Contenu du sommaire : De l'Europe d'avant-guerre à l'Europe d'aujourd'hui. Regards sur l'Europe de 1939

Agricultural deficiencies and European food dependency Western Europe, before the War, relied on food imports from all other regions to cover its basic consumption needs. Whereas this pattern originated in Europe's domination on world production and international trade networks, it was to make European nations vulnerable in case of war and to constrain their strategical plans; preserving the most vital supplies remained a major challenge for European belligerents during war years. Prewar Europe was also characterized by sharp inequalities between rich industrial nations and poor agricultural nations with a much higher proportion of their workforce in agriculture; but the latter, whether wheat importers in Southern Europe or wheat exporters in Eastern Europe, were definitely below the former in absolute terms for agricultural productivity or yields. The War was the starting point of a "third agricultural revolution", which brought an unprecedently fast advance in agricultural productivity, resulted in a reversal of the agricultural trade balance from negative to positive, and initiated a catching up process throughout a major part of Europe. While agricultural development and industrialization were becoming more and more interdependent, Eastern Europe under the communist rule lagged behind, and the last decade by no means dissipated the uncertainties concerning its position in tomorrow's European agricultural economy. edently fast advance in agricultural productivity, resulted in a reversal of the agricultural trade balance from negative to positive, and initiated a catching up process throughout a major part of Europe. While agricultural development and industrialization were becoming more and more interdependent, Eastern Europe under the communist rule lagged behind, and the last decade by no means dissipated the uncertainties concerning its position in tomorrow's European agricultural economy.

The industrial positions of Europe on the eve of the Second World War This article provides estimates of the level of industrialisation in the world around 1937. The results reveal that the industrial position of Europe on the eve of the Second World War depends on the indicator chosen. If we refer to the total manufacturing production, Europe as a whole represents the first industrial power in the world. However, the levels of industrialisation show that Europe lagged largely behind the United States. This contribution emphasizes also that the European continent was not a homogenous economic entity around 1937. There is indeed an important gap between an "industrial" and an "agricultural" Europe. The gap between the two Europe was in fact much more important than the one between the Old Continent and the United States. Finally, this article replaces these 1937 estimations in the long run by focusing on the evolution of the European industry after the Second World War. an "industrial" and an "agricultural" Europe. The gap between the two Europe was in fact much more important than the one between the Old Continent and the United States. Finally, this article replaces these 1937 estimations in the long run by focusing on the evolution of the European industry after the Second World War.

Europe in the world trade network Before the Second World War, European external trade (Russia excluded) was characterized by: 1. A poor dynamism, in comparison with that of North America or Japan, due notably to its internal fragmentation; 2. A high degree of internationalization (37 % of its exports were destined for the rest of the world against 31,5% in 1910 and less than 30 % in 1995). This paper examines the part of each country in the global volume of trade, measures the impact of this trade on the main national economies, evaluates the structure by product of exports in relation with the level of development of related countries, determines the comparative advantages of the different competitors and presents in detail the geographical structure of exports of the most important powers.

European international investments Some reflections about interwar quantifications and the analytical value of applying traditional methods to the realities of the second half of the twentieth century. The aim of this paper is to offer a modified view about international investment in the XXth century, beginning with the data of the three main investor countries prior to World War I: UK, France and Germany. The first part of the study gives a very global sketch of well known statistics, while showing their limits and technical failures. It gives also some tables stating the inter war evolution and global situation in 1938. The main point is stated in the second part beginning with a survey of the situation of the three countries in 1945-1950, it examines the post 1960 evolution and above all the post 1974 years. The new forms of capital, the internationalisation, freedom and total dematerialization of money markets, the new forms of international investments, their fluidity and instability, the vanishing governments and central banks control and authority, and above all the new patterns of international investments, in relation with the new activities, are depriving of any scientific value the traditional computing, economical or historical methods stated. It suggests a critical reading of the British and US publications from the inter war period onwards and those on the French school of international relations. New questions arise that must be answered with today materials that can only be assembled by newly devised investigation methods. Not only new ways of looking into international investment are a necessity if we want to understand and explain the path the international economy is following, but it will also help to resolve the numerous and often non quantifiable shortcomings of past publications. all the post 1974 years. The new forms of capital, the internationalisation, freedom and total dematerialization of money markets, the new forms of international investments, their fluidity and instability, the vanishing governments and central banks control and authority, and above all the new patterns of international investments, in relation with the new activities, are depriving of any scientific value the traditional computing, economical or historical methods stated. It suggests a critical reading of the British and US publications from the inter war period onwards and those on the French school of international relations. New questions arise that must be answered with today materials that can only be assembled by newly devised investigation methods. Not only new ways of looking into international investment are a necessity if we want to understand and explain the path the international economy is following, but it will also help to resolve the numerous and often non quantifiable shortcomings of past publications.

Europe and the colonial world. From the apogee of empires to after decolonization The pre-World War II period corresponds to the apogee of empires. In terms of area and population, Europe's oversea possessions reached then unprecedented dimensions. Trade relations between home countries and their colonies were at their peak. Its empires were colonizing Europe's best foreign assets. Nevertheless these trends, that started since the beginning of the 19th century, reversed rapidly following decolonization, yet without starting serious crises in home countries economies. Nowadays, fourty years after their political emancipation, the former colonies of Asia, Africa and Caribbeans are no longer privileged trade partners and capital investment places for integrating Europe. Furthermore, decolonization-linked tensions led the nearly totality of "ethnic" Europeans and the colony-born Europeans to leave them withdrawing back to home countries. In a reverse trend, the old Continent became emigration land for the former subjects of colonial empires.

