Number of results to display per page
Search Results
10902. A normative EU policy towards China: Mission impossible?
- Author:
- Mikael Mattlin
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- A vigorous debate is raging on the EU's normative roles in the global context. The EU actively promotes its political values outside of the Union, especially with regard to prospective accession countries. Yet, a normative foreign policy approach encounters considerable challenges when confronted with major powers, such as China and Russia that do not always share the political values promoted by the EU. Attempts at pursuing a normative policy towards these countries often come across as unserious or half-hearted. This paper discusses EU normative policy towards China, identifying loss of the moral high ground, conflicting interests of EU members and lack of leverage towards China as the three main factors hampering it. The paper argues that instead of a half-hearted offensive normative approach towards China, the EU may be better off with a more determined policy of defensive normativity. More broadly, the EU faces a stark choice between its desire to be a Normative Power and its wish to be a Great Power.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, and Europe
10903. Why the EU fails: Learning from past experiences to succeed better next time
- Author:
- Timo Behr, Toby Archer, and Tuulia Nieminen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Contemplating the reasons for “EU failure” might appear odd at the current moment of time. If anything, the European Union finally seems to be putting its house in order. !e ratification of the Lisbon Treaty has ended the EU's decade long institutional impasse. For the first time in its history, the EU has appointed a President of the European Council and a powerful new High Representative for its Foreign and Security Policy. EU member states are in the process of creating a European External Action Service (EEAS) to represent their common interests abroad. And the list of countries knocking on the EU's doors seems to grow longer by the day. In light of these recent developments, as well as given the EU's historical success as a “peace project”, there seem to be few apparent reasons to ponder EU failure. Doing so, to some, might even appear counterproductive.
- Topic:
- Regional Cooperation and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Lisbon
10904. Lessons to Be Learned: Political Party Research and Political Party Assistance
- Author:
- Gero Erdmann
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Generally speaking, the effects of international political party assistance are viewed negatively, or at least controversially. This study attributes some of the shortcomings of political party aid to the poor relationship between assistance providers and political science party research. They simply operate in different worlds. Party assistance lacks clear-cut concepts and strategies in practice, which makes it difficult to adequately evaluate it. At issue is its “standard method,” with its “transformative” intention to change the party organization of the assistance receivers. At the same time, the scholarship on political parties can provide only limited help to assistance providers due to its own conceptual and methodological restrictions, such as the Western European bias underlying its major concepts, the predominance of a functionalist approach, and the scant empirical research on political parties out-side of Europe and the US. Taking a cue from recent political party research, we could begin to question the overarching role of political parties in the transition and consolidation process of new democracies. Other research findings emphasize the coexistence of different types of party organizations, and the possibility of different organizational developments, which might all be consistent with consolidating democracy. All this suggests the necessity of abandoning the controversial aim of the “transformative impact” of political party aid.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Politics, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
10905. The Baffling Short-sightedness in the EU-Turkey-Cyprus Triangle
- Author:
- Nathalie Tocci
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Diehard believers in Turkey's European future had, for a brief moment, hung their hopes on the European Parliament (EP) as the key to unlocking the poisonous stalemate in Turkey's ailing accession process. The glimmer of light had come with the Lisbon Treaty, which could have been used to unblock the stalemate over the Direct Trade Regulation (DTR) between the EU and northern Cyprus by granting a voice to the EP on the matter. Breaking the stalemate would not have magically removed all obstacles to Turkey's protracted accession process. But it would have breathed new life and instilled a dose of much-needed optimism in the troubled relations between Turkey and the Union. Alas, that opportunity has been lost and, with it, the short-term hope of a rosier future for Cyprus, Turkey and the EU as a whole.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Lisbon, and Cyprus
10906. Betting on Perseverance Why the Double Track Approach is Still the Best Way to Deal with the Iranian Nuclear Conundrum
- Author:
- Riccardo Alcaro
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The standoff over Iran's nuclear programme, suspected of harbouring secret military ends, is widely considered a major flashpoint. A nuclear Iran – as the argument goes – would dramatically alter the regional balance in the Gulf, providing the Islamic Republic with a formidable deterrent against external aggression, while augmenting its ability to exert influence on its neighbours and eliminating the strategic advantage of its rival Israel, the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East. An Iranian bomb could also trigger a regional nuclear arms race since such countries as Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, might feel compelled to emulate Iran. This would in turn result in the eventual collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Given the stakes, it comes as no surprise that curbing Iran's nuclear programme has rapidly become a foreign policy priority for western powers, Israel, and the majority of Arab states, which have a history of rivalry with and mistrust of Persian and Shia-dominated Iran.
- Topic:
- Nuclear Weapons, United Nations, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt
10907. The Azerbaijan-Russia-Turkey Energy Triangle and its Impact on the Future of Nagorno-Karabakh
- Author:
- Nona Mikhelidze
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Caucasian-Caspian region has become a stage for the collision of opposing foreign security and energy policies. After 16 years of a very fragile ceasefire, the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh continues to depend not only on the attitudes of the conflict parties, but also and perhaps even more on the re-organization of the region at the political, security and energy levels. Three main developments can affect the prospects for conflict resolution in Karabakh: the parties' growing frustration with the OSCE Minsk-Group mediation; the US-brokered Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and the deterioration in US-Azeri relations; and finally, Russia's resurgence in the region. These three inter-related factors could result in a new regional scenario marked by the emergence of an energy triangle between Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey, which in turn could impact on the destiny of Nagorno- Karabakh.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Energy Policy, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Turkey, Soviet Union, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
10908. 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
10909. Dealing with Maritime Security in the Mediterranean Basin: The EU as a Multilateral Actor
- Author:
- Stefania Panebianco
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Global terrorism, irregular migration, proliferation of WMDs and piracy are all issues currently included in the EU's Mediterranean maritime security agenda. Due to the peculiar nature of these threats, the European Security Strategy claims that multilateral action is the most effective way to deal with these security threats. The involvement of regional and non-regional influential actors - both state and nonstate actors - is deemed crucial. Therefore, this analysis illustrates Mediterranean institutionalised security cooperation within many regional fora: EMP/UfM, NATO Mediterranean Dialogue, the Western Mediterranean Dialogue. Finally, some concrete actions are suggested for the EU to play an effective role.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Maritime Commerce, and Piracy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
10910. Balancing Diversity and Efficiency in the EU's Language Regime: E Pluribus Tres for the EU Patent?
- Author:
- Stephanie Locatelli
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Recently, the European Commission has breathed new life into the decade-long attempt to create a patent that would protect inventors throughout the European Union with a proposal making English, French, and German the sole languages of the EU patent. This would reduce the cost of patenting, thereby stimulating research and development within the EU. But the EU-wide patent has reached an impasse as member states struggle with the question of which languages should be used. Italy in particular has opposed the exclusion of Italian, raising more general questions about the language regime in the European Union. Are diversity and efficiency mutually exclusive, or is there a formula that can satisfy both criteria? It appears, in the end, that the Commission's proposal is the most effective way of cutting costs while at the same time preserving the multilingual character of the EU. For Italy, however, the question of trilingualism in the patent system has become a kind of litmus test of its rank within the EU.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Intellectual Property/Copyright
- Political Geography:
- Europe, France, and Germany