Download or read book European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans written by Arolda Elbasani and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-02 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book investigates the scope and limitations of the transformative power of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans. The extension of EU enlargement policy to the region has generated high expectations that enlargement will regulate democratic institution-building and foster reform, much as it did in Central and Eastern Europe. However, there is very little research on whether and how unfavourable domestic conditions might mitigate the transformative power of the EU. This volume investigates the role of domestic factors, identifying ‘stateness’ as the missing link between the assumed transformative power of the EU and the actual capacity to adopt EU rules across the region. Including chapters on Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, leading scholars in the field offer up-to-date comparative analysis of key areas of institutional and policy reform; including state bureaucracy, rule of law, electoral management, environmental governance, cooperation with the International Court of Justice, economic liberalization and foreign policy. Looking to the future and the implications for policy change, European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans provides a new theoretical and empirical focus on this little understood area. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of EU politics, comparative democratisation, post-communist transitions and Balkan area studies.

Download or read book Atlas of Challenges and Opportunities in European Neighbourhoods written by Pierre BECKOUCHE and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This atlas provides a macro-regional overview of the areas that surround the European Union, from the Sahara to the Middle East, Western Balkans to European Russia, Turkey to the Arctic. Detailing key socio-economic data as well as developmental trends, the maps provide a comprehensive territorial analysis at a local scale and explore the potential for regional integration and cooperation.These pioneering maps examine challenges that threaten this wide, yet inter-connected, region, including environmental concerns in the North, political unrest in the East, social factors in the Western Balkans, and the upheaval in the Mediterranean since the Arab spring. Coverage investigates such key countries and areas as Libya, Israel, Palestine, Syria, and the Ukraine as well as explores such essential issues as Europe’s energy procurement. In addition, it also presents a comparison with other world regions such as East Asia and North America.In the end, readers discover that territorial integration faces many shortcomings, but that deep regional cooperation would be a key driver for the EU’s sustainable future. This atlas features the main results of the “Integrated Territorial Analysis of the Neighbourhoods” research project undertaken by ESPON (The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion). It provides scholars; local authorities and NGOs involved in cross-border cooperation; companies interested in energy, agriculture, water, transportation and communication; and interested readers with key insights into this important region.

Download or read book The Western Balkans and the EU written by Morton Abramowitz and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, more than fifteen years after the end of the wars that accompanied Yugoslavia's dissolution, the "Balkan question" remains more than ever a "European question". In the eyes of many Europeans in the 1990s, Bosnia was the symbol of a collective failure, while Kosovo later became a catalyst for an emerging Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). In the last decade, however, the overall thrust of the EU's Balkans policy has moved from an agenda dominated by security issues related to the war and its legacies to one focused on the perspective of the Western Balkan states' accession to the European Union. This Chaillot Paper, which features contributions from authors from various parts of the region, examines the current state of play in the countries of the Western Balkans with regard to EU accession. It brings together both views from the Balkans states themselves and overarching thematic perspectives. For the first time the European Union has become involved in the formation of new nation-states that also aspire to become members of the Union. The EU's transformative power has proved effective in integrating established states; now it is confronted with the challenge of integrating new and sometimes contested states. Against this background, this paper makes the case for a concerted regional approach to EU enlargement, and a renewed and sustained commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans.

Download or read book European Integration of Western Balkans written by Lucia Vesnic-Alujevic and published by Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. This book was released on 2012-04-29 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PDF available for free on http://martenscentre.eu/publications/european-integration-western-balkans-reconciliation-european-future While most of Europe decided to unite in the 20th and 21st century, a country in the Balkans split into seven independent states. The efforts of these states to join the European Union and the reconciliation initiatives between the countries are detailed in this research paper. Despite the efforts of the countries of the region and of the EU, a lot of work is needed before these countries will become sufficiently mature in political, economic and societal sense to become members of the European Union. The promotion of dialogue, grassroots movements, civil society and cross-border projects is needed in order to tackle unresolved problems in the region.

Download or read book Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region written by Costa, Bruno Ferreira and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2022-01-21 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite all efforts to create a political union capable of improving European citizens’ quality of life, there are several barriers to the European Union’s (EU) expansion to the Balkan Region. The EU enlargement and expansion to the Balkan Region is one of the Union’s greatest challenges and political objectives in recent years. In the turmoil of economic, social, and sanitarian crises, where is the space to debate the enlargement of the EU? Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region presents the EU’s structure, the process of enlargement, and the challenges related to the Balkan region. This book addresses critical issues and challenges in the EU and the emerging trends for the EU’s future. Covering topics such as enlargement policy, integration, NATO, and political challenges, this book is a valuable resource for post-grad students of political science and international affairs, faculty of higher education, researchers, academicians, politicians, world leaders, and policymakers.

