scholarly journals Multi-level Governance and Energy Specifics of the V4 Countries within the Context of European Integration

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-546
Author(s):  
Helena Bauerová ◽  
Milan Vošta
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
State Level ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe topic of energy is still one of the most sensitive policy areas. The aim of this article is to examine the multi-level governance and energy specifics of the V4 countries within the context of European integration by analyzing selected the specifics of the energy mix of the V4 group countries. This will be carried out within the context of applying the theory of multilevel governance. The paper shows how energy policy is formed at state, and/or non-state level, as well as how these levels are influenced by the EU. The article also looks at the efforts taken to shape a common energy policy. A closer examination of the individual countries‘ levels lies outside the scope of this article. Therefore, the framework was chosen with regard to the particular features within the context of the functioning of the V4 group of countries. Using multi-level governance as a theoretical concept, the authors considered the limits arising from the determination of levels and the subjects of the survey, as well as having distinguished three levels of analysis. The first is the supranational level. This is represented by the EU. The second level is represented by the V4 states. The third level is the state as the actor that formulates energy policy, sets the energy mix and subsequently manifests itself in relation to the EU and the V4 group. Energy policy is significantly influenced by states, especially in the area of energy security of fuel supplies, or that of setting the energy mix. With the gradual communitarization of energy policy, the EU’s influence is growing and it is debatable how the evaluation of existing strategic plans, presented by individual states, will be done. The role of the V4 group is the weakest of the three levels of analysis which were examined. However, its increasing influence can be predicted mainly in the case of coal depletion and the perception of nuclear energy as a renewable source.

scholarly journals An East‑West Divide in the European Union? The Visegrad Four States in Search of the Historical Self in National Discourses on European Integration

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
Christopher Walsch
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Discourses ◽  
The Individual ◽  
East West ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article explores whether a new east‑west divide exists in the enlarged European Union by analysing national discourses on European integration in the Visegrad Four (V4) states. Two V4 foreign policy legacies form the basis of analysis: the “Return to Europe” discourse and the discourses around the reconstruction of the historical self. The article gives evidence that the V4 countries share sovereignty in external policies and thus have a distinct European orientation. V4 national‑conservative governments hold sovereigntist positions, however, in policy areas that they consider falling exclusively within the realm of the member state. Comparison with Western European member states gives evidence that the post-1945 paradigm changes were more profound than those of post-1989 ones of Eastern Europe. This historic legacy can explain the more integrationist orientations in Western Europe. The article concludes that behaviour of the individual V4 state seems to be of greater importance for each member than collective V4 group action. Finally, the article gives an outlook on ways in which solidarity between the Western and Eastern halves of the EU can be exercised in an ideologically diverging Union.

scholarly journals A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zerina Causevic ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
The Eu

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.

scholarly journals Securitization of Energy Supply within the European Integration

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-81
Author(s):  
Y. V. Borovsky ◽  
O. V. Shishkina
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Scientific Explanation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
The Eu

The article uses the constructivist securitization concept to analyze the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Union (EU) approaches to ensuring energy security. It seeks to establish whether the energy supply has been securitized within the European integration process and if so when it happened. The literature review does not give a definitive and comprehensive answer to this question which is essential for all the history of the EEC and the EU. The authors of this study use an extensive documentary database available on the EU websites. They established that for the EEC/EU the energy policy securitization is a long-lasting ongoing process that came into being in 1973. Within the European integration, the securitization is justified by the dependency of the member states on the imported energy resources, which is regarded through the prism of securing reliable, affordable, and (since 2000s) environmentally sustainable supply. The authors identified two waves of energy supply securitization in the EEC/EU. The first wave was triggered by the oil embargo of the OPEC Arab countries and, generally, the world oil crisis of 1973-1974. The second wave of the 2000s and 2010s was triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflicts of 2006 and 2009 and the sharp deterioration of Russian-Ukrainian relations in 2014. For both waves, the Commission was the main ‘securitizing actor’. However, during the second wave, the European Parliament, some EU countries, and even the United States made their own ‘securitizing moves’. The ‘audience’ (EEC/EU countries) expressed its opinion towards the ‘securitizing moves’ through the European Council and the Council decisions. The research conclusions can be useful for a profound scientific explanation of the EU energy policy as well as for the operationalization of the securitization concept.

scholarly journals The Rise of Illiberal Democracy and the Remedies of Multi-Level Constitutionalism

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
András László Pap ◽  
Anna Śledzińska-Simon
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Illiberal Democracy ◽  
The Third ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article begins with a brief overview of the characteristics of illiberal democracy proclaimed in Hungary and followed by Poland, the once 'Musterkinder' of European integration and compliance with the EU values and law. In the second part the weaknesses of multi-level constitutionalism is analyzed by addressing the Hungarian and Polish illiberal turn. The third part consists of a country-specific contextual analysis examining remedies to illiberal democracy in a normative focus.

Lobbying in de Europese Unie : Is er nog toekomst voor nationale belangengroepen ?

