Border tricksters and the predatory state

Focaal ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (54) ◽  
pp. 49-63
Author(s):  
Cosmin Radu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Present State ◽  
The State ◽  
Border Region ◽  
The Eu

This article analyzes actions of the Romanian state officials and the Romania-Serbia border region people during the embargoes imposed on Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It shows that the embargo-related contraband trade with its diverse layers and actors is an excellent window for studying state formations. Getting involved in both big contraband and the criminalization of smugglers, different state factions developed specific logics of privatization, transnationalization, and interstitial relations. These developments were connected to both the fantasies of accumulation in the context of embargo and Romanian European Union accession. The article also suggests how to understand continuities between the embargorelated and present state formations. Looking at the interplays among border posts, state officials, and the EU, it shows that the border posts are increasingly dislocated from the state and that they seem to become interstitial parts of a post-state field of power.

Russia - European Union: The continuation ofthe sanctions standoff

2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Current Data ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Year 2013

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.

The state of democracy in the European Union in scenarios: federation, empire and Europe à la carte

2016 ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Marta Witkowska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Eu ◽  
A La Carte

The aim of the article is to present possible scenarios on maintaining democracy in the EU, while assuming different hypothetical directions in which it could develop as a federation, empire and Europe à la carte. Selected mechanisms, norms and values of the EU system that are crucial for the functioning of democracy in the European Union are the subject of this research. The abovementioned objective of scenario development is achieved through distinguishing the notions of policy, politics and polity in the research. In the analysis of the state of democracy in the European Union both the process (politics) and the normative approach (policy) have been adopted. The characterised norms, structures, values and democratic procedures in force in the EU will become a reference point for the projected scenarios. The projection refers to a situation when the existing polity transforms into a federation, empire or Europe à la carte. The article is to serve as a projection and is a part of a wider discussion on the future of the basis on which the European Union is build.

The EU’s Stealthy Hegemony and Ambiguous Neighbors

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (824) ◽  
pp. 112-117
Author(s):  
Alexander Clarkson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Control ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

European integration based on a supranational form of pooled sovereignty has taken on increasingly state-like qualities. With every move toward absorbing additional members, the European Union system has expanded its geographic reach. The state-like power of the EU is apparent in the impact its integration processes have had in societies just outside its borders. Its growing influence is most notable in misfit border territories, from Kaliningrad to Transnistria, and from Cyprus to Northern Ireland, that are tenuously under the political control of neighboring geopolitical powers.

Unemployment as a threat to society – an analysis of the situation in Poland and selected countries of the European Union

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-282
Author(s):  
Tomasz Łachacz ◽  
Sylwester Zagulski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
The Eu

Unemployment is classified today as one of the main threats to society. The phenomenon affects the lives of individuals, the functioning of families and society and development of the state. It is often the source of other social problems such as poverty, violence, or social pathologies. The article presents the scale and nature of unemployment occurring after 1989 in Poland and in selected European Union countries, i.e. the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia and Latvia. It attempts to show the characteristic trends of the phenomenon over a period of more than two decades. Examples from the European countries analysed show that the situation in the labour market and the approach to employment are radically different. Individual countries are characterised by very different unemployment rates, which reflect their different size, economic and demographic potential, or are associated with the tradition of employment. The existence of differences seems to be normal, but their scale may give rise to concern. A characteristic feature of unemployment in the period analysed is its regional diversity, both in Poland and in the whole of the European community. Important factors that determine the level of unemployment are age, sex, education and people’s qualifications. The effects of long-term unemployment are very painful for the whole of society. Such a situation can lead to, amongst others, poverty, societal antagonism, violence and migration. The latter is an issue that the whole of Europe is currently struggling with. The uncontrolled influx of immigrants, including those migrating for economic reasons, causes fear of losing their job among Europeans, which in turn translates into the radicalisation of society. A role of the state and the EU institutions is to create an effective mechanism for the protection and support of the unemployed. This is a prerequisite for Europeans to continue the project which is a common united Europe.

The Fox and the Raven: The European Union and Hungary Renegotiate the Margins of “Europe”

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
József Böröcz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Full Membership ◽  
East European ◽  
Individual Candidate ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Eu

A series of diplomatic exchanges has recently unfolded between the Hungarian government and the Commission of the European Union. The stakes are historic for the Hungarian side. Hungary formally applied for full membership in the European Union on March 31, 1994, the first country to announce such intentions among the successor states of the former Soviet bloc. Two years later, the Commission sent a lengthy questionnaire about the “state of the applicant” to all—by then, ten—central and east European applicant states. The Hungarian side filed its comprehensive response three months after the receipt of the questionnaire. The Commission waited until all responses were in and acknowledged the Hungarian answer in a document, issued another year later, whose purpose was to determine whether to recommend that the EU Council should start negotiations with the individual candidate countries about full membership.

