Germany as a Kin-State: The Development and Implementation of a Norm-Consistent External Minority Policy towards Central and Eastern Europe

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Cordell ◽  
Stefan Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Ethnic Germans ◽  
The Cold War

Germany's role as a kin-state of ethnic German minorities in Central and Eastern Europe stems from a number of factors. At one level it is part and parcel of a unique historical legacy. It is also inextricably linked with the country's foreign policy towards this region. The most profound policy that the Federal Republic of Germany developed in this context after the early 1960s was Ostpolitik, which contributed significantly to the peaceful end of the Cold War, but has remained relevant thereafter despite a fundamentally changed geopolitical context, as Germany remains a kin-state for hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans across Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the former Soviet Union, in Poland, Romania, and Hungary. As such, a policy towards these external minorities continues to form a significant, but by no means the only, manifestation of Ostpolitik.

scholarly journals Manifestation of the Internal Systemic Conflict in Mongolia

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
K. Demberel ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Investment Boom ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Second Period

The article deals with the issue of Mongolia's foreign policy during the Cold War. This period is divided into two parts. The first period, 1945-1960s, is a period of conflict between two systems: socialism and capitalism. In this first period of the Cold War Mongolia managed to establish diplomatic relations with socialist countries of Eastern Europe, as the “system allowed”. The second period, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, is the period of the conflict of the socialist system, the period of the Soviet-Chinese confrontation. During this period Mongolia's foreign policy changed dramatically and focused on the Soviet Union. This was due to the Soviet investment «boom» that began in 1960s and the entry of Soviet troops on the territory of Mongolia in 1967. The Soviet military intervention into Mongolia was one of the main reasons for cooling the Soviet-Chinese relations. And military withdrawal contributed to the improvement of Soviet-Chinese relations until the mid-1980s and one of the conditions for improving relations with their neighbors. The internal systemic conflict had a serious impact on Mongolia's foreign policy over those years.

scholarly journals Kosovo: A False Pretext for Russian Regional Paternalism

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Dr.Sc. Samet Dalipi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
The West ◽  
South Ossetia ◽  
Direct Involvement ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
The Cold War

The Cold War, characterized by its bipolar ideological rivalry, did not resolve centuries-old hostilities between the West and Russia. In order to regain the lost influence and reincarnation of regional hegemony, President Putin wanted a casus-belli. The international humanitarian intervention in Kosovo and the latter’s declaration of independence were Russia’s weak justifications for resuming the old clashes. Interventions in the territories of the former Soviet Union inhabited by Russian speakers, the annexation of Crimea, and direct involvement in the interethnic disputes in the eastern part of Ukraine and the Syrian wars show that Russia is determined to challenge and test the Western commitment to the spread of democracy. The similarities between Kosovo and Crimea, loudly echoed by Russia and their supporters, cannot be academically binding, except in some aspects of tertiary nature.The brutal prevention of Chechnya’s independence in the 1990s and failure to recognize Kosovo while applauding the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia present Putin’s political inconsistency and Real politic orientation. The Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and threats to destabilize countries that “do not respect” the rights and interests of Russians wherever they are, exemplify Putin’s policy.The article aims to analyze the volatility of Russian foreign policy by comparing the case of Kosovo’s independence to the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s paternalist intentions abroad. 

Ideas do not float freely: transnational coalitions, domestic structures, and the end of the cold war

1994 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Risse-Kappen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transnational Networks ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy ◽  
The Cold War

Realist or liberal explanations for the end of the cold war cannot account for the specific content of the change in Soviet foreign policy or for Western responses to it. These theories need to be complemented by approaches that emphasize the interaction between international and domestic factors and that take seriously the proposition that ideas intervene between structural conditions and actors' interests. Some of the strategic prescriptions that informed the reconceptualization of Soviet security interests originated in the Western liberal internationalist community, which formed transnational networks with “new thinkers” in the former Soviet Union. These new ideas became causally consequential for the turnaround in Soviet foreign policy and also had an impact on American and German reactions to it. Even though transnational networks were active in Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States, their success varied. Domestic structures like the nature of political institutions, state-society relations, and political culture determine the ability of transnational networks first, to gain access to a country's political system and second, to build “winning coalitions.” These differences in domestic structures can largely explain the variation in impact of the strategic prescriptions among the three countries.

