scholarly journals RUSSIA'S RELATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CHINA: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MUTUAL PERCEPTION IN THE BORDER REGIONS

Author(s):  
R. H. Simonyan ◽  
T. M. Kochegarova

Occurred nearly a quarter of a century ago, the collapse of the Soviet Union - an event that led to the formation of a new configuration of the world-system. In this global role, the national significance of this event for Russia that she has to find their place in the world that actualizes a scientific discussion on this topic. Without public clarification and comparison of the ideological differences and disagreements it is difficult to imagine the development of a democratic society. Moreover, it is impossible to do without a debate in the society, standing in the darkness. Russia again, as in the beginning 1990-h years is in a situation of historical bifurcation. Russia to go their own way or try to rebuild themselves in the experience of the successful modernization of the States of the European, Asian, South American or African. They have used the Western (European) experience, without losing their national identity. Inherent in our ethnic consciousness and the inclination to extremes, Russian intellectuals keen on totally unproductive debates, like the endless, which is between "Westerners" and "Slavophil's" (in the current language - "fundamentalists"). The notorious dichotomy becomes more and more absurd, Recalling the disputes of "points" and "dull bits" from the famous novel of Jonathan Swift. The country is a completely different choice - effectiveness and development or the inefficiency and backwardness, modernization or preservation of its political and economic model, developed by reformers in 1990-ies. Today, therefore, Russia should not deifying the West, than succeeded ones and not the deification of exclusivity, what more you want to succeed others, but strong awareness of the reality and the pursuit of maximum expediency, pragmatism in the development of the achievements of Western civilization. If Asian countries are to successfully adopt the European (Western) modernization experience, then Russia as a European country should be more favorable conditions. In line with what is happening in the country discussions on ways of socio-economic development of Russia and its role and place in the emerging new global configuration, interactions with neighbors, primarily with the European Union and China in the context of the prospects of replacing the existing economic model and the upcoming modernization. Need to know life plans, orientation and attitudes of the Russian youth, its ideas about the place of Russia in a changing world. how it links its future with the future of their country. In the upcoming modernization, the main burden of its implementation will fall on the current young generation of Russians. In this regard, the article analyzes survey results of University students in six Federal districts of Russia.

Author(s):  
Tanel Kerikmäe ◽  
Archil Chochia ◽  
Max Atallah

Integration with the European Union has been far less distressing for the three Baltic States than for numerous other accessing countries owing to their strong societal impetus to (re)join Western political, economic, and legal culture after they regained their independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the accession of these states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—had several distinctive features related to constitutional background and settings, which heavily influenced problem solving between government and the EU institutions. In general, the controversial issues regarding how to solve the problems with supranational power have never been dramatic with regard to the Baltic States, which leads to the assumption that often the governments have taken rather compliant positions. The latest cases, such as the European Stabilization Mechanism, indicate the change in paradigm: the three Baltic States are more aware of the margin of appreciation and actual borderlines between policy making- and decision making. Today, in setting up an EU-related agenda, more skills than previously are needed in finding allies and choosing partners. The road the Baltic States took in joining the EU was a difficult one, nor has their role in the EU been easy. Should a small state with a big initiative be allowed to mentor other member states regarding that initiative, meaning in particular Estonia and its digital development? Another peculiar aspect of the Baltic States is their (inter)relationship with Russia. Considering themselves a bridge between East and West, the Baltics have been active in Eastern Partnership and Development Aid initiatives and have also spoken out strongly against intervention in Georgia and Ukraine. This position sometimes complicates any EU attempt to achieve consensus on foreign policy.


Author(s):  
Alexandr S. Krivcov

Tensions between various ethnic groups living in Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, escalated into violent conflict in 1992-1993. At the heart of the conflict, which broke out along with a number of other conflicts after the collapse of the Soviet Union, lies the contradiction between the principles of territorial integrity and the right of nations to self-determination. This tension was centered around competing historical claims of Georgians and Abkhazians on the territory of Abkhazia. Abkhaz demands for greater autonomy increased when the Soviet Union collapsed. Nationalism spread, tension grew, and in 1992 a 13-month war began. This article assesses how the warring parties perceive the process of Europeanization of their region, as well as the role of the European Union in the conflict around Abkhazia and its possible outcome in the future. It is noted that the efforts made by the EU to facilitate the settlement of disputes on the Georgian-Abkhaz issue are long-standing and multifaceted. However, there is a dissonance between the EU’s strong interest in resolving these conflicts, its strong commitment and its long-standing involvement in promoting such a settlement, and its actual, ineffective contribution to this goal.


Author(s):  
Elena A. Kosovan ◽  

The article considers the process of formation of the institutional and legal framework for the local self-government system in the Republic of Moldova. Chronologically, the study covers the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The author places the formation of the national local self-government system in the context of the European vector of Moldovan foreign policy, analysing the process (especially the implementation of the so- called “decentralization reform”) from the perspective of Moldova’s interaction with the European Union and the Council of Europe. The theories of formal structure and social imitation provide the conceptual framework for the study. The author briefly describes the Soviet self-government system, the gradual abandonment of which was the essence of the reforms of the 1990s, and touches upon the organization of self-governance according to the Anglo-Sax- on and Continental models and the modern systems of self-governance existing in the European Union, to which the Republic of Moldova aspires to become a member. The article consecutively analyses the stages of work of Moldovan legislators aimed at the formation of local authorities, evaluating its results both in terms of compliance with European norms and principles of local self-government organization and in the context of the national ethno-political, institutional and legal, civil and political specificity. According to the author’s hypothesis, the Republic of Moldova builds a system of local self-government by introducing elements of its institutional environment (European principles of regionalization and deconcentration) into its formal structures, but proceeds not so much from their compliance with specific goals and objectives of the Moldovan state, its political, economic and sociocultural specificities, as from their symbolic weight and ability to legitimize Moldova on the international scene as a state successfully undergoing a democratic transition.


Author(s):  
Nigel Foster

This chapter examines the history of the establishment and development of the European Union (EU). It discusses the underlying motives for its founding, which include the desire for peace, security against the rising threat from the Soviet Union, and economic development. It describes the changing relationship of the UK with the EU, particularly in view of the Brexit decision, and suggests that the origins of the Union can be traced from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). This chapter also explains the roles and obligations of the EU in managing the external relations of its members, particularly in international trade.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (72) ◽  
pp. 333-349
Author(s):  
Mircea COȘEA

