Passage au crible
A short Critical Analysis of International Current Affairs
The intention of the critical analysis reports Passage au crible on international current affairs is to encapsulate and clarify the mechanisms of world affairs. Using a transnational approach, the reports are delivered in a concise and educational format each week proposing:
1) A brief and factual reconstruction of a significant event;
2) Historical context;
3) A theoretical framework which gives the non-specialist, with an interest in international relations, access to an approach which goes further than the simple empirical descriptive approach.
4) A specialist’s analysis;
5) A short bibliography providing key references – official documents, books, articles – by recognised specialists on the matter.
PAC 77 – Nobelisation Oblige! The Nobel Prize for Peace 2012 Awarded to the European Union
By Josepha Laroche
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°77
On Friday 12 October 2012, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union. The Chairman of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, stated in his proclamation speech that…
PAC 76 – Mali, from Assistance to Engagement The Three Pitfalls of Asymmetric Conflict
By Jean-Jacques Roche Translation: Pierre Chabal
On 15 October 2012, the Security Council of the United Nations adopted Resolution 2071 presented at the request of the Malian authorities and with the support of France. Pressing countries in West Africa…
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PAC 75 – A Non-Aligned Movement without Credit for a State without Credibility The 16th Non-Aligned Summit, Tehran, 30-31 August 2012
By Josepha Laroche Translation: Pierre Chabal
From 26 to 31 August 2012, Tehran hosted the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which comprises today 120 member-countries. At the end of the rally, attended by 35 Heads of State and Government…
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PAC 74 – The Uniqueness of Cultural Goods The Destruction of the Timbuktu Shrines
By Alexandre Bohas Translation: Pierre Chabal
The looting of Muslim shrines perpetrated in Mali in 2012 by religious extremists has raised consternation of global proportions. However, after this unanimity without effect, it is important to examine the specificity of the common…
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PAC 73 – A Multisectoral Mobilization against the Global AIDS Pandemic The International Conference in Washington, 22-27 July 2012
By Clément Paule Translation: Pierre Chabal
From 22th to 27th July 2012, nearly 24,000 people from 183 countries participated in the 19th International Conference on AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) held in Washington by the IAS…
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PAC 72 – Sanctioning the Impunity of Transnational Crime The Conviction of Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone
By Yves Poirmeur Translation: Pierre Chabal
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was sentenced on May 30th, 2012, to 50 years imprisonment by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was found an accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity…
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PAC 71 – The Failure of Multilateralism Without Constraints The Rio+20 Summit, 20-22 June 2012
By Clément Paule Translation: Pierre Chabal
From 20 to 22 June 2012, the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro hosted the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Involving more than 40,000 participants – representing multinational firms…
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PAC 70 – A Glocalised Crisis The Denunciation of the Food Situation in Yemen
By Armand Suicmez
Translation: Pierre Chabal
Passage au crible n°70
On 23 May 2012, seven NGOs issued a press release informing of the current famine situation in Yemen. Against a backdrop of civil war and massive displacement of populations, nearly half of the population is affected…
PAC 69 – The Paradoxes of the Film Industry in China The Acquisition of AMC by the Chinese Group Wanda, on May 21th 2012
By Justin Chiu Translation: Pierre Chabal
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.
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PAC 68 – Virtual Intrusion as a Means of Political Intervention The attacks by the protesters’ group Anonymous
By Adrien Cherqui Translation: Pierre Chabal
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…
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PAC 67 – GMO Patents as Vectors of Agricultural Dependence Monsanto's conviction by the State court of Rio Grande do Sul
By Armand Suiçmez Translation: Pierre Chabal
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)…
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PAC 66 – Regulating the Finance of Offshore Operations The Gas Leak in the North Sea, March-April 2012
By Clément Paule Translation: Pierre Chabal
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”…
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PAC 65 – A Water Governance for the World The 6th World Water Forum, Marseille, March 12-17th 2012
By Valérie Le Brenne Translation : Pierre Chabal
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…
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PAC 64 – Mali and the Risk of Somalisation of the Sahelo-Saharan Arc The Unilateral Proclamation of Independence of Azawad
By Philippe Hugon Translation: Pierre Chabal
In Mali, in a context of failure of both political power and of the army, Touareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA or MNLA), acting jointly with Islamic movements have unilaterally proclaimed…
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PAC 63 – The Political Trump-Cards of Cultural Potency Qatar’s Policy of ‘Cultural Grandeur’
By Alexandre Bohas Translation: Pierre Chabal
Qatar regularly features high in newspaper headlines for its acquisition of works of art. The reining family, aware of the limited resources of their territory, has invested abroad. This paper seeks to understand…
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PAC 61 – The Sanitary Liability of Agrochemical Firms The High Court of Lyon, France, Convicts the American firm Monsato
By Valérie Le Brenne Translation: Pierre Chabal
On February 13th, 2012, the high court of Lyon, France, ruled that the American firm Monsanto was guilty of the poisoning of a grain farmer by a pesticide, Lasso, banned in France since 2007…
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PAC 60 – The Slow Empowerment of Social Networks in China China’s Veto of the Drafted Security Council Resolution on Syria
By Justin Chiu Translation: Davina P. Durgana
On February 4th, 2012, China and Russia vetoed a Security Council draft resolution condemning UN repression in Syria. Beginning in Derra in March 2011, the Syrian revolt has already killed over 8,000 civilians…
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PAC 59 – China’s Land Investments in Africa From Agricultural Development to Re-Colonization
By Philippe Hugon Translation: Melissa Okabe
Meetings dedicated to food security multiplied at the beginning of 2012, while studies reporting the assessment of land transactions show that between 2000 and 2010, on 200 million hectares of monopolized land…
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PAC 58 – The harsh governance of the Internet The closing of the Megaupload site by the American authorities
By Alexandre Bohas Translation: Melissa Okabe
The Megaupload affair could simply be considered as the last of a long series of copyright disputes. But its global character as well as its consequences, with the rejection of the PIPA and SOPA laws…
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PAC 57 – The Environmental and Sanitation Cost of Chinese Development The Pollution of the Longjiang River by the Mining Business Guangxi Jinhe Mining Co. Ltd.
By Valérie Le Brenne Translation: Davina Durgana
On January 15th, 2012, mining company Guangxi Jihne Mining Co. Ltd. Polluted the Longjiang river (situated in the autonomous region of Guangxi, south of China) by dumping cadmium…
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PAC 56 – The economic stakes of community conflicts Nigeria undermined by its internal divisions
By Philippe Hugon Translation: Melissa Okabe
At the beginning of 2012, Nigeria, ally to the United States and Great Britain, has been undermined by two great crises: 1) that of the North-South confrontation characterized by the spiral…
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PAC 55 – Ostracized North Korea The Death of President Kim Jong-Il
By Thomas Lindemann
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°55
The death of President Kim Jong-Il and the probable succession by a triumvirate driven by his son Kim Jong-Un raises the question again of available options to appease and transform the North Korean regime…
PAC 54 – The crimes of Cultural Relativism The Death Sentence of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani
By Armelle Le-bras-Chopard Translation: Melissa Okabe
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani death sentence for alleged adultery proves symbolic of the violation of human rights and the situation of the women under sharia law which rages in Iran. ..
read morePAC 53 – Public Health Battles Against the Interests of Private Subcontracting The PIP (Poly Implant Prothesis) Breast Implants Health Scandal
By Armand Suicmez
Translation: Melissa Okabe
Passage au crible n°53
On January 4, 2012, the investigating judge of the city of Marseille led a search on the premises of the French PIP (Poly Implant Prosthesis) company located in the Var region, following the scandal over the breast implants…
PAC 52 – An Erroneous Concept of Power The Acquisition of European Firms by China
By Alexandre Bohas
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°52
Many observers are moved by the iconic movement of firms operated on the Old Continent by the Chinese, while at the same time, they regret the outsourcing and Foreign Direct Investment of European firms outside of Europe…
