Download or read book An Agenda for the Western Balkans From Elite Politics to Social Sustainability written by Nikolaos Pasamitros, Nikolaos Papakostas and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Western Balkan countries have been both a popular subject matter for diachronic analysis and a 1990s favorite. The significant changes that followed the most recent times of conflict in the region mostly evolve around the process of Europeanization. Despite the plethora of analyses, most approaches to the Western Balkans suffer from theoretical stagnancy, ex parte political practice, and detachment of politics from societal needs. This volume is the work of a team of theorists and practitioners who attempt a multidisciplinary approach to Western Balkans reality. An Agenda for the Western Balkans offers a critical view on issues that have been over-analyzed in mainstream terms and opens a discussion that will occupy researchers and practitioners for years to come. It addresses novel topics and engages in innovative approaches that cut across disciplines of social sciences (political science, international relations, sociology, historiography, geography, political economy) and levels of analysis (local, national, regional, European, global). This collection is a pioneer theoretical and practical guide towards a sustainable future for the Western Balkans.

Download or read book Schuman report on Europe written by Thierry Chopin and published by Editions Marie B. This book was released on 2018-04-25 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete review of the European Union. Europeans are facing major challenges. From the risk of populist contagion and Brexit at internal level, to migratory issues and the questioning of their values, as well as their interests, from the external points of view, Europeans must fi nd their place in a world in which only Union will bring strength. These challenges imply the Europeans’ ability to stand as one against the turmoil they face. In a situation like this how should their expectations be met, notably in terms of security as well as economic and social protection ? In his speech at the Sorbonne French President Emmanuel Macron, put forward a new European policy. He wants to turn European integration into a tool for sovereignty, both from the economic and geopolitical points of view, with the aim of giving Europeans total freedom and a true feeling of pride. Undeniably, France is back in Europe. European integration has freed the States and people of Europe of their permanent power struggles ; it now has to protect them from external constraints. The question is now to know how this should be achieved. This is the question at the heart of the 9th Schuman Report. Delve into this reference work regarding European Affairs! EXTRACT If we want to protect our European values, our freedom, peace and prosperity, we must be more ambitious. We need more of the spirit of Alcide de Gasperi, of Aldo Moro and of Helmut Kohl in today’s Europe. In 1946 Konrad Adenauer dreamt of a community of European people in which “every population will provide its own irreplaceable, unique contribution to the economy and to European culture, thought, poetry and Western creativity”. Let us work together as Christian Democrats in Europe to make this dream come true. Let us stand up and join our forces to preserve our European way of life. ABOUT THE AUTORS The Schuman report on Europe is a collective publication, edited by Thierry Chopin, a french political analyst specialist in Europe Union, and Michel Foucher, a diplomat, geographer and essayist. The most respected personalities, as well as the best experts have chosen to express their opinion in this publication: Gérard Larcher, Mikuláš Dzurinda, 5 Members of European Parliament, Jean-Claude Piris, Joachim Bitterlich...

Download or read book The EU and Member State Building written by Soeren Keil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book critically examines the process of statebuilding by the EU, focusing on its attempts to build Member States in the Western Balkan region. This book analyses the European Union's policies towards, and the impact they have, upon the states of the Western Balkans, and assesses how these affect the nature of EU foreign policy. To this end, it focuses on the tools and mechanisms that the EU employs in its enlargement policy and examines the new instruments of direct intervention (in Bosnia and Kosovo), political coercion (in the case of Croatia and Serbia in relation to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), and stricter conditionality in the Western Balkan countries. The book discusses the key aim of this special form of statebuilding, which is to establish functional liberal-democratic states in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia in order for them to join the EU and to cope with the responsibilities and pressures of membership in the future. However, the authors argue that while the EU sees itself as an international actor that promotes and protects liberal-democratic values, norms and principles, its experiences in the Western Balkans demonstrate how the EU ́s actions in the region have undermined the basic principles of democratic decision-making (such as the European support for impositions in Bosnia) and international law (Kosovo), and have consequently contributed to new tensions (see police reform in Bosnia, and the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia) and dependencies. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding, EU politics, global governance and IR/Security Studies in general.

Download or read book The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans written by Jelena Džankić and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-21 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume casts a fresh look on how the political spaces of the Western Balkan states (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) are shaped, governed and transformed during the EU accession process. The contributors argue that EU conditionality in the Western Balkans does not work ‘effectively’ in terms of social change because rule transfer remains a ‘contested’ business, due to veto-players on the ground and strong legacies of the past. The volume examines specific policy areas, salient in the enlargement process and to a different degree incorporated in the accession criteria, as well as EU foreign policy in the spheres of post-conflict stabilisation, democratization and the rule of law promotion.

