scholarly journals The transition paradigm versus integration in the context of political transformation of the Balkan countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veton Latifi
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Integration Project

Three decades since the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism, some of the Balkan nations are not following yet the lessons for building sustainable peace and functioning democracies according to their aspirations (at least in a declarative way) for association with the liberal democracies of the European Union (EU). Rather, the Balkans’ history is transforming into a story of importing the habits and principles from the communism period in a paradoxical way of establishing the illiberal democracies followed by controversies and defects in the process of state-building. More than a decade, the Balkans, from one side, is transformed into a zone of periphery with a focus of the European determination for the support of the institutional reform through the process of integration, but in parallel, it is being self-formatted into a zone of self-isolation of the Balkan nations. This article will discuss the transition paradigm of the Balkans through functional analysis of aspects related to the rhetoric of Balkan countries in the discourse of the criteria of the European integration project; the dimension of the Balkan ancient myth with the new additional attribute of self-isolation; the insisting of the Balkan political elites for catapulting to the European project; and as well as the dynamics of the transition, internal and European integration of the Albanians and other nations of the Balkan region in the general

13. The USA and the EU

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Transatlantic Relationship ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Integration Project

This chapter examines the United States’ involvement in the transatlantic relationship with the European integration project. In particular, it considers the ways in which U.S. foreign policy makers have developed images of the European Community and now the European Union on the challenges posed by European integration for U.S. policy processes and the uses of U.S. power. It also explores how these challenges have been met in the very different conditions of the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. It concludes by raising a number of questions about the capacity of the United States to shape and adapt to European integration, and thus about the future of U.S.–EU relations.

13. The USA and the EU

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Smith
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transatlantic Relationship ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the United States’ transatlantic relationship with the European integration project and its implications for US foreign policy. In particular, it considers the ways in which US policy makers have developed images of the European Community (EC) and later the European Union (EU) on the challenges posed by European integration for US policy processes and the uses of US power. The chapter first explores key factors in the evolution of the relationship within US foreign policy up to the end of the Cold War before discussing trends and tensions in the period between 1990 and 2016 covering the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. It also analyzes the impact of Donald Trump’s policies on US relations with the EU before concluding with an assessment of a number of wider questions about the future of the US–EU relations.

scholarly journals The Schemes of External Quality Control in Laboratory Medicine in the Balkans

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-247
Author(s):  
Petros Karkalousos
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Clinical Chemistry ◽  
Laboratory Medicine ◽  
External Quality Control ◽  
External Quality ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Control Schemes ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
Balkan Region

The Schemes of External Quality Control in Laboratory Medicine in the Balkans There are many differences between the national External Quality Control Schemes all around Europe, but the most important ones are certainly those between the countries of the Balkan region. These differences are due to these countries' different political and financial development, as well as to their tradition and the development of clinical chemistry science in each one. Therefore, there are Balkan countries with very developed EQAS and others where there is no such a scheme. Undoubtedly, the scientific community in these countries wants to develop EQAS despite of the financial and other difficulties.

ROMANIA AND THE BALKANS: POLITICAL, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 233-252
Author(s):  
Tatiana Bitkova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Common

The article analyzes some aspects of Romania’s foreign policy in the Balkan region. It is noted that the same fact that country belongs to the Balkans causes ambiguous interpretations on the part of Romanian politicians and experts, many of whom believe that Romania cannot be attributed to this region either geographically or politically. At the same time, culturally and historically, according to a certain part of historians and sociologists, Romania nevertheless carries the features of the so-called «Balkanism», due to the common Ottoman past with the Balkan Peninsula. These features are also relevant for the current socio-political situation, which is shown in the article with specific examples. In addition, criticism of the very term «Balkanism» from the side of Romanian analysts is presented. The author also examines Romania’s relations with the countries of the Western Balkans, primarily with Serbia. The points of contact of the positions of these countries are noted, which are largely due to the desire of Serbia to resolve the Kosovo problem in its favor, relying on the support of Romania - one of the five EU countries that did not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Romania, using this situation, is trying to strengthen its position, seeking regional leadership. The author comes to the conclusion that, although the Western Balkan countries directly or indirectly aspire to Euro-Atlantic structures, some of them (primarily Serbia) maintain and develop friendly relations with Russia, which complicates their interaction with Romania, orthodoxly adhering to the NATO and European Union policies and having a very difficult relationship with Russia.

Restoring the Memory

2019 ◽  
pp. 30-49
Author(s):  
Goran Ilik
Keyword(s):  
The European Union ◽  
Main Research ◽  
East European ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
European Cooperation ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Balkan States ◽  
The Eu

This chapter explores the key features of the concept of postnationalism, its modes, and theoretical implications regarding the European Union. The main research intention is to explore the EU as a model and an agent for reconciliation of the Balkan region. For that purpose, the main operative elements of both the South East European Cooperation Process and “Yugosphere” are examined. At the end, it is concluded that the emulation of EU postnational model by the Balkan countries enables the process of reconciliation. Hence, the Balkan states seems to be “forced” to cooperate with each other, in order to achieve their common objective – their full integration into the EU, which strongly confirms the role of the EU as an agent for reconciliation of the Balkans.

