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Begin New Search Topic International Relations Political Geography Europe Content Type Working Paper

41. Remaking Europe's Borders through the European Neighbourhood Policy

Author:
Bohdana Dimitrovova
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
This Working Document explores the implications of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as an ambitious EU foreign policy for the development of a European political community. It suggests that the ENP can be viewed as an attempt to reconcile two potentially contradictory processes. The first – 'border confirming' – is about confirming border areas of demarcation and division, in which borders are conceived as boundary lines, frontier zones or barriers that protect the European Union and its citizens. The second – 'border transcending' – consists of a challenge to open EU borders and involves the transformation of the EU's external boundaries into zones of interactions, opportunities and exchanges, with the emphasis on the transcendence of boundaries. To unravel some of the contradictions surrounding the highly contested phenomena of mobility in the neighbourhood, this paper analyses three bordering strategies: state borders, the imperial analogy and borders as networks. Each corresponds to different forms of territoriality and implies a different mode of control over the population.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, International Organization, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe

42. How Did the 2008 Economic Crisis Affect: Social and Political Solidarity in Europe?

Author:
Jennifer L. Hochschild
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
One possible outcome of the economic crash of 2008 was that the majority or mainstream members of a society would direct their anger and fear against the minority or marginal members of their society. Commentators on television or the radio would claim, "it's all the fault of the immigrants!" or "if we didn't hand over so much of our tax dollars to the poor, the economy would not have deteriorated so much," or "social benefits to African Americans [or German Turks] have distorted the housing market." Citizens would come to believe these assertions, politicians would echo them – and the upshot would be not only a deteriorating national and international economy but also increased hostility and fear among racial, ethnic, or nationality groups in a country. Social solidarity would decline, perhaps irrevocably.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Politics, Social Stratification, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Europe, and Germany

43. Getting along with Gulliver: A Review of Finnish-German Relations

Author:
Glenn R. Gassen
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Since Paavo Lipponen left the Prime Minister's Office in 2003, Finland's relationship with Germany seems to have grown more distant. While Lipponen had a markedly pro-German attitude, the present government has adopted a more sober and pragmatic approach. But does this change in rhetoric indicate a different approach? A decade ago, it seemed self-evident that for Finland, Germany was considered “as an important – if not the most important – partner in Europe.”1But what importance does Germany hold for Finland today?
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Finland, and Germany

44. The Pentagon, Information Operations, and Media Development

Author:
Peter Cary
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
A core principle of the United States is that a free and independent press is vital to the formation and maintenance of democracies. During the Cold War, the State Department's media outreach into the former Soviet Union and other Communist- leaning nations was largely limited to the broadcasts of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the effort broadened: USAID began to encourage and develop independent media in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In the early 1990s, when the Balkans erupted in conflict, that region became the focus of assistance for media development.
Topic:
International Relations, Cold War, Development, Mass Media, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Berlin

45. The State of Play of the Union for the Mediterranean in the Euro-Med Context

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The author examines problems related with the political identity of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), its relations with the EMP's Euro- Mediterranean "acquis" and the functioning of its institutions. While the UfM has been designed to give new momentum to the EU's cooperation with Mediterranean countries, results have hardly met ambitions so far. There is a lot the EU can do to increase the UfM profile: revise its institutional settings; create a parallel, but connected, multilateral dimension in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy; quickly implement large-scale regional projects; expand cooperation to agriculture; and scale back the ambition that the UfM can promote political solidarity in the short- to mediumterm.
Topic:
International Relations, Agriculture, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

46. Euro-Atlantic Security: One Vision, Three Paths

Author:
Piin-Fen Kok
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The Euro-Atlantic security scene is characterized by a loss of mutual confidence, renewed tensions, and serious disagreements regarding not only practices but principles. Those trends, if not corrected, will produce negative strategic consequences for the security of Europe. New opportunities have emerged today for rethinking the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic region, for strengthening confidence, changing mutual relations, and, if need be, institutions. A basis for this can be found in the hopes for improved U.S.- Russian relations expressed by U.S. President Barack Obama, in the initiative by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on reforming the European security architecture, as well as in the process of elaboration of the new NATO strategic concept.
Topic:
International Relations, NATO, and International Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

47. Passing a Flaming Torch: The Middle Eastern Issues Confronting the Obama Administration

Author:
Rami G. Khouri
Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:
With its army and its diplomatic posture, the American administration is now deeply part of the Middle East. Many of the problems of the region have been clearly aggravated, and in some cases sparked, by American policy, though many of them are a joint venture between Arabs and is, between Tirrks and Iranians, and between Europeans of different nationalities. But because the United States is such a decisive player in the Middle East, it has inordinate power to affect things in the region for good or for bad.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Islam
Political Geography:
United States, America, Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Arabia

48. The interpolar world: a new scenario

Author:
Giovanni Grevi
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Everyone agrees the world is changing. The question is in which direction? This paper offers an original contribution to the debate on the future shape of the international system. Based on a diagnosis of current developments, it argues that many factors point to the emergence of an 'interpolar' world. Interpolarity can be defined as multipolarity in the age of interdependence. The redistribution of power at the global level, leading to a multipolar international system, and deepening interdependence are the two basic dimensions of the transition away from the post-Cold War world. All too often, however, they are treated as separate issues. The real challenge lies in finding a new synthesis between the shifting balance of power and the governance of interdependence.
Topic:
International Relations, Cold War, Economics, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

49. Brazil and the Transatlantic Community in the Wake of the Global Crisis

Author:
Thomas J Trebat
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Columbia University
Abstract:
As the great global crisis eases its grasp, it is a time to reconsider relations between Brazil and the North, especially the United States and the European Union. While the world economy is still reeling, it is very possible that a new and more productive period in Brazil's relations with the US and Europe is possible. This positive outcome derives from numerous factors, most especially Brazil's “peaceful rise” to a more prominent global role and the arrival of the Obama administration whose promise of a new beginning in U.S. foreign policy has been greeted with such evident enthusiasm in Latin America.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, International Political Economy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Brazil, and Latin America

50. Re-setting US-EU-Russia Relations. Moving Beyond Rhetoric

Author:
Emiliano Alessandri and Riccardo Alcaro
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
After a period of severe turbulences, the United States, Europe, and Russia seem willing to start out on a new course. 'Pushing the reset button', as suggested by US Vice President Joe Biden, is an alluring formula, but it is no guide for action. A new US and European arrangement with Russia is more likely to endure if all parties learn from the troubled experience of the last few years.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe