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Le jardin et la jungle - Adresse à l'Europe sur l'idée qu'elle se fait du monde
- GenresNonfiction
216 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2024
6 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Edwy Plenel
74 books28 followersEdwy Plenel, de son nom complet Hervé Edwy PlenelNote 1,1, est un journaliste politique français, né le 31 août 1952 à Nantes. Il est directeur de la rédaction du quotidien Le Monde de 1996 jusqu'à sa démission en novembre 2004. Critiqué en interne et en désaccord avec les orientations prises par le journal et le groupe dirigés à l'époque par Jean-Marie Colombani et Alain Minc, il est licencié le 31 octobre 2005 après avoir travaillé vingt-cinq ans dans la rédaction du quotidien. Il a depuis cofondé le site Mediapart, journal payant accessible sur Internet, qui a ouvert le 16 mars 2008, et qui a joué un rôle-clé dans la révélation des affaires Woerth-Bettencourt, Cahuzac et Aquilino Morelle.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2025
Plenel is an intellectual powerhouse of the French left and founder of the excellent nonprofit French investigative online newspaper Mediapart. He is a prolific writer and commentator on a truly wide range of topics, which is on full display in this essay on Europe's position in the world.
The book covers different instances of Europeans (and colonial offshoots such as Israel) viewing themselves as the guardians of a garden faced with the dangers of a wild and unreliable jungle. This is the picture that Josep Borell, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, famously painted during a speech for College of Europe students in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Needless to say, this frame of garden vs jungle evokes the culture of European (or western) superiority that is rightly criticized the world over. Plenel makes the point that the jungle -- and the savagery that goes with it -- that Europeans fear is of their own making. As a proper French intellectual, he includes reflections on enlightenment philosophers, anti-colonialist freedom fighters such as Frantz Fanon or the struggles of the Kanak people on New Caledonia. Most of it is interesting, though at times he goes off on tangents that stray a bit too far away from the core ideas.
Plenel makes the case that it's about time Europeans stop imposing their worldviews and its concomitant extractivism on other peoples. This is a wake-up call at times when rightwing politics has society in its grasp, and a stark reminder that these autocrats want Europe to pursue outdated pipedreams of glory and domination. Not surprisingly, their antidemocratic ideologies conform well with the metaphor of the garden and the jungle, a hierarchical relationship where the guardians keep out and beat down the savages.
In conclusion, subscribe to Mediapart, read Plenel and help kick these reactionaries out of power
The book covers different instances of Europeans (and colonial offshoots such as Israel) viewing themselves as the guardians of a garden faced with the dangers of a wild and unreliable jungle. This is the picture that Josep Borell, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, famously painted during a speech for College of Europe students in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Needless to say, this frame of garden vs jungle evokes the culture of European (or western) superiority that is rightly criticized the world over. Plenel makes the point that the jungle -- and the savagery that goes with it -- that Europeans fear is of their own making. As a proper French intellectual, he includes reflections on enlightenment philosophers, anti-colonialist freedom fighters such as Frantz Fanon or the struggles of the Kanak people on New Caledonia. Most of it is interesting, though at times he goes off on tangents that stray a bit too far away from the core ideas.
Plenel makes the case that it's about time Europeans stop imposing their worldviews and its concomitant extractivism on other peoples. This is a wake-up call at times when rightwing politics has society in its grasp, and a stark reminder that these autocrats want Europe to pursue outdated pipedreams of glory and domination. Not surprisingly, their antidemocratic ideologies conform well with the metaphor of the garden and the jungle, a hierarchical relationship where the guardians keep out and beat down the savages.
In conclusion, subscribe to Mediapart, read Plenel and help kick these reactionaries out of power
April 4, 2025
Un essai court mais percutant. A travers la métaphore du “jardin” (l’Europe) opposé à la “jungle” (le reste du monde), l’auteur démonte avec clarté une vision du monde encore marquée par une forme de supériorité coloniale. Il montre que cette image, qui semble au départ anodine, sert en réalité à justifier des politiques de repli, de contrôle, voire de mépris, et surtout une volonté d’imposer partout un modèle européen (occidental) présenté comme universel. L’écriture est directe, sans détour, et pousse vraiment à réfléchir sur la manière dont l’Europe (les occidentaux) se positionne par rapport au reste du monde. C’est une lecture que je recommande vivement à ceux qui s’intéressent à la géopolitique aux relations humaines, et aux débats actuels sur notre rapport à l’autre et aux représentations que l’on peut projette sur lui.
September 8, 2025
Tant de sujets abordés de manière juste et accessible, la plume d’Edwy Plenel est incisive et nécessaire sur l’histoire de la France et les doubles standards de l’Europe. À lire absolument
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews