Paris sind, die ein starkes Interesse an einer Europäisierung ihrer Afrikapolitiken hegen, zumindest solange sie die Brüsseler Afrikaagenda maßgeblich mitzubestimmen vermögen. Insbesondere Frankreich, dessen massive Präsenz südlich der Sahara in der Vergangenheit meist sehr kritisch beurteilt wurde, dürfte weiterhin versuchen, auf diesem Wege Kosten auszulagern und gleichzeitig an Legitimität zu gewinnen. Die Bundesrepublik steht damit durchaus vor einem Dilemma. Einerseits sind ihre unmittelbaren Eigeninteressen in der Region äußerst begrenzt. (Das deutsch-belgische Handelsvolumen war im Jahr 2005 z. B. dreimal größer als das deutsch-afrikanische.) Andererseits hat Berlin mit seiner traditionell integrationsfreundlichen Haltung maßgeblich zur Schaffung der institutionellen Voraussetzungen einer proaktiven, multidimensionalen europäischen Außenpolitik im Allgemeinen beigetragen. Die Bundesregierung braucht sich daher nicht zu wundern, wenn andere Akteure diese Strukturen jetzt auch südlich der Sahara im Besonderen nutzen wollen. Insgesamt ist es Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet und Kollegen gelungen, eine profunde Einführung in die eu -Afrikapolitik vorzulegen, die Praktikern und Studenten geradezu als Nachschlagewerk dienen kann. Das Buch bietet dem interessierten Leser darüber hinaus eine Fülle von Anschlussmöglichkeiten für eigene Forschungen. Denn so wie es in dem vorliegenden Sammelband bisher aufbereitet ist, verlangt das Thema förmlich nach einer konsequenten Theoretisierung, einer stärkeren Anwendung der vergleichenden Methode im mitgliedsstaatlichen Bereich sowie hier und da einer vertieften empirischen Unterfütterung mancher Thesen. Einer eventuellen Zweitauflage sollte außerdem unbedingt ein Abkürzungsverzeichnis beigefügt werden, um die Benutzerfreundlichkeit zu erhöhen. Axel Biallas, Leipzig DANIEL H. NEXON/ IVER B. NEUMANN(Eds): Harry Potter and International Relations Lanham 2006 Rowman& Littlefield Publishers, 245 pp. T he study of popular culture is slowly gaining ground within the discipline of International Relations. Not only are more and more teachers discovering movies, music, and so on, as educational tools, 1 but ever more researchers are system1. Tierney, Michael J.:»Schoolhouse Rock: Pedagogy, Politics, and Pop,« in: International Studies Perspectives, 8(2007), pp. iii–v; Weber, Cynthia:»The Highs and Lows of Teaching ir Theory: Using Popular Films for Theretical Critique,« in: International Studies Perspectives, 2(2001), pp. 281–287. 158 Rezensionen/Book Reviews ipg 1/2008

atically examining how pop culture influences, and is influenced by, international politics and foreign policy. 2 One recent addition to this body of literature is Harry Potter and International Relations . Edited by Daniel H. Nexon and Iver B. Neumann, this volume comprises nine articles written by scholars and students from different academic backgrounds who discuss various aspects of the International Relations/ pop culture connection. Its aim is not only to address the»Harry Potter phenomenon« from an International Relations perspective but also – and more importantly – to demonstrate the relevance of pop culture for the study of world politics. Indeed, as the editors demonstrate in their introduction, the connection is stronger and more multi-faceted than one might at first expect. Most obviously, popular culture is influenced by international events. The number of pop songs, movies, and novels dealing with International Relations themes, such as war, Cold War espionage, and terrorism, is beyond count and reveals an active interest in our field of study. 3 In turn, international politics and foreign policy are affected by pop culture. As Neumann and Nexon make clear,»[p]opular entertainment not only commands a larger audience than the news or political events, but it frequently has a more powerful impact on the way audiences come to their basic assumptions about the world«(8). Through its role in the production of meaning, pop culture also contributes to the creation and maintenance of power structures. As Michael Shapiro has pointed out,»music, theater, weather forecasts, and even cereal box scripts tend to endorse prevailing power structures by helping to reproduce the beliefs and allegiances necessary for their uncontested functioning.« 4 But cultural products can also challenge dominant understandings and thus contribute to change. Classic examples would include the movies Dr. Strangelove and Starship Troopers, which questioned anti-communist paranoia and conventional understandings of security. 5 Overall, the authors of this volume argue, pop cul2. See e.g. Croft, Stuart: Culture, Crisis and America’s War on Terror, Cambridge 2006; Devetak, Richard:»The Gothic Scene of International Relations: Ghosts, Monsters, Terror and the Sublime after September 11,« in: Review of International Studies, 31(2005), pp. 621–643; Neumann, Iver B.:»Grab a Phaser, Ambassador«: Diplomacy in Star Trek,« in: Millennium. Journal of International Studies, 30(2001), pp. 603–624; Weber, Cynthia: International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, London 2001; Weldes, Jutta(ed.): To Seek Out New Worlds: Exploring Links between Science Fiction and World Politics, Basingstoke 2003. 3. Leira, Halvard:»Anarchy in the ir !,« in: International Studies Perspectives, 8 (2007), pp. vi–vii. 4. Shapiro, Michael J.: Reading the Postmodern Polity. Political Theory as Textual Practice, Minneapolis 1992, p. 1. 5. Weldes, Jutta:»Popular Culture, Science Fiction, and World Politics: Exploring Intertextual Relations«, in: Weldes, Jutta(ed.): To Seek Out New Worlds. Science Fiction and World Politics, Basingstoke 2003, pp. 1–27. ipg 1/2008 Rezensionen/Book Reviews 159

