scholarly journals Are Empires Striking Back? A Political and Cultural Comparison of the European Union and Russia

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-60
Author(s):  
Jérôme Dumetz

Abstract The article is a position paper focusing on the current standoff between two regional powers, the European Union and Russia. Following a series of crises, in particular the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the relationship between Russia and many of its neighbours has significantly deteriorated. This shift has led to various geopolitical opinions, often opposite and seemingly irreconcilable. A holistic and historical approach to this new reality leads some to question the validity of the current world order through the prism of the anachronistic concept of Empires. Subsequent to a review of definitions, the author analyses historical characteristics and political factors of the two territories on focus: the European Union and Russia. There are two outcomes of this study: On the one side, the European Union has become an organisation that shares many characteristics of an Empire, but several key elements exclude it from this political construction. On the other side, the geopolitical actions of Russia have shaped the position of the country into a structure that bears many of the artefacts of an Empire with key essential features. The conclusion of this argument states that the European Union is not an Empire by design, despite many resembling features; whilst Russia lives in an anachronistic paradigm of an Empire, without having the means of being one.

Author(s):  
Ainhoa LASA LÓPEZ

LABURPENA: Artikulu honetan, Europar Batasuneko botere-artikulazio berriak erkidegotan osatutako Espainian zer eragin daukan aztertuko dugu. Europa mailako politika-ekonomia erlazioak funtsezko bi koordenatu izan behar ditu ezinbestean. Alde batetik, Europako konstituzio-ordena ez dela gizartearen konstituzionalismoaren koordenatuetan ernatutako ordenaren berdina. Bestetik, Europako konstituzio ekonomikoa Europa bat egiteko proiektuak berarekin dakartzan aldaketa berriak gorpuzteko eremua dela. Izan ere, funtsean, Europako konstituzio ekonomikoa plataforma ezin hobea delako boterearen artikulazioa berria nola artikulatu asmatzeko, Europa guztirako. RESUMEN: el objetivo de este artículo es analizar el impacto que tiene la nueva articulación del poder en la Unión Europea en el Estado español de las autonomías. La relación política-economía a nivel europeo debe tener en cuenta dos coordenadas fundamentales. Por una parte, la consideración del orden constitucional europeo como un orden distinto al gestado bajo las coordenadas del constitucionalismo social. Por otra, la caracterización de la constitución económica europea como ámbito de materialización de las nuevas transformaciones que incorpora el proyecto de integración europeo. Fundamentalmente, porque la constitución económica europea representa la plataforma idónea desde la que dilucidar la nueva articulación del poder desde el espacio supranacional europeo. ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of the new articula tion of power in the European Union in the Spanish state of autonomies. The relationship between politics and economy at European level must take into consideration two fundamental coordinates. On the one hand, the Euro pean constitucional system appears as a system opposite to that of social constitutionalism. Moreover, the characterization of the European economic constitution as a field of realization of the new transformations incorporated by the European project. Specially, because this represents the ideal platform in order to analyse the new articulation of power from European supranational space.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Ionuţ Alin Cîrdei ◽  
Lucian Ispas

Abstract The international security environment is marked by a certain state of anomy, which in reality does not conceal a state of chaos, but an attempt to restore and redesign spheres of influence, creating a new world order involving both state actors: the US, Russia, China India, supra-states actors: EU, NATO, etc or non-state actors. The European Union is confronted with a series of internal and external challenges that affect the state of security. Challenges are very diverse, difficult to anticipate and counteract, and can be attributed, on the one hand, to the cyclical evolution of society and, on the other hand, to intentional interventions using unconventional methods and means of hybrid type, which are aimed at destabilizing one of the most powerful supra-state structures, enjoying significant economic and political strength, which has a large population and can influence the evolution of events globally. Lately, EU countries have begun to tackle the most diverse issues, such as migration, terrorist threat, radicalization of a part of the population, supporting direct or indirect jihadist organizations, organizing attacks within the union, developing nationalism, separatism, ethnic or religious intolerance, etc.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
V. Vasil'ev

The article is devoted to the analysis of the political legacy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in what way the new German government might possibly use it dealing with the transformation of the country and modernization of the European Union. The new political coalition with possible participation of the Green Party will preserve the continuity of the German foreign policy course for strengthening the European Union, deepening the transatlantic partnership, for active cooperation between Berlin and Paris, as well as for inclusion of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic area. The European sovereignty is the main focal point in Berlin. The Conference on the Future of Europe examines it, as well as other evolution issues. The updated legal framework of the EU, feasible strengthening of the European Parliament positions could help transform the European Union into a weighty actor in the polycentric world. Only powerful, relatively sovereign EU is able to secure the “European way of life”. Judgments about the disintegration of the European Union are far from reality. The EU margin of safety and resistance are quite impressive, primarily due to the economic potential of Germany. However, it is really difficult to predict how the European Union will get out of the crisis caused by Covid 19. American concessions to the Germans on the Nord Stream 2 project mean Biden’s serious attitude towards Merkel and Germany – the leader in the EU and one of the important NATO allies. The conditions for Russia’s return to the “European club”, for example, through the revival of M. Gorbachev’s new political thinking in Moscow, indicate rather an illusory desire. There is another, more pragmatic approach. The single European cultural and historical matrix of Greater Europe, communication between the leaders of the Russian Federation, Germany, France and the USA, the economic foundation of contacts, as well as mutual sympathies between Russians, Germans, Europeans give reason to hope for a turn for the better. The chances of a unification agenda remain. Perhaps, it will be used by future generations of politicians, experts of the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany without preconditions, on the basis of reasonable compromises. Acknowledgements. The article was prepared within the project “Post-Crisis World Order: Challenges and Technologies, Competition and Cooperation” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement 075-15-2020-783).


