Contenu du sommaire : Administration Obama, An I

Religion and Geopolitics : a Perverse Relationship. States have often used religion as a part of their quest for power. Monotheisms have facilitated the establishment of theocracies by excluding other beliefs. However, more and more societies have become secular throughout the XXth century. Yet, secularisation is still a rather passing phenomenon, as five major events in the current century already announce a return of religious values, civilisations, and cultures to the public sphere. The media which favour the display of private lige in the public sphere, is partly responsible for this evolution. In order to escape from this use of religion by the political sphere, it is important to fight against the tendency of state leaders to pretend that they are the guardians of religious values, and re-establish the credibility of secular international law.

The Making of the Enemy. Reflections on a Strategic Process. At the end of the Cold War, organizations of strategic thinking were left without a global enemy. The American strategists, responsible for measuring the risks and threats, for formating the defence effort and for justifying the use of force, have therefore created the enemy based on analyses of which time has revealed the artificiality. The 'Southern threat', the 'war of civilizations' and finally the 'global war against terrorism and proliferation' have all been analysed and discussed by the Europeans who are stunned by these new paradigms. The bankruptcy European of the systems of reflection has given way to media intellectuals, humanitarian workers and diasporas who have become very influential in determining the opponent. The machine that creates the enemy is therefore far from being chastened.

Deconstructing the « Shiite Crescent »The expression of a « Shiite crescent » is a recent one. It was used for the first time in an interview with the King Abdallah II of Jordan ; who expressed his concern about the development of a Shiite axis. This axis would have Iran as a main center, and would extend across much of the Middle-East to Lebanon. The main concern is not so much that Shiism is gaining new followers, but that it will be used by the Iranian state to establish a regional influence – and notably in Iraq. However, this theory that has spread among Arab leaders, does not exactly match the reality. Iran has not been successful in durably spreading its control over the Shiite religious authority, and does not hold the ideological monopol over political activists anymore. Therefore, Shiism is not a homogeneous bloc, and one can even notice the development of forms nationalist of Shiite islam.

The Islamic Republic, a Pyrrhic Victory ? The massive electoral frauds during the Iranian presidential elections of June 2009 provoked major demonstrations. A rupture was produced between the regime and an Iranian society that disputes the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Although the opposition forces do not appear sufficiently organised to threaten the regime in the short term, the gap is widening between different elements of the regime itself. This fragile and complicated situation also has an impact on Iran's foreign policy and on the nuclear question in particular. To preserve its power, the extreme fringe of the regime has isolated itself from the moderates and has secluded itself from the population through systematic repression. This Pyrrhic victory has made the regime bend but not break for the moment.

Abstract`/titrebThe Automobile Industry on Probation ? The car industry, which has been in crisis for many years, has fallen into bankruptcy due to the actual economic recession. A massive program including loans for vehicule and equipment manufacturers has been set, as well as other plans aiming at encouraging people to buy less polluting cars and innovative models. Thus, Obama's Administration has taken active steps in order to help improve the industry. Unfortunately, these measures are not sufficient in a sector that lacks innovations, and in which costs of production stay relatively high, in addition to the fact that the car industry struggles to remain competitive. Therefore, Obama is faced with the daunting challenge of resuming the car sector, in addition to many others challenges (reforming the health care and financial systems).

Power and Religion : Towards a New Secular Era ? The United States is often perceived by Europe as a country that would have escaped from the secularisation process during which the public sphere was definitively separated from any religious aspects. However, this interpretation is wrong. The United States is indeed a secular republic that is supported by a “civil religion” which holds the nation together. The history of the United States is indeed characterized by the coexistence of two tendencies ; religions and secularism, which are imposed according to a logic of alternate dominance. After the relative success of the process of religious impregnation of the civil order by the two Bush Administrations, it seems that, with Barack Obama's election, we are entering a new phase of reactivation of secularism in the United States.