Download or read book Stabilization and Association Process in the Balkans written by Bartłomiej Kamiński and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book EU Security Governance written by Emil Kirchner and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: EU Security Governance links the challenges of governing Europe's security to the changing nature of the state, the evolutionary expansion of the security agenda, the growing obsolescence of the traditional forms and concepts of security cooperation, and assesses the effectiveness of the EU as a security actor. The book has two distinct features. Firstly, it is the first systematic study of the different economic, political, and military instruments employed by the EU in the performance of four different security functions. Secondly, the book represents an important step towards redressing conceptual gaps in the study of security governance, particularly as it pertains to the European Union. The book demonstrates that the EU has emerged as an important security actor.

Download or read book The Road to the European Union written by Jacques Rupnik and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a timely and solid portrait of modern China from the First Opium War to the Xi Jinping era. Unlike the handful of existing textbooks that only provide narratives, this textbook fashions a new and practical way to study modern China. Written exclusively for university students, A-level or high school teachers and students, it uses primary sources to tell the story of China and introduces them to existing scholarship and academic debate so they can conduct independent research for their essays and dissertations. This book will be required reading for students who embark on the study of Chinese history, politics, economics, diaspora, sociology, literature, cultural, urban and women's studies. It would be essential reading to journalists, NGO workers, diplomats, government officials, businessmen and travellers.

Download or read book The Western Balkans in the World written by Florian Bieber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a detailed understanding of how different types of engagements impact upon the reform and EU integration of the Western Balkan region. It examines the influence of Russia, China, Turkey and the UAE in the region and analyses the range of existing links. Contributors offer an academic and multifaceted perspective of the role of external and non-Western actors in the region that goes beyond, on the one hand, the tendency of some Western decision makers to perceive all engagement by third powers as a sinister threat and, on the other, the view of regional governments of all external involvement as a boon coming at a time of Western neglect and reduced foreign investments. By looking at the importance of Russia, Turkey, China and the UAE in the Western Balkans, the book sheds light on one key arena of global competition, offers new insights on the strengths and weaknesses of Euro–Atlantic integration and advances our knowledge of foreign policy and its economic, social and security dimensions for small and medium-sized countries. It will be of interest to academics, postgraduate and research students, and think-tankers with research interest in IR and Southeast European Studies. European decision makers will also gain an insight into the extent of non-Western influence in the region.

Download or read book Balkanizing Europeanization Fight Against Corruption and Regional Relations in the Western Balkans written by Vladimir Vučković and published by Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main theme of this book revolves around the idea of Europeanization of the Western Balkans. In that respect, the volume discusses the fight against corruption and regional relations in former Yugoslav states, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The objective of the book is to detect the level of effectiveness of the EU impact on domestic structural changes in the Western Balkans regarding aforementioned research issues. The contributors argue that the EU impact in the Western Balkans has so far been limited and point to limitations in this regard. «The book Balkanizing Europeanisation offers timely, detailed, critical and excellently researched insight into the complicated mutual relations of the EU and the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. Based on excellent scholarship, meticulous original research and first-hand experience with the Balkan area, the authors provide a reader with rich and profound analysis of successes and failures of Europeanisation of the Balkan countries. The volume shall become an obligatory reading for many categories of scholars, experts, and people practicing diplomacy with and in the region.» Vít Hlousek, Professor of European Politics, Masaryk University «The limits to and problems connected with processes of Europeanization in the Western Balkans remain an important topic both for policy-makers and for scholarly inquiry. Vučkovic and Đorđevic are to be congratulated for having assembled a first-rate teach of scholars to examine the most vital issues at hand.» Sabrina P. Ramet, Professor of Political Science, The Norwegian University of Science & Technology

Download or read book EU Enlargement and its Impact to the Western Balkans written by Elton Tota and published by Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH. This book was released on 2019-08-21 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to highlight the relationship between the EU and the Western Balkan countries in light of their EU membership perspective and the impact that the EU Enlargement of Central and Eastern European countries at the beginning of the twenty first century has given to the Western Balkans. The book presents, in depth, the dual relationship between the EU and the Western Balkans. On the one hand it displays the continuous EU role in the Western Balkans, in particular in issues such as: the EU accession criteria; the EU approach and enlargement strategy; the visa liberalization process; the Stabilization and Association Process; the Stabilization and Association Agreements; instruments of financial assistance; the EU role in restoring and keeping peace and stability and in increasing the regional cooperation among the Western Balkans countries. On the other hand, it presents and analyses the progress the Western Balkans have achieved and the challenges faced such as: initially with the implementation of the bilateral Free Trade Agreements and then the regional Free Trade Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreements; nature and effects of these agreements in developing markets, in increasing trade exchanges among the Western Balkans countries; the progress each country has made toward lasting growth and in fulfilling the criteria of the EU integration process. The book reflects the regional approach of EU towards those countries while differentiating the individual progress in each country. This gives the book an interdisciplinary character. The latest enlargement experiences of the EU are used as a comparison for the current EU policy towards Western Balkans, while confirming a clear integration perspective for the region.