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Ionut Laurentiu Petre

This article assesses how and the extent to which EU meat prices are influenced by Russia's embargo. The first part assesses the meat market in the European Union, so it will analyse data on livestock, production and average prices. In the second part, the analysis is reflected on the Russian Federation in order to determine the relationship between consumption and production, then between demand and supply. Using trade data between the two regions, the level of Russian meat import reduction is set. At the end of the article, the link between the average price of meat and the value of Russian imports taken from the European Union is analysed.


Author(s):  
G. M. Kakenova ◽  
◽  
M. A. Rakhimova ◽  
R. S. Yelmurzayeva ◽  
◽  
...  

The article considers the key issues of cooperation between Russia and the European Union in the energy sector through the prism of the Nord Streams. Analysis of the gas industry is presented in the global format as well as part of the relationship between Russia and the European Union in particular. The Nord Streams are considered as the main gas pipelines of Russia. Along with economic are shown political factors affecting cooperation delivery between the RF and the EU in the gas sector. The authors of the article made an attempt to accumulate the results achieved in the implementation of the Nord Streams agreements, as well as give an analysis of ways to solve the problems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
N. Arbatova

Received 12.02.2021. The article is devoted to the analysis of the fundamental reasons that led to the crisis in relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union as well as relations between Russia and the West at large. The main attention is paid to both objective changes in international relations and subjective factors in the policies of Russia and the EU, that which predetermined the vector of evolution of their interaction. The article proposes a layer-by-layer analysis of these reasons, leading from a superficial perception of problems in depth to the origins of the current crisis. This method of analysis can be called the “matryoshka method”, when the main problem lies in the very depths of the phenomenon under study. In other words, the article proposes a “countdown” from the current crisis to the postbipolar start of cooperation between Russia and the European Union. Why did it all go wrong when it all started so well? And, finally, who is to blame for the failed partnership, and is it possible to get out of this deadlock? These and other questions are at the center of this article. The Ukraine conflict is widely perceived by the European Union and the West as whole as a turning point in their relations with the Russian Federation and the main reason of the deepest divide between them. However, this conflict is not so much the reason but rather the consequence of more profound contradictions between Russia and the West. These contradictions are revolving around the mutual misperceptions about the acceptable foundation of the post-bipolar European security and rivalry in the CIS space. The EU and NATO enlargement strategies presented by both institutions as two complementary processes raised Russia’s concerns about their intentions in the CIS region. But these contradictions did not appear from “the middle of nowhere”. They resulted from the uneven end of the bipolarity and mistakes made by the West and its institutions as well as miscalculations of the new Russian leadership. In the very centre of this “matryoshka doll” one can find the arguments explaining Russia’s historic convolutions on its way to Europe. Acknowledgements. The article was prepared within the project “Post-Crisis World Order: Challenges and Technologies, Competition and Cooperation” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2020-783).


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1073-1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Derlén ◽  
Johan Lindholm

AbstractThe case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is one of the most important sources of European Union law. However, case law's role in EU law is not uniform. By empirically studying how the Court uses its own case law as a source of law, we explore the correlation between, on the one hand, the characteristics of a CJEU case—type of action, actors involved, and area of law—and, on the other hand, the judgment's “embeddedness” in previous case law and value as a precedent in subsequent cases. Using this approach, we test, confirm, and debunk existing scholarship concerning the role of CJEU case law as a source of EU law. We offer the following conclusions: that CJEU case law cannot be treated as a single entity; that only a limited number of factors reliably affect a judgment's persuasive or precedential power; that the Court's use of its own case law as a source of law is particularly limited in successful infringement proceedings; that case law is particularly important in preliminary references—especially those concerning fundamental freedoms and competition law; and that initiating Member State and the number of observations affects the behavior of the Court.


2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Sanahuja

Mexico and the European Union signed a new Political and Economic Association Agreement in December 1997 and ultimately a free-trade agreement in March 2000, aiming to establish a new model of relations with a more dynamic trade and investment component. This article analyzes the 1997 agreement as background to the final accord. Economic and political changes in the 1990s modified both parties’ participation in the international political economy, helping to overcome some of the structural obstacles to the relationship. The policy toward Latin America adopted by the EU in 1994 was influential. The negotiation process revealed divergences over the scope of the liberalization process and the so-called democracy clause.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Eva Eckert ◽  
Oleksandra Kovalevska

In the European Union, the concern for sustainability has been legitimized by its politically and ecologically motivated discourse disseminated through recent policies of the European Commission and the local as well as international media. In the article, we question the very meaning of sustainability and examine the European Green Deal, the major political document issued by the EC in 2019. The main question pursued in the study is whether expectations verbalized in the Green Deal’s plans, programs, strategies, and developments hold up to the scrutiny of critical discourse analysis. We compare the Green Deal’s treatment of sustainability to how sustainability is presented in environmental and social science scholarship and point out that research, on the one hand, and the politically motivated discourse, on the other, do not correlate and often actually contradict each other. We conclude that sustainability discourse and its keywords, lexicon, and phraseology have become a channel through which political institutions in the EU such as the European Commission sideline crucial environmental issues and endorse their own presence. The Green Deal discourse shapes political and institutional power of the Commission and the EU.


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