From Enigma to Enemy: Paul-Henri Spaak, the Belgian Diplomatic Elite, and the Soviet Union, 1944–1945

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten Van Alstein
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Close Cooperation ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Western Democracies

This article draws on recently declassified documents from the Belgian archives to assess the division within the Belgian diplomatic service about Soviet intentions at the start of the Cold War. The diplomatic corps was divided between those who viewed the Soviet Union favorably and believed that continued close cooperation after the war was both feasible and essential, and those who were wary of Soviet intentions in Eastern Europe and believed that Western democracies would have to be united in opposing Soviet encroachments. Paul-Henri Spaak, the long-time Belgian foreign minister, was initially in the former camp, but events at the close of the war and soon thereafter brought him and Belgian foreign policy much closer to the latter's position.

scholarly journals Security policy of the Slovak Republic in the context of intensifying the hybrid actions of the Russian Federation

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 76-81
Author(s):  
Vira Y. Maksymets
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
European Security ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Cold War

The article analyzes the changes in the security environment of Slovakia, which took place after the annexation of the Crimea and the situation in eastern Ukraine. This changed the strategic situation not only in Central and Eastern Europe, but de facto in the European and transatlantic defense complex. These strategic changes not only changed the existing situation that existed since the end of the Cold War, but led to a paradigm shift in security policy. Today, besides defense, citizens of Slovakia also define other vectors, in particular energy, ecological, and cybernetic. They are clearly international in nature, and therefore the Slovak foreign policy and diplomacy must take them into account more intensively than before, possibly to the detriment of other activities. In order to realize its security interests, the Slovak Republic uses its membership in international (NATO, UN) and regional (Visegrad Four, EU, OSCE) organizations and associations, developing its capabilities, flexibility, and mutually reinforcing cooperation. NATO membership is the determining factor in Slovak foreign security.The benefits of this study are consideration of the issues of European security and its interconnectedness with the policy of the Slovak Republic is relevant and at the same time complicated. This is due to the transformation of the European security system and the security and foreign policy of Slovakia as a result of a number of factors.First, the main factors determining the security of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the security policy paradigm that existed in Europe since the end of the Cold War, have changed. The second important factor is Slovakia’s response to these changes, because the foreign policy priorities of the country have not yet been determined. In this regard, in the formulation and implementation of the security policy of Slovakia in 2014, there was a period of systemic changes through the annexation by the Russian Federation of Crimea. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, on the one hand, sought to maintain the neutral nature of foreign policy, while the Ministry of Defense did not react to changes. The third factor, which is also closely related to others, is a difficult task, accordingly, to find consensus on the destruction of some of the key priorities of the foreign and security policy of Slovakia, which would lead to the adoption by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of a comprehensive plan to counter foreign policy challenges, addressed to the Visegrad Four, the Eastern Partnership, the EU and NATO.

Does Aid Fragmentation Affects Growth: The Case of Nepal

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110115
Author(s):  
Kishor Sharma ◽  
Badri Bhattarai
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Reporting Requirements ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Strategic Position ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
India And China

Nepal’s strategic position and open border with India and China have attracted unusually high attention, particularly during the Cold War era, not only from these two large neighbours but also from European countries, the USA and the former Soviet Union. However, despite decades of aid inflows, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries. While debate over aid–growth nexus remains unsettled, our empirical results do suggest that aid fragmentation is detrimental to growth, perhaps due to increased administrative burden to manage a large number of small projects and meet reporting requirements of the donor community. While we find that aid is good for growth, attracting uncoordinated and fragmented aid without the need for assessment can, in fact, do more harm than good. These findings point to the importance of coordinated aid approach not only at the country level but also among the donor community.

Development of Industrial and Commercial Management in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-114
Author(s):  
John Churcher ◽  
Patricia Worgan
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

UK higher education, in partnership with UK industry, contributes positively to the training of managers and entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the New Independent States and Russia. Since 1992, the University of Luton has delivered management training courses in CEE and the former Soviet Union (FSU), developing expertise to assist both UK companies and CEE/FSU managers to understand the different attitudes and experiences that will help to overcome potential partnership problems and encourage East-West industries to take full advantage of the increasing trading opportunities. This case study analyses the management training programmes, and details pre- and post-training insights.

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