European Geography

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boian Koulov ◽  
Linda McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
National Scale ◽  
European Continent ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Cold War

The European Specialty Group (ESG) was founded with considerable enthusiasm in 1992. Its organization and the rapid membership increase were in response to the historic changes following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reintegration of the European continent, and a heightened interest in the evolution of European political and economic life. The purpose of the ESG is to move beyond the Cold War legacy of East–West division of the continent and foster research, teaching, and scholarly interaction on the geography of the new Europe. The ESG also serves as a bridge between US geographers working on Europe and their counterparts in the rest of the world. Finally, the group promotes the study of Europe within the discipline of geography and facilitates the exchange of information and ideas among its members and Europeanists in other disciplines, government, and private agencies. Research on Europe has been undertaken at a variety of spatial scales. A number of books reflect the pan-European scale (Berentsen 1993, 1997; Harris 1991, 1993a, b, 1997; Jordan 1996; McDonald 1997; Murphy 1991; Unwin 1998). The national scale also has received attention due to the continued importance of the different national contexts despite increased European integration, in conjunction with difficulties created by the lack of comparable statistical databases at a sub-national scale for the countries across Europe. Regardless of spatial scale several consistent themes have emerged. Within political geography focus is clearly on the new divisions of Europe, states–nations relationships, sub-national political transformation, the twin forces of democratization and nationalism, and ethnic conflict. Within economic geography research has centered around issues of “widening” versus “deepening” in the EU, globalization and pan-European integration, the impacts and implications of the incorporation of Central and Eastern European nations into the European economy, and the spatially uneven nature of economic change. Geographers also have been active in addressing issues of environmental damage, population, and migration. This chapter takes a regional approach that reflects the typical focus of most research. The material is treated systematically within sections on Western, Nordic, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe.

scholarly journals EEC and Yugoslav cooperation in the frames of modern international relations in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
E. G. Entina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
South East Europe ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Eu

Traditionally the phenomenon of the European integration towards South East Europe is regarded starting from the XXI century. The explanation for such a periodization are resolution of the open conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and implementation of the complex EU strategy for the region. Starting point of the majority of researches is the year of 2003 when the EU Agenda for the Western Balkans was started in Thessaloniki. The topic of EEC-Yugoslavia relations, SFRY having been first socialist country to institutionalize its trade and economic relations with Brussels, are unfairly ignored in domestic and foreign scientific literature. It is regarded solely as a chronological period of trade agreements. Nevertheless, this issue is of fundamental importance for understanding the current neighborhood of the European Union. The main thesis the author proves is that in the 1960s and 1980s as it is the case nowadays, the main imperative of Brussels' policy towards the Balkans was to prevent Moscow from increasing its influence. This led to the formation of a very specific format of relations with Belgrade and was one of the reasons why the economic crisis in Yugoslavia became extreme and its economy irreformable. In addition, at a later and structurally much more complicated stage of relations between the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the European Union the specificity and main components of relations of the Cold War period did not fundamentally change. As for the policy of so-called containment of the external actors one could see that besides Moscow, we can speak about similar attitude of the EU towards China. It makes it possible to consider the EU policy towards the countries of the former Yugoslavia in the paradigm of neoclassical realism, rather than in the paradigm of traditional liberal European integration approaches which allows us to unite neorealists elements with the specifics of internal processes, including the modernization of institutes, relations between society and state, types of political leadership.

The question of an alternative to the EU membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muamer Hirkić
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Development Models ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Eu

In a recent survey conducted by the Directorate for European Integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it appears that 43.6% of respondents believe that there is an alternative to the European Union (EU) membership. The survey was conducted by using the Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method, on a sample that is representative for the entire country. Therefore, this article will explore the possibility of pursuing foreign policy that is geared towards several geopolitical centres and implications for the country. Primarily, this refers to alternative development models offered by international actors such as China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Although the EU often emphasises commitment to the Western Balkan region, both internal and external processes are becoming heavily politicised. In this regard, the author will also attempt to examine some of these processes and the main stakeholders (both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union), who could stall the future European integration.

scholarly journals European Integration and Czech Sovereignty ‘Synchronized’

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-58
Author(s):  
Ondrej Hamuľák
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
European Integration ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Classical Concept ◽  
Member States ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Integration Project

Abstract European integration entity ceased to be just a forum for negotiations between independent and sovereign nation states. To some extent it overlaps with the states and becomes their competitor. In this context, the classical concept of state sovereignty loses its original content and meaning. The participation in the integration project opens the question whether it takes away or weakens sovereignty of Member States? This paper puts on four arguments to proof the hypothesis that Czech Republic continues to be a sovereign country even aft er accession to the European Union.

THE PROBLEM OF THE EU INTEGRATION OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES AND THE EU ENLARGEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VALUE MODEL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

2021 ◽  
pp. 176-193
Author(s):  
Svetlana Knyazeva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
The Eu

The article examines a wide range of the problems associated with the boundless enlargement of the European Union which makes it possible to place the Balkans in the context of general European development. To become a member of the EU is the important goal of the post-socialist countries of the Balkans/South-Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Romania, and the post-Yugoslavian states of Slovenia and Croatia became full members of the EU. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania are still at different stages of integration into the European community. This accession is the logical completion of the processes of social, political, economic and legal transformation of the Balkan countries, in which they themselves and the European Union as a whole and its individual member states are interested for reasons of geopolitics and geoeconomics. However, the accession to Europe (or the return to Europe) of the Balkan states with their authoritarian and socialist past includes not only the reform of the economic, political and legal systems, but also a change in value orientations. While in the states of the so-called «founding fathers» of the EU a Western European corporate civic identity is being formed, in the countries of the former Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, ethnic identity remains remains largely in the mainstream of public consciousness. The author examines axiological, ideological and psychological aspects of the accession of post-socialist countries to the EU, and also analyzes specific foreign policy problems associated with this process and the role of regional international organizations in the «europeanization» of the Balkans and in the settlement of ethnic and interstate conflicts in the region that still remain acute. Negative tendencies, first of all - the strengthening of populist sentiments and the coming to power of politicians reflecting these sentiments, pose challenges and threats not only to the European Union, but also to Russia.

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