...Social Context: In the recent years the EU has increasingly been studied as a particular kind of international actor with a focus on the ways in which its international policies are made and pursued. Such scholarly endeavors reflect both empirical importance and analytical challenge regarding the EU’s status as a global actor. Empirically, the EU carries importance in global economy, international diplomacy, soft security, and broader world order. Analytically, it poses major challenge by virtue of its status as a something more than an intergovernmental organization but less than a fully-fledged European state. Therefore a tendency has prevailed that the EU’s external behavior can be understood through a combination of understanding the EU’s sui generis qualities, and a reliance on the tools of comparative politics. Consequently, the subject of international relations of the European Union’ is a neglected one. This volume/book widens the perspective from ‘the EU as a global actor’ to ‘international relations and the EU’. This focus does not rule out consideration of the EU’s credentials as an international/global actor, rather it connects this issue to the broader study of IR and of international policy-making. Thus ‘International Relations and the European Union’ is about both the place of Europe in the world and the way the world contributes to the shaping of Europe. At the same time, it is about the place, actual and appropriate, of the EU in the academic subjects International...
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...European Union as a normative actor Page 21 Chapter 3: The Belarusian problem Page 30 Conclusion Page 49 Bibliography Page 52 Abstract Europe has embarked upon an unprecedented process of state integration witnessing the widespread deferral of policy making to intergovernmental institutions. The European Union’s institutionalism has facilitated an assimilation of values into an increasingly coherent, if complex regional identity. A normative self-conception has emerged that Brussels has sought to project onto its external relations through the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Brussels increasingly considers itself a transformative actor in global politics offering an alternative to great power realpolitik. This paper finds that while European multilateralism offers an environment conducive to a normative foreign policy, the extent to which it is able to exert any ideational influence is constrained by the level of engagement it is willing to pursue. Europe maintains a policy of isolating the Lukashenko regime and has failed to engage Belarusian civil society. As a result it has had a negligible impact on Belarusian political culture. Europe’s failure to adequately engage Belarus also suggests a contradiction within the European identity construction. Introduction Since the establishment of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Europe has sought to play an increasingly active role in global affairs. It has demonstrated...
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...Strength Comes From the Inside - A Constructivist Analysis of EU Actorness in the Context of UN Security Council Reform Supervisor: Name: Jonas Hirschnitz Claudia Engelmann Student ID: i6004017 j.hirschnitz@student.maastrichtuniversity.nl Pigeonhole: 336 Bachelor Paper I Version: Final Date: 22-July-2011 Word Count: 5,988 Structure: Introduction p.3 1. Actorness - the Construtivist Dimension p.4 2. Capability in EU’s Foreign Policy p.6 2.1 Institutional Settings p.6 2.2 The EU at the UN(SC) p.7 2.3 Institutional Capability p.8 3. Approaching Presence p. 8 3.1 Normative Values Approach p.8 3.2 Normative Values in EU Policy p.9 4. Presence in the Context of UNSC Reform p.10 4.1 The Reform of the UNSC p.10 4.2 EU Member States’ Attitudes p. 11 4.3 Two Positions – One Identity? p.13 Conclusion p.16 Illustrations: Table 1 p.11 Table 2 p.12 Introduction “Intellectually and conceptually, the European Union and the United Nations are built on the same foundations. If this ground becomes shaky, both structures are in danger.” (Fassbender, 2004, p.884) Different scholars have found that Europe only has two decades left – at best – to have an important impact on global political developments (Mayer, 2008, p.64; Schnabel, 2005, p.75)...