The borders of Europe What really means the word "borders" in European inter war period ? Barriers, meta-frontiers, insuperable divisions between pieces of Europe. Borders divided not only Nation-States, authoritative regimes and democratic ones, but above all were becoming the pretext for aggressions, for the building of a New Europe : the Nazi's Lebensraum. Borders were becoming front lines. After the Second World War new borders will be laid out in a more pacific spirit. However Europe has to wait until 1989 to find again her real borders.

Disrupted monetary relations and converging european policies in the late 1930s The state of monetary relations in Europe in the late 1930s is characterized by the disruption of the type of monetary relations specific to the Gold Standard. The compartmentalization of Europe into monetary blocs and the generalized inconvertibility are the main features. Yet, on the brink of the War, a deep renewal of monetary conceptions had started up and the evolution of the monetary policies throughout Europe clearly foreshadows the new monetary order of the second half of the century.

The weight of Germany and the British start Germany stays, after its defeat of 1918, the first european industrial power and the annexations of 1938 and 1939 reinforce its predominance. But, in 1939, most of the relative decline of british economy has not yet occurred and Great Britain believes to be strong enough to face the ambitions of Hitler in Europe. Having overcome the Crisis of the thirties, both countries have an industrial potential answering the requirements of modern war. Germany has an advantage on the field of the production capacity and the precocity of rearming, England on the field of supply, what is essential in a long war. But neither Great Britain nor Germany can overcome, because Great Britain has put off organizing land forces and Germany has put off developing its fleet. Both have not yet realized that they are now middle size powers, in comparison with United States and USSR.

The essay is devoted to compare four countries of Southern Europe: Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece and substantially develops three arguments: a) among the four countries covered, all of which were far behind the Western European countries in the XlXth century, the Italian economy stands out as the only one that did not loose further grounds before the 1950s because no political event curbed its long run growth rate significantly; b) all the four countries were under dictatorship and with an economy twisted towards autarky and military production at the end of the 1930s, but the Spanish one was in special difficulties as a result of civil war; c) all the four countries had very high rates of growth in the post II world war period and are firmly inserted into the EU, but only Italy could effectively catch up with the rest of Western Europe, as a result of her higher starting level.

The export-led industrialization effort in pre-World War I Central and Eastern Europe failed. After the War the (mostly newly independent) countries of the region turned toward economic nationalism. Protectionism and aggressive state intervention helped import-substitution but led the rapid development only in consumer good industries. Self-sufficiency was impossible and the region became a part of Hitler's "Grossraumwirtschaft", then Nazi war economy during the 1930s and 1940s. Industrialization, again, failed and the gap between West and East remained as large as before.

Inequalities. One or two Europes? At the end of the Thirties, Europe (without Russia) numbered twenty-two states of more than 2.5 million inhabitants. However, this continent of almost 400 million souls, living on 5 million square kilometers, was divided into two main parts with very divergent socioeconomic structures. On one side, an industrial Europe, rich, modern, and dominating; on the other side, an agricultural Europe, poor, archaic and dominated. This paper aims at comparing forms and socioeconomic dynamics of both systems, by taking into account their mechanisms of production and reproduction, their metabolic equilibriums, as well as the flows that rule their internal exchanges and their external relations.

European entrepreneurs in the late 1930s The article emphasizes the role of owner-managers in most of the European countries and it tries to underline the reasons for and the consequences of this prominent position. It shows that proprietary management was relevant to the size and the structure of the firms and that owners-managers cannot be considered as responsible for the poor economic performances experienced by several European countries in the interwar period.

Employment and labour relations in the late 1930s This article studies the main features of the labor market and the employement in Europe in the end of the 1930's. It shows that the mutation of the salaried society which expands after 1945 were beginning to take root in the inter war period; the national patterns were also already present and they held out against the authauritarian new order set up in Germany. In spite of some degree of convergence in the evolution, these national patterns curbed the emergence of a European social identity.

The origins of the welfare state From the end of 19th century, in every industrial country of Europe, states have taken mesures of social protection, of variable importance. On 1938, the propagande of totalitarian governments of Italy, Germany and USSR allege the largest choice of mesures, with somme real effects. These effects are a major explanation of large adhesion of populations to the regimes. In democratic countries, all peoples attached to the traditional conception of liberal and non-interventionist state struggle against the emergence of welfare state. Scandinavian nations succeed in adoption of comprehensive legislations. During the inter-wars period, British government meet difficulties in application of mesures adopted before the first world war. In France a populationist and nationalist drift is a reply to the menace of totalitarisms.

European cities in the 20th century The article on the 20th century European city covers two dimensions: On the one hand it describes briefly the main directions and controversies of the debate on the European city by Europeans which slowly ended around the 1960's. On the other hand it presents the major pecularities of the 20th century European city, the visibility of history in the city, the specific urban growth, the European division between urban and rural culture, the European urban inequalities, the European use of urban space especially in the city centres, the European debate about city planning and the European urban planning politics.