Download or read book Enlargement of the European Union written by Allan F. Tatham and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of EU enlargement has raised many thorny issues unanticipated by the framers of the EC Treaty. A significant upshot of these issues is that the concept of European identity - defined in terms of such factors as culture, history and economics - has supplanted the long-dominant theme of 'widening and deepening, ' particularly since the Union's expansion has become primarily eastward. The major contribution of this important book lies in its analysis of the conceptualization and perception of enlargement from various points of view, focusing on the concerns of stakeholders and the 'identity' conflicts and uncertainties incurred by enlargement initiatives. In the course of its presentation, it details the actual pre-accession Europeanization process and its complex history. Among the key elements discussed are the following: the conflict between 'widening' and 'deepening' and the effect on EU institutional reform; institutional requirements on candidate countries; pre-accession criteria and negotiations; administrative capacity, judicial capacity, and legal approximation in accession states; capacity of the EU to absorb new Member States; and EC law as part of European identity. Also covered are specific historical details of particular pre-accession negotiations (e.g., Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta, and Cyprus), the still inconclusive negotiations with Turkey and the Western Balkan states, and political factors involved in the non-accession of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Assembling powerful evidence and applying incisive analysis, the author's conclusion shows that, absent further (and major) EU institutional reform, it will be difficult for an enlarging Union to continue to 'deliver the goods.' A watershed in the continuing great debate on the fulfilment of the EC Treaty's determination to foster and promote 'an ever closer union of the peoples of Europe, ' this book will prove invaluable to anybody interested in the European integration project, particularly lawyers, academics, officials and policymakers in the EU Member States.

Download or read book Promoting Sustainable Economies in the Balkans written by Steven Rattner and published by Council on Foreign Relations. This book was released on 2000 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the prospect of the Balkan countries achieving sustainable economic growth, and what the donor community and international institutions can do to help.

Download or read book Integrating the Balkans written by Máire Braniff and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging from a decade of violent ethnic and inter-state conflict during the 1990s, the countries of the Western Balkans entered a phase of rebuilding and reconciliation. Due to the key role played by the EU in the region's rebuilding efforts, "Integrating the Balkans" explores this institution's considerable efforts to influence and shape the nature of state, society and foreign relations, as it utilised the promise of membership as a vital tool to exert its influence. The picture that materialises is one of the EU's discernible, but often contradictory, impact as it offers the carrot of EU membership in the hope that the legacies of the past conflict can be re-evaluated, re-imagined and transformed. By also analysing the conditions that come with EU aid, such as co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Maire Braniff offers an extremely important perspective for all those involved in the study and practice of the processes of European integration and post-conflict resolution.

Download or read book Croatia written by William Bartlett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-07-31 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Croatia, Between Europe and the Balkans addresses the key developments in economics, politics, international relations and social policy in the state over the last decade. It places these developments in their historical context, and shows how current policy dilemmas are structured within the conflicting pressures which historically have pulled Croatia between a European, a Mediterranean and a Balkan orientation. In the new context of European integration however, Croatia may now find a new role in her pivotal position as a bridge between the unruly Balkans and an impatient Europe. This book will be of particular use for courses on Eastern Europe. Its thorough, up-to-date analysis will also be of interest to students and researchers in politics and international relations, but with a broader appeal to diplomats, policy makers, trade officials, the business community and consultants expanding their trading links with the region.

Download or read book Europe in 12 Lessons written by Pascal Fontaine and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Turkey West Relations written by Oya Dursun-Özkanca and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book fills an important gap in the literature of international relations, providing a thorough, up-to-date, empirically supported, and theoretically grounded analysis of how and why Turkish foreign policy has changed in recent years vis-à-vis the West. Presenting one of the first balancing studies that employs elite interviews as data, Turkey–West Relations develops a framework of intra-alliance opposition, classifying the tools of statecraft into three categories - boundary testing, boundary challenging, and boundary breaking. Six case studies are examined regarding Turkish foreign policy over the past nine years, exploring an array of topics including Turkey's foreign policy in relation to various nations and organizations, the refugee crisis, defense procurement, energy policies, and more. Dursun-Özkanca demonstrates how international, regional, issue-specific, and domestic factors may serve to explain Turkey's increasing boundary-breaking behavior. This book is crucial for anyone who seeks to understand the recent growing rifts between Turkey and the US, the EU, and NATO.