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...Thematic Study: Management of the External Borders of the EU and its Impact on the Human Rights of Migrants Concept Note Introduction Globalisation, demographic and climate change, war, conflict, human rights violations and societal transformations have been contributing to movements of people all around the world. There are an estimated 214 million international migrants worldwide, of whom 44 million are reportedly forcibly displaced and an estimated 50 million are living and working abroad in irregular situations1. Although migration to and from the European region is not a new phenomenon, since the 1990s this region has witnessed a sharp increase in migration movements. In particular, growing numbers of migrants, from within Europe, Africa and further afar are making their way across the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans, and through overland routes in the hope of entering European Union (EU). Indeed, with 42,672 km of external borders and 8,826 km of land borders, the Schengen free-movement area comprises 26 countries (including four non-EU states) with over 300 million crossings at the external borders in 2009 alone. While migration policies have traditionally been the domain of individual EU Member States, the EU has in the past two decades engaged in a process of harmonisation of the rules of admission and residence of third country nationals and established a common EU policy. In particular since the 1990s the EU has developed an important apparatus of legislation...
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...Introduction The European Union (hereinafter EU) can be described as a sui generis international actor, in other words, a global player. The EU has reached international agreements with countries all over the world, its external relations has become widespread. EU’s foreign policy is ideally linked to the concept of importance with compliance with human rights and democracy principles, which means in other words, conditionality policy. EU´s goal is to ensure that human rights are respected everywhere and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an important document in relation with that. Since the early 1990´s the EU has included human rights conditionality clauses in its international agreements, both in international trade agreements...
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...Two pillars of the EU’s external action. Discuss arguments for and against keeping this two pillar structure The EU is a world global actor in the international system for its several characteristics: the scope and resources, the extensive experience, and the competence to operate in a united manner in a variety of internal and external policy settings. The two pillars of the EU’s external action: the Common Foreign and Security Policy including the Common Security and Defense Policy (CFSP/CSDP) and the External Relations such as the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) are the main features of the Union in establishing the external relations. The two pillars are extensively different from each other vis-à-vis decision-making processes and the role of the EU institutions in each pillar. The paper will review these differences in more details and provide argument for keeping the two pillars. 1. The Common Foreign and Security Policy came to function with the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 with the aims to ensure peace and stability in the European continent and in the world as a whole. It is considered as an intergovernmental mode of institution due to fact that it acts according to the guidelines of the national governments by viewing the different foreign policies of the member states. Along with other objectives such as promoting the fair democracy, the rule of law, and respect to human rights, the CFSP can also decide on arms embargo in conflict situations when necessary. 2. The...
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...The EU in the New World Order (3 Videos) Questions: 1. Who has the power to represent the EU internationally? The president of the European Commission, the high Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the head of delegation of the EU to third countries (e.g. the US),and the president of the European Council. 2. Of which of the following international organisations is the EU a (full) member? The FAO and WTO, two conditions need to be fulfilled: 1) The EU must have the power (as conferred by the Member States in the Treaties) to become a member, 2) the international organization must allow the EU (which is not a state) to become a member. Consult, for instance, Art. 4 of the UN Charter 3. What is the EU in international law? Rights and obligations. It is not a state or is a regional integration organization with a very extensive measeur of international legal personality (at 47 TEU) 4. Who represents Europe in the world, in external affairs and treaty negotiations with 3rd countries or international organizations, High representative of EU for foreign affairs and policy: created by the Lisbon treaty , it is also the vicepresident to the European Comissions. Head of state, Europe is represented by 2 persons: permanent president of European Council and President of the European Commission (more for classical competences of the EUUU). And Rotatic council. World wide diplomatic network of the European Union: EU ambassadors, EU delegations...
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...globalization. In wake of the atrocities committed during World War II, Europe sought to establish a community of peace, stability, and prosperity with the common interest of humanity (De Vasconcelos, 2005). This unification has been achieved through the liberalization of four essential freedoms of movement: goods, service, capital, and labour (Molchanov, 2007). Even reconciliation between former enemies, such as France and Germany, came from the understanding that new world order has dampened the ability of nations to solve their problems on their own. Integration at a regional level can be thought of as integral part of globalization as it has become Europe’s primary defense amidst rising global competition (Murray, 2011). In fact, Peter Schmitt-Egner identified the process undertaken by the EU as transnational regionalism, as it seeks to 1: Utilize European integration as arena for transnational learning to foster internal regional development and; 2: Enhance regional competence to create a ‘Europe of Regions of Citizens’ (Schmitt-Egner, 2002). For Europe, regional integration has presented itself as a window of opportunity that allows for: “outward looking trade policy, internal competitiveness and involvement in cross-border agreements” (Downs, 2002). Traditionally, this European model based on competitiveness and biggest commercial trading powers in the world, rendering Europe to become the most important regional zone with total exports and imports representing upwards of 40%...
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...This has been characterized by the numerous strikes and news reports of the actions and statements of the principal actors involved. The recent TCL strike (Newsday, 2012), statements threatening strike action by PSA president (Guardian, 2010), and threats to the government for a nationwide strike (CARICOM News Network, 2011) all give credence to the concerns of the ECA “that the industrial relations climate will become increasingly adversarial”(Business Guardian, 2011). This type of conflict and balance of power issues in the long-term can have adverse economic consequences as well as a negative effect on international competitiveness. The term ‘Industrial Relations’, in a broad sense, covers the employment relationship between employers and employees either directly or through their representatives. An explanation of Industrial Relations which clearly identifies the principal actors is:- “the relationships between employees and employers within the organisational settings. The field of industrial relations looks at the relationship between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by a union. Industrial relations are basically the interactions between employers, employees and the government, and the institutions and associations through which such interactions are mediated” (Naukrihub.com). Actors and their roles A key actor identified in the definition is the employer. The employer according to Burchill, 2008 may be from the Public or...
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...In the immediate aftermath of the financial meltdown in 2008, the global crisis has made an important shift. By then not the private banking sector, from where the financial crisis originally emerged from, but sovereign states face the risk of default. In order to analyse the multifaceted character of the European sovereign debt crisis, this essay focuses on its systemic causes. Contrary to the argument of popular Northern European politicians and journalists that blame the inability of Southern European states to manage deficit spending, the Eurozone crisis is firstly determined by imbalances in the European Monetary Union, and secondly by imbalances in the global political economy. This paper argues that the vast amount of sovereign debt is therefore not the result of weak Southern European nations, but of inherent structural illnesses that ultimately led to the current crisis. This essay is divided into two sections. The first section examines the problems of the design of the European Monetary Union. In regard to the theory of an ‘Optimum Currency Area’ by Robert Mundell, it analyses the extent to which the EMU has failed to meet the criteria of optimised efficiency. In the absence of an adjustment mechanism for unequal development in Euro member states, the dominance of Germany as leading export nation created severe inequalities. The second section then focuses on the role of the global political economy and imbalances that were created in the ‘era of financialisation’ following...
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...look into ways to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Not only are successful location decisions of multinational companies good news for surviving in the political system, but related economic and social development implications necessitate a more comprehensive view on whether there is a race to attract FDI in Europe. And if so, what are its implications on different industries and societies within the EU. This paper focuses on the retailing industry and mandates an understanding of managerial decision making: Why do retailing companies enter particular country markets and what are the factors that determine a country’s attractiveness? A conceptual model is developed to understand the factors, corporate as well as market characteristics, which influence companies in their location selection decisions. This will help us understand the impact of the incentives, if any, given by governments. We study two cases, Wal-Mart in the UK and Germany and Toys‘R’Us in Sweden to verify our model and to draw conclusions that can be useful for firms as well as policy makers in the EU. -2- Introduction Foreign direct investment and company’s location...
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...democraticvaluesaremoreclearlydefinedandrolesof theEuropeanand national parliaments are reinforced. Thirdly, the LT has attempted to improve citizen’s rights, for example by the new citizens’ initiatives, as well as by making the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding. Fourthly, the LT has introduced several political changes, including more cooperation on the common foreign and security policy and how to combat external threats as a global actor with a single voice. Moreover, this essay considers how the LT differs from the Constitutional Treaty, arguing that although no longer a formal constitution, it does maintain constitutional elements. It then looks at some specific issues; in particular, whether legitimacy, transparency and accountability have been improved, and takes the view that while this is the case to some extent, there remains much room to f urther improve. Finally, it also f ocuses on the EU’s future outlook in the light of the Lisbon Treaty’s amendments, arguing from an intergovernmentalist standpoint, as Member States seek EU cooperation in their own national interests. After the much criticized Treaty of Nice, the Convention on the “Future of Europe” held in March 2001, followed by the Laeken Declaration in December 2001 marked the beginning of the big debate on European...
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...Changes in international development: An assessment of trilateral development cooperation. Introduction In a time span of the last 10 years, the scene has changed rapidly in international development studies. A number of new actors have appeared on the scene and are changing the attitudes towards and the setting of development, in particularly in Africa. To argue that changes on this scene is a novelty would be obscene, with possible references to the plethora of different development paths followed by individual states, the widely differing politics of international development and in particular the big shifts in the international paradigms surrounding aid and governance. The reasons for the current change on the international scene are many. First, and most relevant to this paper, there is the entry of “new” states on the scene. These are states that most often have risen to a middle-income level (e.g. China, Brazil, South Africa), and now are looking to either widen their altruistic reach, look out for geopolitical interest, gain political influence or to secure access to future growth markets and scarce resources – or maybe all of the above. It is worth to note, that they have all been present for a long time, but just recently have attained the interior economic welfare to increase their aid support (Rampa et al., 2012; Dreher et al., 2011; Wouters et al., 2012). Another very big driver of change is the entry of private financing into the field of development. Private...
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...the context of International Political Economy (IPE), I will begin by discussing the frameworks that IPE uses to describe the social constructs upon which human society is based. This discussion will then extend to issues pertinent to the essay question, including the concepts of globalisation, the nation state, authority and sovereignty, and the extent to which a nation state’s participation in a globally interdependent system influences that nation state’s authority. IPE connotes a multidisciplinary method of enquiry to explain the ever-changing relationships between states, markets and societies across history and in different geographical areas. IPE includes a political dimension that accounts for the use of power by a variety of actors including individuals, domestic groups, states, international organisations, NGO’s, and transnational corporations. IPE also involves an economic dimension that deals with how scarce resources are distributed among individuals, groups and nation-states. (Ballam and Dillman, 2011, p7) To place globalisation within the context of IPE, one must view the concept in terms of the causes and effects of the world market economy, the relationship between 2 economic and political change, and the significance of the world economy for domestic economies (Gilpin, 2003, pp 13-14). Globalisation is a multifaceted concept, and as such, is difficult to precisely define. I have used several different sources in order to give some depth to its...
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...democratic processes be managed to protect core values such as accountability, responsiveness, and transparency? What future do governments envisage for "global governance"? From Autonomy to Influence -- preparing for a global policy role THE IMPACTS OF GLOBALISATION ON POLICY-MAKING 1. Globalisation has changed the context in which governments operate. Even traditionally domestic issues are increasingly influenced by international actors and international events that are beyond national governments' ability to control, either individually or collectively. This has evoked a good deal of hand-wringing and fears that national policy autonomy -- or even national sovereignty -- is being undermined. These fears, while important, may be short-sighted. While globalisation poses many challenges for national governments, it also holds many opportunities. International co-operation offers new opportunities to improve overall policy effectiveness and to address common policy dilemmas. But are national governments adequately equipped to manage the problems and reap the benefits of globalisation? 2. The following discussion examines the impacts of globalisation on policy making1. It raises questions related to three main themes: 3. may international interest groups, the global newsmedia, multinational enterprises and the vagaries of globalised financial markets all influence the demands on governments and the policy options available...
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