Coronavirus has generated changes and mutations not only in the conduct of our daily lives, but also in the organization and functioning of the economic mechanism at national and global level.The rapid changes and shifts that are taking place in the economy are for the moment the result of the political mainstream, especially the governmental one, and of the system of internationalfinancial institutions. What is visible and certain is the elimination of some limits in giving up ideological principles and established rules of the functioning of the economic mechanism. Thus, the neoclassical ideology, the foundation of the whole scaffolding of the global economic policies, easily compromises by admitting that in the current conditions state interventionism has a more  important role than free market laws in counteracting the effects of the pandemic on the economy. This process easily went beyond the regulations of the liberalization of trade in goods, returning to protectionism with nationalist accents as well as to bans on food and medicine exports. The principle of European solidarity is being threatened by unilateral decisions taken by Member States, or by the abandonment of European agreements in order to replace them by national decisions. Globalization was based on the imperative to produce, sell and buy, move, circulate, move on. Its ideology of progress is based on the idea that the economy must definitely replace politics. The essence of the system was the abolishment of limits: more trade, more and more goods, more and more profits to allow money to circulate and turn into capital. This whole concept of development has ceased to be the guiding principle of economic growth and development, thecurrent trend being the return to national borders, if not in a strictly territorial sense, at least in an economic sense. That is why one of the important changes of recent months is the emergence of policies designedto change the meaning of supply chains. Rethinking supply chains is a consequence of border closures or of the sudden closure of transport. It is a critical point of pressure that weighs mainly on car manufacturers and capitalgoods. As a result, there will be a trend of relocating production to European or Maghreb countries where wages remain lower than the European average. Another quick and important change is the one related to the role of the state in the economy, neoliberalism successfully promoting throughout the global economy the idea of the need for the limited role of state decision and state interventionism in the economy. The current change consists precisely in reversing the role of the state from passivity to activity, considered as the only one capable of ensuring an efficient system for managing the pandemic and restarting the economy. For many analysts, the coronavirus crisis could lead to a profound change in the global economic model and in the individual economic behavior.This is an extremely important issue also from the perspective of Romania's future. We are at a turning point and will have to make quick and complex decisions, because Romania risks entering a post-crisis period in an economic stagnation difficult to overcome, due to the lack ofproductivity, innovation and modern management. The gaps between Romania and the vast majority of European countries will be maintained, condemning us to occupy a marginal and lower place in the hierarchy of the European economy, characterized by a high and dangerous degree of dependence on the evolution and dynamics of markets in the strong states of the European Union. The explanation of this situation lies in the type and functioning of the structure of the Romanian economy. The current structure of the Romanian economy lies on the last concentric circle of European integration, if its center is considered the western core of theEU. There is no doubt about this inevitability. The crisis caused by the pandemic already exists and despite the optimism of some international financial institutions it will profoundly affect the state of the world economy and the life of the citizens. There will be not only major changes in the paradigm of the neoliberal model of the global economy but also changes in the balance of power between the world's major economic and political actors. The trade war between the USA and China is also beginning to have important political aspects, as the fight for world leadership between these two superpowers is generating tensions over the entire world. These tensions will surely have many "collateral victims" through the direct and indirect damage that many national economies, even the European Union, will suffer, as a result of the economicand political consequences of the US and China entering a state that some Western analysts define as " a cold war but with a tendency to warm up". These elements will aggravate the pressure that the pandemic crisis will put on the state of the world economy, determining the extent and depth of the effects of the crisis not only on the economic field but also on the balance and stability of international relations.Keywords: coronavirus crisis; value chains; multilateralism-unilateralism; protectionism, neoliberal global economic model. 


Politeja ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6(75)) ◽  
pp. 51-74
Author(s):  
Józef Fiszer

The study is devoted to Poland’s accession to NATO and the European Union (EU) and describes Germany’s stance on Poland’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations after 1989, which, despite various assessments, was not explicit and enthusiastic. However, it evolved gradually and was determined by a difficult internal situation after the reunification of Germany and its new geopolitics and geoeconomics. For Germany that reunified on 3 October 1990, an issue of greater importance than Polish accession to NATO and the EU was the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of the former GDR and normalization of relations with neighbors, particularly with France, Poland, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Both France and the United Kingdom, as well as the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent, the United States initially were afraid of a reunified Germany and opposed Polish membership in Euro-Atlantic structures. At the time, hopes and fears were rife about the future of Europe. A common question was being asked in Paris, London, Moscow, Washington, and Warsaw – would reunified Germany remain a European state, or would Europe become German? Should Germany stay in NATO or leave after the reunification? There were questions also about Moscow’s policy towards reunified Germany and its position on Poland’s accession to Euro-Atlantic structures. Unfortunately, for a long time, it was negative. Today, thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, we can see that the black scenarios that were outlined in 1989-1990 did not actually come true. Despite the fears, those events opened the way for Poland to “return to Europe” and to gain membership in Euro-Atlantic structures, i.e., NATO and the European Union (EU). The path was not at all simple and it was not easy for Poland to make it through. In the study the author analyses subjective and objective difficulties related to Poland's accession to NATO and the EU and describes the evolution and role of Germany in this process.


2020 ◽  
pp. 3-35
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster

This chapter examines the history of the establishment and development of the European Union (EU). It discusses the underlying motives for its founding, which include the desire for peace, security against the rising threat from the Soviet Union, and economic development. It describes the origins of the Union which can be traced from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). This chapter also explains the roles and obligations of the EU in managing the external relations of its members, particularly in international trade. It looks at the subsequent extensive developments to both the Communities and the Treaties.


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