ture should not be neglected but made an integral part of the study of world politics. The book is divided into four sections. At the beginning of the first section (on globalization), Patricia Goff critically examines Time Warner’s marketing strategy for the Harry Potter franchise, showing how processes of concentration in the media landscape might hamper goals such as»guaranteeing a diversity of output and fair and equitable access to media outlets«(38). Patrick Jackson and Peter Mandaville demonstrate how the worldwide distribution of Harry Potter books often necessitates not only a translation but also an adaptation of the content to the local cultural context: J.K. Rowling’s specifically European conception of witchcraft requires knowledge that cannot be assumed in all cultural contexts and so requires a modification of the original text. Thus, the analysis emphasizes the interconnectedness of(cultural) globalization and localization and casts doubt on the portrayal of cultural products as»invasive emblems of neo-imperial capital, or as agents of Westernization«(57). In the third chapter, Ann Towns and Bahar Rumelili examine Turkish and Swedish media reactions to the Potter books, demonstrating how the two countries’ national identities are being(re-) produced in apposition to the specifically Anglo-Saxon world of Harry Potter, and thus pointing out their own particularities. In the final chapter, Maia A. Gemmill and Daniel H. Nexon examine the reactions of various religious groups to Rowling’s books. The second section concentrates on conflict and warfare. By comparing the construction of identity difference in Harry Potter’s and our own»Muggle« world, Jennifer Sterling-Folker and Brian Folker point out the role of the nation-state in human conflict. In another essay, David Long shows how the famous wizard sport of Quidditch reveals the wizarding world as one of»aristocratic privilege and inequality, tinged with imperialism«(150). In the first chapter of the third section, »Geography and Myths,« Iver B. Neumann compares the(symbolic) geography of Harry Potter’s world with that of Northern Europe in the Viking era and the Middle Ages and argues that»the modern North-European state is built on the bones of giants«(169), symbolically standing in for»all aboriginal peoples who lie buried in the foundations of modern states«(175). Martin Hall claims in the second chapter that realist theory and the Potter series share the so-called»Christian Satan myth«(191) that»constitutes paradigmatic truth in Western civilization« (185) and thus»provides recognition, sense, and authority to both the Realist narrative and the Harry Potter books«(191). In the fourth section, Torbjørn L. Knutsen compares Hogwarts School with the English boarding school genre and infers lessons for the pedagogy of International Relations. Overall, Harry Potter and International Relations is a highly convincing plea for taking seriously the role of popular culture in world politics. The volume, far from being merely an entertaining read, makes a significant contribution to the field by examining unstudied aspects of the important, but often neglected, connection 160 Rezensionen/Book Reviews ipg 1/2008

between pop culture and international politics. Furthermore, using Harry Potter as a lens, the authors offer fresh perspectives on a broad range of International Relations topics. Although a concluding chapter might have added to the book’s coherence by summarizing the findings and»connecting the dots,« this does not bar the book from being highly recommendable for International Relations students and scholars alike(even those firmly rooted in the»Muggle« world). Due to the authors’ comprehensible writing style, the book is suitable not only for academics but also for non-scholarly Harry Potter fans with an interest in world politics. One caveat remains, though: while understanding most of the book does not require prior expertise in International Relations, at least some familiarity with the Harry Potter universe is indispensable. Frank A. Stengel, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Institute of Asian Studies(IAS), Hamburg ROGER GRIFFIN/ WERNER LOH/ ANDREAS UMLAND(Hrsg.): Fascism Past and Present, West and East. An International Debate on Concepts and Cases in the Comparative Study of the Extreme Right (With an Afterword by Walter Laqueur). Stuttgart& Hannover 2006 ibidem-Verlag, 520 S. D er Herausgeber der Reihe konstatiert im Vorwort des Bandes die nahezu unübersichtliche Fülle der gegenwärtigen Fachliteratur zum Thema Faschismus. Umso globaler mutet daher der Titel des Buches Fascism Past and Present, West and East an, und es stellt sich die Frage, warum diese englisch- und deutschsprachige Publikation dessen ungeachtet ertragreich sein sollte. Die Antwort liegt zunächst in der Struktur des Buches. Es handelt sich bei diesem Band um die Zusammenfassung einer wissenschaftlichen Kontroverse, die 2004 in der Paderborner philosophischen Zeitschrift Erwägen Wissen Ethik stattfand. Der Aufbau des Buches lehnt sich an die Konzeption von Wolfgang Wippermanns und Werner Lohs Diskussionsband »Faschismus« – kontrovers (Stuttgart: Lucius& Lucius 2002) an, in welchem den Thesen eines führenden Faschismustheoretikers in einem Hauptartikel Kritiken folgen, dann der Verfasser des Hauptartikels die Möglichkeit bekommt, zu diesen Kritiken Stellung zu nehmen, und die Kritiker schließlich noch einmal zu Wort kommen, so dass dem Leser eine lebendige Kontroverse präsentiert wird. Der Unterschied des vorliegenden Bandes zu »Faschismus« – kontrovers liegt in der Erweiterung der Debatte um zahlreiche Beiträge aus dem angelsächsischen Raum und einer Fokussierung auf die Neofaschismusproblematik. Im Hauptartikel stellt Roger Griffin, Professor für Zeitgeschichte an der Oxford ipg 1/2008 Rezensionen/Book Reviews 161