International Democracy Newsletter - N. 2 - November 2018

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International Democracy Newsletter N. 2 - November 2018

THE FEDERALIST DEBATE

Papers on Federalism in Europe and the world

Year XXXI, Number 2, July 2018

CONTENTS

Editorial

Trump’s Wrong Policy in the Middle East and Macron’s Mistake

Comments

Borderless Debate

Federalist Action

Book Reviews

T H I N K

Trump’s Wrong Policy in the Middle East and Macron’s Mistake

by Lucio Levi

On the night between 13 and 14 April, 2018, the armed forces of the United States, the United Kingdom and France bombed three sites in Syria connected with the production of chemical weapons, which Assad used on 7 April against the civil population in Douma near Damascus.

A C T

European Lawmakers Call for a UN Parliamentary Assembly and a 2020 UN Reform Summit

by Andreas Bummel

In a resolution adopted on 5 July 2018, the European Parliament called on the EU's governments to advocate "the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly" (UNPA) and to support a "UN 2020 summit" that will consider "comprehensive reform measures for a renewal and strengthening of the United Nations."

T H I N K

European Neighborhood and Marshall Plan with Africa: a Federalist Point of View

by Paolo Ponzano

The federalist thought is based at the same time on the theory of “raison d’état” (which has its origin in Machiavelli) and on the conception of world peace expressed by Immanuel Kant.

A C T

United Nations Charter Reform, the Veto, and the Unfulfilled Promise of San Francisco

by Shahr-yar Sharei

The Security Council (SC) of the United Nations is the organ charged with maintaining “international peace and security” and, under international law, represents the ultimate authority in respect of conflict resolution.

T H I N K

A New Narrative for Migrations

by Marie-Christine Vergiat

Population movements are an inherent part of the history of humanity and Europe has not always been a place of immigration. Our history is founded on population movements, wars and invasions.

A C T

Strengthening and Democratizing the UN to Regulate Globalization

by Lucio Levi

Globalization is a social and economic integration process which has a significant political meaning, i.e. the erosion of state sovereignty.

T H I N K

UN Reform: Where Are We Now?

by Andrea Cofelice

With the publication of An Agenda for Peace (1992), An Agenda for Development (1994) and An Agenda for Democratisation (1996), the then-UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali launched an ambitious program to reform the United Nations, in order to strengthen, democratise and adapt the Organisation’s structure and working methods to the changed international context, marked by the end of the Cold War.

A C T

«A People's Assembly Will Emerge from the World Masses» - An Appeal by the World Citizens

On September 1948, Robert Sarrazac, a former soldier engaged in the French Resistance and founder of the "Human Front of World Citizens", constitutes a Solidarity Council to support the cause of Garry Davis, a voluntarily country-less activist who took refuge at the Trocadero in Paris, then a territory temporarily under the jurisdiction of the United Nations.

T H I N K

SDR and Bitcoins: Competition or Cooperation?

by Elena Flor

Christine Lagarde – the IMF Managing Director – in her recent speech[i] on the 20th anniversary of the Bank of England’s independence, wondered whether virtual currencies – like the Bitcoin – pose a challenge to the current system of currencies and central banks.

A C T

World Federalist Congress in The Hague Reaffirms Fight for Global Peace, Justice and Democracy

In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the movement underlined its “primary goal” of institution-building and emphasized its commitment to “the reform and improvement of existing international institutions” and “the creation of new democratic supranational institutions”.

T H I N K

The United States and Its Foreign Policy: Searching for the Lost Federalism

by Michele Ballerin

There’s a feature in the USA cultural life which has always amazed me, particularly in the way Americans perceive themselves and their own history: they are considerably proud of the first chapter of their adventure – the independence war against Great Britain –, while they pay a far weaker enthusiasm to the second – the Philadelphia Convention and the birth of the first federation in history, in 1787.

A C T

A New Future for the World Federalist Movement?

by Fernando Iglesias

From the 9th to the 13th of July, the World Federalist Movement held its Congress in The Hague. It was the 27th Congress since the WFM’s creation, which took place in Montreux, Switzerland, immediately after the Second World War.

T H I N K

A Change of Mentality: from Confrontation to Cooperation

by Federica Mogherini

I will get to the State of the European Union in a minute, but let me first spend a few words on the state of the world today, also because the two are clearly interconnected.

A C T

Eurolat Endorses Copla Initiative

On July 16/17, 2018, the Co-Presidents of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat), the President of the Latin American Parliament Elias Castillo and the Member of the European ParliamentRamón Jáuregui Atondo, in accordance with Article 17 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly have stated:

T H I N K

President Macron’s Call for a «Sovereign Europe»

by Dusan Sidjanski

In the light of the EU’s existential crisis, President Macron, a truly committed European, has proposed his vision for a “sovereign Europe”. The bottom line is that the Union is not, or rather is insufficiently equipped with sovereign powers.

