UN body which aims at bringing together all actors with a vested interest in this sector in order to favour debate and the sharing of experience. What is at stake is the construction of a « common strategic vision » and to elaborate collectively ad hoc solutions. This multilateral forum, set up in Marseilles, has advisory consultative status to ECOSOC, the UN economic and Social Council, and federates at present over 300 organisations representing sixty countries.
Since the 1960s, findings about the depletion of natural resources have led to many international summits on the environment. In 1977, the Mar Del Plata Conference has heralded water as a Common Good of Humanity (CGH) and warned about the risks to this resource. However, one had to wait for the 1992 Dublin Conference to see guidelines set out for global governance. This first corpus enabled the adoption of the Integrated Management of Water Resources (IMWR), which acts now as a reference on the world level. Inspired from the French model, this system rests on a global approach of water management per hydrographical basin and calls for a devolution of public infrastructures to private operators.
Together with the Rio Summit, this conference represented a crucial stage in the coming about of a world awareness of the rarefaction of water resources. Above all, the Dublin conference made it possible to reach a consensus as to the creation of a World Water Council. In 2000, the Millenium Summit reconducted the WWC mission by inscribing the « access to sources of drinkable water » to the Millenium Development Goals, MDG.
Theoretical framework
Two lines of force are relevant
1. A sectoral multilateralism. As a Common Good of Humanity, water requires the setting up of, a global governance. In this vein, the organisation at regular intervals of world forums seems to participate to the construction of a « new multilateralism » as analysed by Robert Cox.
2. The exportation of a model of management. The improvement of access to drinking water and to sanitation requires substantial investments, which weak States do not seem able to assume. Here, the French PPP model (for Public-Private Partnership) has offered a much favoured solution in order to reach the MDG or Millenium Development Goals. However, a growing number of Sovereignty-Free Actors (James Rosenau) contest this approach and denounce the merchandization of a key resource.
Analysis
The holding of the 6th World Water Forum reflects the deployment of global governance, which goes beyond the strict framework of the State. In this regard, we should remember that every year 5 million people are victims of diseases caused by the consumption of unsafe water, making it the leading cause of death worldwide. Simultaneously, population growth, the increase in irrigated area, urbanization and increased industrial pollution contribute to the depletion of water resources. Consequently, the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals – which include “halving, by 2015, the percentage of the population without access to a sustainable supply of safe drinking water” – requires cooperation of all stakeholders within new multilateral arenas.
In addition, improving access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries requires heavy investments in infrastructure. The negotiations at various multilateral meetings have therefore led to the adoption of the French model of public-private partnership by many international organizations. This system based on an economic conception of global public goods, calls for solving this problem by greater involvement of market participants. This means that the non-free status of goods must allow sustainable funding of equipments as well as making people accountable of this issue. On ought to emphasize in this context that the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) condition the granting of their aids to the implementation of this model by beneficiary States.
However, this approach remains contested by numerous NGOs denouncing the merchandization of this resource in developing countries. For these actors, privatization produces new inequalities because it implies an additional cost to households. In fact, this economic vision opposed the patrimonial conception of the common good, whereby a strong involvement of international bodies would make it possible to follow the best routes for Development. Suffice it to say that without prior consensus on the concept of Common Goods of Humanity CGH, the processes of negotiations remain structured by this strategic cleavage.
Thus, one can currently witness a phenomenon of convergence in NGOs opposed to this mode of governance. Assembled in coalitions, these actors pool in their capital to form new arenas, as shown in the fourth AWWF (Alternative World Water Forum) held in Marseilles from 14 to 17 March 2012. In this case, their claims concern the collusion of public and private interests within the World Water Council, of which several members in fact belong to the three French major water and sanitation companies. Therefore, the World Water Forum would represent a way to bring the interests of these firms internationally through the promotion of the PPP model. Denouncing a logic of “club“, the AWWF also questions the efficiency of this system and stresses the setbacks it has known for ten years in Africa and Latin America.
References
Cox Robert W. (Éd.), The New Realism: Perspectives on Multilateralism and World Order, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
Gabas Jean-Jacques, Hugon Philippe, « Les biens publics mondiaux et la coopération internationale », L’Économie politique, 12 (4), 2001, pp.19-31.
Hugon Philippe, « Vers une nouvelle forme de gouvernance de l’eau en Afrique et en Amérique latine », Revue Internationale et Stratégique, 66 (2), 2007, pp.65-78.
Rosenau James, Turbulence in World Politics: a Theory of Change and Continuity, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1990.
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