Contenu du sommaire

Pierre Janin, “Hunger Riots”: a (Geo-Political) Interpretation of (Social) Changes “Hunger riots” in Sub-Saharan Africa are not only explained by the rise in the prices of agricultural raw materials. In fact, food insecurity has a triple origin: a decrease in the availability of products, a decline in monetary income, and the deterioration of social safety nets. Beyond this, the question is what development concept should be applied to these societies.

Hervé Gaymard, Agriculture: a Key Element in African Prospects Evolutionist theories tend to sacrifice agriculture to the benefit of industrial development and services. Food production must be developed instead, especially since it is central to the future of Africa. To achieve this aim, African agriculture must be protected from more efficient countries' competition. WTO rules have to be adapted to regional specificities so that necessary, tailor-made policies can be implemented.

Tancrède Voituriez, Agriculture and Development: The WTO Meets a Dead End The causes of the failure of the WTO negotiations in Geneva are the contradictions embedded in the negotiations cycle itself, and not the question of subsidies and protectionism, as it has generally been portrayed. By renaming this negotiation “development cycle” soon after its opening in Doha, a new rationale has been sought, that has nevertheless proven highly counterproductive.

Hervé Guyomard, Feeding the World is Possible, Under Several Conditions... In order to feed the world population, which in the next four decades will amount to 9 billion, agricultural production should increase by circa 50 %. This target is not out of reach, provided that several conditions are fulfilled: implementing mechanisms which reduce the volatility of agricultural prices, increasing food supply in a context of sustainable growth, stopping waste and securing trade.

Mohammed Hachemaoui, The Constants of the Algerian Political System Since independence, a decision-making system has been built which monopolizes different levels of decision in the hands of “the praetorian”. At the end of the 1980s, having been opposed by the temporary alliance between those who were in power and the Islamic movement, reforms failed. After the bleak 1990s, President Bouteflika has succeeded up to a certain point in imposing a new balance between different circles of power, but the system set up in the 1960s is still in place.

Kassim Bouhou, Economic Reforms in Algeria: Unfinished Business Soon after achieving independence, Algeria adopted an interventionist economic model that focused on the oil industry, after which reforms made during the 1980s fell short. In the middle of the 1990s, the threat of an economic collapse forced the government to implement free-market reforms, which entailed serious difficulties for a great part of the population, even though a persisting informal sector brought some relief. Although the oil industry has been liberalized, it is still not enough to stimulate the rest of the economy today.

Akram Belkaid, The Algerian Diplomacy in Search of Its Golden Age Its activism in favour of Western Sahara undermined the reach of the Algerian diplomacy. The chaos that was registered in the 1990s secluded Algeria from the international scene, where only the antiterrorist struggle was taken into consideration. Bouteflika has improved the international image of Algeria, but some doubts remain as to the choices of his third term, i.e. its would-be openings, the building up of a Maghrebine community, its relationship with France, and so on.

Lakhdar Benchiba, Mutations of Algerian Terrorism The North African branch of Al-Qaeda is essentially Algerian. The renewed Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has a larger project though: not only is covering all the North African area, but it also represents a new kind of terrorism, seeking to overcome the Algerian question with a geopolitical approach based on an opposition between the West and Islam. This transformation has taken by surprise the Algerian regime, whose policy still relies on a repressive system and on the proposal of an amnesty that seems to have reached its limits.

Emmanuel Auber and Xavier Desmaison, How is the French European Policy Elaborated? The making of a French European policy suffers from a set of inadequacies: it is not clearly designed from an institutional point of view, and the division of labour between the different governmental services is not clear-cut. France should intervene earlier within the European institutions and improve the way its national institutions prepare European decisions by making their actions more consistent.

Pierre-Noël Giraud, 1929-1990-2008: Lessons from Past Crises Lessons can be drawn from past crises – the 1929 krach, the Japanese crisis of the 1990s – for current national economic policies. Policymakers must be aware of the seriousness of liquidity crises that threaten the economy. To avoid them, the financial system must be cleaned up, and fiscal policies supporting economic growth must be developed. There is also a need for international coordination, especially concerning reforms in the financial system, that should address the main dilemma: allowing the free flow of capital or setting barriers against it.

Samir Amghar, The Muslim Brotherhood Has Developed Its Influence in Europe The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the most important Islamic group in the Arabic world, is widely represented in Europe. Its following is composed of a large variety of organizations, whose religious practises vary in their orthodoxy. As they choose to integrate into society both nationally and locally, especially in France, their position has been somewhat normalized. This situation opens an ideological crisis within the movement that, in turn, weakens its militant strength.

Frédéric Charillon, Nicolas Sarkozy at Mid-Term: How to Reform French Foreign Policy Nicolas Sarkozy's mid-term foreign policy is characterized by its pragmatism, its activism and the will to transform France into a key partner in current issues. But are these changes within French diplomacy deep enough? Furthermore, one can wonder if this policy is as flexible as it should be, given that France is a not a major power and that it has to rationalize its means, redeploy its missions and reinforce its ability to weigh on decisions.

Vincent Desportes, The Armies Between “Technologism” and “Just Enough Technology” After the Cold War, a fascination for technology shaped the American strategic choices in a way that led to excessively expensive armies on account of their equipment. Moreover, this equipment has proven to be inadequate in the case of current conflicts. As the United States is adjusting its views on the matter, technology and the concept of interoperability have to be kept in the right perspective: they must serve strategies, and not substitute for them.