Res Publica ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-696
Author(s):  
Pieter Bouwen
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Financial Integration ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Business Associations ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
National Business ◽  
Gain Access ◽  
The Eu

This article studies the lobbying strategies of national business associations against the background of increasing Europeanization. It addresses the question whether national associations have withered away during the process of European integration. On the basis of neo-functionalist integration theory and the multi-level governance (MLG) perspective, a number of hypotheses are generated about the fate of national associations in the European integration process. An extensive empirica[ study of the EU financial services sector analyzes these hypotheses. The data show that European financial integration has not caused the withering away of national business associations as predicted by neofunctionalist theory. The data not only confirm the MLG hypothesis that national associations develop direct lobbying strategies at different levels of the EU multi-level system in order to gain access to the European decision-making process. In addition, the results also confirm the hypothesis that national associations undertake indirect lobbying strategies (through membership in European associations) with the aim of gaining institutional access. Finally, the degree to which national associations gain access to the European institutions is explained in terms of a theory of supply and demand for access goods.

2. Theories of EU Governance

2014 ◽  
pp. 24-43
Author(s):  
Ian Bache ◽  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Owen Parker
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Political System ◽  
New Institutionalism ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Union Governance ◽  
Eu Studies ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines theories of European Union governance. As European integration progressed, the academic focus began to shift from explaining the integration process to understanding the EU as a political system. As such, EU scholars increasingly drew on approaches from the study of domestic and comparative politics. While some attempts to escape the supranational–intergovernmental dichotomy have proved more successful than others, these contributions broadened the study of the EU considerably beyond the traditional international relations debate and many scholars have spoken of a ‘governance turn’ in EU studies in the 1990s. This chapter considers a number of approaches that focus on the EU as a political system. These approaches fall within the broad categories of ‘new institutionalism’ and ‘governance and networks’. The concept of multi-level governance is also discussed.

scholarly journals Multilevel governance: Identity, political contestation, and policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-799
Author(s):  
Hanna Kleider
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Multilevel Governance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
The Eu

This commentary takes stock of how Multi-level Governance and European Integration has helped scholars frame empirical research agendas. It focuses on three specific research programmes emanating from the book: (1) the role of identity in multi-level governance, (2) political contestation in multi-level systems, and (3) the effect of multi-level governance on policy outcomes. It aims to highlight existing knowledge in these lines of research whilst offering several critical reflections and directions for future research. The commentary argues that the book’s observation that governance structures are ultimately shaped by identities rather than by efficiency considerations has proved almost prophetic given recent backlash against the EU. The book expertly shows that there is an inherent tension in sharing authority across multiple levels of government, and that multi-level systems require constant recalibration and renegotiation of how authority is shared.

Israel and Turkey: Once Comrades Now Frenemies

2021 ◽  
pp. 234779892110198
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Ersoy Ceylan
Keyword(s):  
State Level ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Radical Shift

Turkey and Israel have been strategic partners since the 1990s. Yet, there has occurred a deep crisis between the two countries, particularly since 2009, but the beginning of the deterioration in bilateral relations dates to the early 2000s. Today both countries designate each other as opponents despite the history of a strategic partnership. What are the reasons for this radical shift in the Turkish–Israeli relations? How might the stalemate in the relations be explained? This study analyses the rupture in the bilateral relations, particularly on the recent events that paved the way for a rupture and stalemate and evaluates it via three levels of analysis laid by Kenneth Waltz. The study argues that bilateral relations have taken shape at three levels in different times and that the deterioration and amelioration of the bilateral relations hinge upon the identity and ideology of the leadership at the individual level, domestic factors at the state level, and structural factors at the systemic level. In this regard, it seeks to reveal which of the levels of analysis are in play in the determination of bilateral relations since 1948.

European integration as a peace project

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki L Birchfield ◽  
John Krige ◽  
Alasdair R Young
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
Recent Phase ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Eu

Using the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s justification for awarding the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union (EU) as a foil, this article examines the EU through the prism of being a peace project. It contends that European integration reflects a Wilsonian liberalism approach to building peace, which emphasizes free trade and democracy, but with a distinctly European twist; an additional emphasis on functional integration and institutionalization, as well as a regional focus. It also identifies three themes that run through the contributions to the special section. First, there has been a strong dialectic between the internal and external dimensions of security in the European integration project from the outset. In some ways, these have been reinforcing, but in others, they have been contradictory. Second, the European peace project has passed though successive, if often overlapping, chronological phases. These phases have been defined by different security challenges that called for different policy approaches. Russian aggression and jihadi terrorism characterize the most recent phase. The third theme is that, despite the changes in terms of threats and policies, there has been a remarkable consistency in two reinforcing respects: the persistent tension among the member states about closer integration with respect to the external security, and the tendency of the EU to emphasize institution building and to neglect strategy. The article concludes with a dialogic introduction to the individual contributions.

scholarly journals Regional implementation of Multi-level Governance Type I – the European Cohesion Policy

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Romana Salageanu
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Type I ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Active Mobilization ◽  
European Policies ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Conceptual Work ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
The Eu

The process of European integration has been promoting subnational mobilization activities in both federal and centralized states. The regions’ activities in Brussels have been pushing forward research on the subnational level. From the conceptual work on multi-level governance as the continuous negotiation taking place at different levels of governments that are nested at different territorial levels, their presence in Brussels has offered regions the possibility to become actors in different constellations. Regions are increasingly acknowledged as political spaces and as active actors within European policies, such as the case of Saxony-Anhalt. The paper deals with the active mobilization of Saxony-Anhalt within the multi-level governance framework of the EU with regard to the development of the European Cohesion policy.

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