Download or read book Europeanisation and Memory Politics in the Western Balkans written by Ana Milošević and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores how the process of European integration has influenced collective memory in the countries of the Western Balkans. In the region, there is still no shared understanding of the causes (and consequences) of the Yugoslav wars. The conflicts of the 1990s but also of WWII and its aftermath have created “ethnically confined” memory cultures. As such, divergent interpretations of history continue to trigger confrontations between neighboring countries and hinder the creation of a joint EU perspective. In this volume, the authors examine how these “memory wars” impact the European dimension - by becoming a tool to either support or oppose Europeanisation. The contributors focus on how and why memory is renegotiated, exhibited, adjusted, or ignored in the Europeanisation process.

Download or read book The EU and Crisis Response written by Professor in Defence Development and Diplomacy Roger Mac Ginty and published by . This book was released on 2021-09 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A state-of-the-art consideration of the European Union's crisis response mechanisms based on comparative fieldwork in a number of cases.

Download or read book The Balkan Prism written by Johanna Deimel and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Multi Level Governance and European Integration written by Liesbet Hooghe and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2002-05-30 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: European politics has been reshaped in recent decades by a dual process of centralization and decentralization. At the same time that authority in many policy areas has shifted to the suprantional level of the European Union, so national governments have given subnational regions within countries more say over the lives of their citizens. At the forefront of scholars who characterize this dual process as Omulti-level governance,OLiesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks argue that its emergence in the second half of the twentieth century is a watershed in the political development of Europe. Hooghe and Marks explain why multi-level governance has taken place and how it shapes conflict in national and European political arenas. Drawing on a rich body of original research, the book is at the same time written in a clear and accessible style for undergraduates and non-experts.

Download or read book Europe in Identity Crisis The Future of the EU in the Age of Nationalism written by Carlo Altomonte and published by Ispi Publications. This book was released on 2019-12-09 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today's European Union is in an identity crisis as it seems to be losing its points of reference. The principles that upheld its creation are being increasingly questioned around the world and within the EU itself. Its chances to survive hinge upon its ability to deliver at home and abroad, without abandoning its values and principles but rather adapting and re-launching them. This volume offers policy options on key questions for the future of the EU: How to scale-up its role abroad? How to benefit from new partners without severing ties with traditional allies such as the US? How to contain Eurosceptic forces by reducing inequalities? And how to reinforce the euro while aiming at more sustainable and balanced growth?

Download or read book The EU and NATO written by Gustav Lindström and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Europe as Empire written by Jan Zielonka and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a strikingly new perspective on EU enlargement. Basing his findings on substantial empirical evidence, Zielonka presents a carefully argued account of the kind of political entity the European Union is becoming, with particular reference to recent enlargement.

Download or read book The Periphery of the Periphery written by Dimitar Bechev and published by Anchor Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Next July Croatia will become the 28th EU member, but as Europe struggles to deal with the euro crisis, has any further enlargement into the Western Balkans frozen to a halt? Although the temptation for the EU is to adopt a 'wait and see' strategy, the stability of the status quo may prove deceptive. There is a silent pact between the enlargement-fatigued and crisis-hit EU member states and rent-seeking Balkan elites who do not mind slowing the pace of reform, with a 'fire-brigade' approach to periodic crises and outbursts of violence in Kosovo and elsewhere. But in a new ECFR paper, "The periphery of the periphery: the Western Balkans and the euro crisis",Dimitar Bechev warns that a failure to deliver transformation in the region would hurt EU credibility in other regions, like the Middle East and former Soviet Union. He argues that: The EU must shift its focus from a narrative based upon security, to one based upon the economy. A Greek exit would send shockwaves through the Western Balkan economies already weakened by the euro crisis, and threaten an economic meltdown -- Stagnation and rising unemployment (especially among the young) wipe out support for the type of reformist policies that the EU supports. The popularity of the EU in the Western Balkans has declined markedly in some areas, as 'Eurorealism' takes over from 'Europhilia' -- Reform remains essential. The Western Balkans are also struggling to cope with the crisis thanks to domestic policy failures, highlighting that 'Europeanisation' needs to be accompanied by deeper transformation. "In good times the EU exported prosperity to the Balkans; now in a time of crisis it is exporting instability. The EU needs to restore a sense of momentum towards enlargement and put pressure on under-performing governments. If not ambitious powers like Russia, Turkey and China will fill the gaps." Key facts: Montenegro opened accession talks on 29th June and hopes to join the EU in a decade -- Serbia was upgraded to candidate status back in March 2012 -- Bosnia may submit a membership application this year, after its 16 month wait for a state level government ended in February 2012 -- Kosovo began a visa liberalisation dialogue with the European Commission on 19th January 2012 -- 2/3 of Western Balkans trade is with the EU"--Publisher's description.

Download or read book Harnessing Quality for Global Competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia written by Jean-Louis Racine and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011-05-05 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Standards are everywhere, yet go mostly unnoticed. They define how products, processes, and people interact, assessing these entities’ features and performance and signaling their level of quality and reliability. They can convey important benefits to trade, productivity, and technological progress and play an important role in the health and safety of individual consumers and the environment. Firms’ ability to produce competitive products depends on the availability of adequate quality-support services. A “national quality infrastructure” denotes the chain of public and private services (standardization, metrology, inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation) needed to ascertain that products and services introduced in the marketplace meet defined requirements, whether demanded by authorities or by consumers. In much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, national quality infrastructure systems are underdeveloped and not harmonized with those of their trading partners. This imbalance increases trade costs, hinders local firms’ competitiveness, and weakens overall export performance. The objective of Harnessing Quality for Global Competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is to highlight the need to reform and modernize the institutions in the region toward better quality and standards. The book ties in with much of the work done in the World Bank on the business environment, trade facilitation, economic diversification, and enterprise innovation. The countries in the region can improve this situation, revising mandatory standards, streamlining technical regulations, and harmonizing their national quality infrastructure with those of regional and international trade partners. Most governments will need to invest strategically in their national quality infrastructure, including pooling services with neighboring countries and stimulating local awareness and demand for quality. Specifically for the countries of the former Soviet Union, the restructuring process will need to improve governance, thus eliminating conflicts of interest and providing technically credible services to the economy.

Download or read book The End of the West written by David Marquand and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-10 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Has Europe's extraordinary postwar recovery limped to an end? It would seem so. The United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, and former Soviet Bloc countries have experienced ethnic or religious disturbances, sometimes violent. Greece, Ireland, and Spain are menaced by financial crises. And the euro is in trouble. In The End of the West, David Marquand, a former member of the British Parliament, argues that Europe's problems stem from outdated perceptions of global power, and calls for a drastic change in European governance to halt the continent's slide into irrelevance. Taking a searching look at the continent's governing institutions, history, and current challenges, Marquand offers a disturbing diagnosis of Europe's ills to point the way toward a better future. Exploring the baffling contrast between postwar success and current failures, Marquand examines the rebirth of ethnic communities from Catalonia to Flanders, the rise of xenophobic populism, the democratic deficit that stymies EU governance, and the thorny questions of where Europe's borders end and what it means to be European. Marquand contends that as China, India, and other nations rise, Europe must abandon ancient notions of an enlightened West and a backward East. He calls for Europe's leaders and citizens to confront the painful issues of ethnicity, integration, and economic cohesion, and to build a democratic and federal structure. A wake-up call to those who cling to ideas of a triumphalist Europe, The End of the West shows that the continent must draw on all its reserves of intellectual and political creativity to thrive in an increasingly turbulent world, where the very language of "East" and "West" has been emptied of meaning.

Download or read book Challenges of Democracy in the European Union and Its Neighbors written by Aylin Ünver Noi and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy, which protects freedom and citizens' rights more than any other regime, is in crisis today. In recent years, it has become exhausted in its European center and along its periphery. Citizen trust of the European Union's democratic institutions has been fading. The EU's "normative power" -- its ability to spread its norms and values to other states -- and its "soft power" -- its ability to attract others to its point of view -- are now seen as less likely to achieve the expected goals of spreading democracy within EU countries and creating a ring of well-governed states in neighboring countries. Democracy and its institutions need to adapt to these new challenges. Respected authors and experts offer fresh and creative answers to the challenges of democracy in the European Union and its neighboring countries by offering a transatlantic perspective.

Download or read book A European Perspective for the Western Balkans written by Hubert Isak and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analyses the status quo of the process of integration of the Western Balkan countries in the European Union.

Download or read book The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy written by Alyson J. K. Bailes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1999 the EU decided to develop its own military capacities for crisis management. This book brings together a group of experts to examine the consequences of this decision on Nordic policy establishments, as well as to shed new light on the defence and security issues that matter for Europe as a whole.