Societal issues All books
Philippe Moati
The Sick Hyperconsumer Society
Hyperconsumption undermines social cohesion and “living together”
Gilles Antonowicz
Sexual Crimes The Reponse of the Judiciary
What is the value of the testimony of a minor who declares having been sexually abused by a family member? What procedures does the judiciary follow to try to prevent the risk of a false allegation? The author explains and comments on the judicial procedure for these sensitive cases, which are often long, complex and very trying. The author goes on to ask if the time has not come to reconsider the status of the victim in these penal proceedings. Gilles Antonowicz is a lawyer specialising in cases concerning the sexual abuse of minors.
Jean-Michel Blanquer
The School for the Future in France
A informed contribution to the debate on education and the university in this pre-election period. Selected and finely-drawn examples from around the world illustrate how these contradictions can be overcome: Stanford and Silicon Valley, Singapore University, the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne nd research, ESSEC and entrepreneurship, and more.
Patrice Debré
Revolutions in Biology and the Human Condition
A reflection on the prowess and the promises of biotechnologies, this text also casts a critical light on the transhumanist project.
Jacques Lesourne
Rethinking the 21st Century Through Its Crises
Global warming, melting ice caps, the Middle East conflict, Chinese economic development, extreme poverty in Darfur, decreasing biodiversity: hardly a day goes by when these subjects are not in the news...
Jean Picq
Religious Freedom in the French Republic Restoring the Spirit of French Secularism
‘Laïcité’ has been at the heart of numerous debates in France. The author argues here for a multifaceted, open secularism.
Sebastian Roché
Réformer la police et la sécurité
Demands for increased public safety are prevalent in both Europe and the United States, and they take similar forms. Do policies based on such notions as zero tolerance, local policing, partnership and mediation serve any real purpose or do they simply act as decoys? In New York City, as elsewhere, improved public safety resulted from the decentralisation of resources and power and, therefore, of responsibilities. In the articles included here, the writers, who are all experts in public safety in their respective countries, examine the issues in a dispassionate manner and offer a comparative study of the results obtained in different countries. Finally, they make some concrete suggestions to resolve the problem of petty crime and incivilities. Sébastian Roché is a professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, in Grenoble. He is the author of Tolérance zéro? Incivilitié et insecurité, published by Editions Odile Jacob.