A C T

Ministers of Security, Justice and Interior of Mercosur Study on the Viability of COPLA

by c.l.b

On 8 June 2018, within the XLVII Meeting of Ministers of Justice and the XLI Meeting of Ministers of Interior and Security of MERCOSUR and Associated States, a declaration was signed in which the Ministers committed to study the viability of a Latin American and Caribbean Criminal Court Against Transnational Organized Crime (COPLA).

T H I N K

Towards a New Architecture of the Euro Area

by Alberto Majocchi

The paper “A Constructive Approach to Euro Area Reform”[i] prepared by 14 Franco-German economists represents a major step forward in the debate on the problems and reform of the euro area – after the various contributions of the European Commission – and has strong political significance, in particular thanks to the contribution of Jean Pisani-Ferry, who was responsible for the programme during Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign.

A C T

The Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes: a community for prevention

By Jelena Pia-Comella – Senior Advisor – GAAMAC

December 9, 2018 will mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and yet not only its ratification and implementation is notuniversal but also, and regrettably so, 70 years later no country is immune to genocide or other mass atrocity crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

T H I N K

For a Europe of the Regions

by Henry Malosse

In spite of the high number of non-voters, the more than 56% of votes for the nationalist coalition in the elections in Corsica on December 10, 2017, indicate a support for their ideas and not a rejection of the local political class as it is wrongly believed in Paris.

A C T

Our Denial of the Threat of Nuclear Armageddon

by Helene Caldicott

For a while, it may have seemed that the threat of nuclear war had diminished. But Donald Trump’s vow to increase and “upgrade” the United States nuclear arsenal, tensions between the US and North Korea,and the unsecured stockpiles of aging weapons around the globe make it clear we still need to be concerned about this apocalyptic danger.

T H I N K

Transnational Lists: a False Good Idea

Pierre Jouvenat

It is generally thought that only transnational lists can give elections to the European Parliament a real European dimension. However, there exists another alternative which is more likely to be approved by the Council and which corresponds to the long-term federalist vision. This would be attributing all of the votes to European political parties while maintaining national quotas, national and regional constituencies.

A C T

A Compelling Obligation: Creating the Vertical Alliance Africa-Mediterranean-Europe

by Jean-Louis Guigou and Pierre Beckouche

In the present chaotic world where it is difficult to look confidently at the long term, many heads of state are steering by sight. China, however, will complete in 2049 the silk roads that will link Europe and Africa to Asian interests.

T H I N K

A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century

by Nicola Vallinoto

The “Altiero Spinelli” Institute for Federalist Studies has been organizing an international seminar on the island of Ventotene for the past 35 years. This island off the Italian coast is the place where Altiero Spinelli, author of the Federalist Ventotene Manifesto, was imprisoned during the Second World War.

A C T

70th Anniversary of the European Movement

On 24 and 25 May, the European Movement International celebrated its Seventieth anniversary in The Hague with the two-day event ‘Sharing Europe’. Citizens, policy-makers, trade unions, civil society and business came together to discuss the main issues facing Europe today.

A C T

New Tendencies in the Global Financial System

by Elena Flor

A profound difference characterises this new phase of world finance: for the first time, financial flows tend to concentrate in new areas, especially in Asia, and for the most part they no longer flow into historic financial centres like London.

A C T

European Citizens' Initiative - Open Initiatives

This list covers the initiatives currently open for collection of statements of support and those for which the collection is closed but for which the Commission does not yet have any information about whether the organisers managed or failed to collect the required

A C T

XXVI European Congress of 23-25 November 2018, Vienna

The UEF XXVI European Congress will be the occasion to discuss the European Federalists' strategy, campaign and policy proposals for the many challenges Europe is facing today: the completion of the Monetary Union, the development of the EU's social dimension, the reinforcement of the EU defense capabilities and, last but not least, the prospects for further political integration in view of the upcoming 2019 European elections.

A C T

Carbon Tax: Worthy of a Nobel Prize

by Alberto Majocchi

On 6 October, ahead of the Climate Change Conference to be held in Katowice in December, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) approved a Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.

SPONSORS: Centro Einstein di Studi Internazionali (CESI), Centro Studi sul Federalismo (CSF), Union of European Federalist (UEF), World Federalist Movement (WFM).

EDITORIAL BOARD: editor Nicola Vallinoto (TFD), coeditor Andrea Cofelice (CSF), graphic Pietro Massafra (CESI), consultant Lionello Casalegno (TFD), editor TFD Lucio Levi.

GLOBAL LEVEL: UN Reform: Shahriar Sharei, Andrea Cofelice; International Monetary System Reform: Antonio Mosconi; Universal Ratification of the ICC Statute: Yasmina Gourchane; Responsibility to Protect: Brittany Roser; UNPA: Andreas Bummel, Nicola Vallinoto; WTO Reform: Lucio Levi; UN World Environment Agency: Roberto Palea, Lorenzo Spiller.

REGIONAL LEVELS: EUROPE. New Deal 4 Europe: Grazia Borgna, Paolo Ponzano; Eea: Lorenzo Spiller; SOUTH AMERICA. COPLA: Camila Lopez, Fernando Iglesias; ASIA AND MIDDLE-EAST. James Arputharaj; Article 9 Campaign: Klaus Schlichtmann.

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