Introduction: The State of Democracy 20 Years on

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Rupnik ◽  
Jan Zielonka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
The State ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Eu

The countries of East-Central Europe (ECE) embarked on a democratic transition in 1989 were proclaimed consolidated democracies when they joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Today most of the new democracies are experiencing “democratic fatigue” and some seem vulnerable to an authoritarian turn. The EU, seen as the guarantor of the post-1989 democratic changes, is experiencing an unprecedented economic, financial, and democratic crisis with the combined challenges of technocracy and populism. The article explores the different approaches to the study of democracies in ECE, their specific features and vulnerabilities, and tries to provide an interpretation of the premature crisis of democracy in ECE in a broader transeuropean context.

scholarly journals State heterogeneity of human mobility and COVID-19 epidemics in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Yuan ◽  
Kun Hu ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
Xuchen Zhang ◽  
Wei Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
The State ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
The Eu

SummaryHuman mobility was associated with epidemic changes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China, where strict public health interventions reduced human mobility and COVID-19 epidemics. But its association with COVID-19 epidemics in the European Union (EU) is unclear. In this quasi-experimental study, we modelled the temporal trends in human mobility and epidemics of COVID-19 in the 27 EU states between January 15 and May 9, 2020. COVID-19 and human mobility had 3 trend-segments, including an upward trend in COVID-19 daily incidence and a downward trend in most human mobilities in the middle segment. Compared with the EU states farther from Italy, the state-wide lockdown dates were more likely linked to turning points of human mobilities in the EU states closer to Italy, which were also more likely linked to second turning points of COVID-19 epidemics. Among the examined human mobilities, the second turning points in driving mobility and the first turning points in parks mobility were the best factors that connected lockdown dates and COVID-19 epidemics in the EU states closer to Italy. Our findings highlight the state- and mobility-heterogeneity in the associations of public health interventions and human mobility with changes of COVID-19 epidemics in the EU states.

scholarly journals Religious Diversity and The Challenge of Multiculturalism: Contrasting Indonesia and The European Union

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Muhammad Wildan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
The State ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Common Phenomenon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Tensions ◽  
The Eu

As the profile of religions in the world is changing rapidly, religious diversity is becoming a more common phenomenon nowadays in almost every society. Indonesia and European Union (EU) are not an exception to be more diverse and plural societies. Although religious diversity gives such richness of culture in society, religions are known as vulnerable entities. Many social problems caused by religions brought about various conflicts and violent actions on a big scale and also numerous hostilities, discriminations, and hatred on a small scale. Many regulations have been issued to address such social tensions both in Indonesia and the EU. However, many conflicts, hostilities or discriminations are recurring in both Indonesia and EU states. Interestingly, in many cases, hostilities and discrimination even done by the apparatus of the state. The current paper is dedicated to explore how these countries deal with religious diversity and whether there are social tensions and discriminations occurred. Religion as a common phenomenon in the world should be seen more as a challenge for every country rather than a contentious threat.

scholarly journals A brief synthesis of corrections, including retractions, of the Hungarian literature

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Hungarian Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
The Eu

Hungary is geographically central in the European Union (EU). Being linguistically and culturally distinct, Hungary is ideally positioned and somewhat unique, being surrounded by seven other nations. In academics, the challenges facing Hungarian scholars are no different than other scholars in the EU, or globally. In the past few years, research ethics has become more stringent, in part as a result of fortified post-publication peer review. This letter provides one perspective about the state of Hungarian research and academia relative to other EU nations through the prism of research ethics, and in the form of literature corrections, including retractions. Using the Retraction Watch database, 24 retractions, corrections or expressions of concern were observed. One third of those emerged from the University of Debrecen. Five of the corrections were in Elsevier journals, followed by four in Springer Nature journals. Compared with the remaining 26 EU nations, excluding the UK (i.e., considering Brexit), Hungary ranks 17th in terms of number of corrections (range: Malta = 2; Germany = 751). These numbers suggest either that research ethics may be more stringent in Hungary, or that the Hungarian literature has not been sufficiently scrutinized through post-publication peer review.

Value and Structure of Public Aid in Poland Against the European Union Background During the Years 2007-2012

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-29
Author(s):  
Roman Kisiel ◽  
Małgorzata Kamińska ◽  
Wiesława Lizińska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
State Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Aid ◽  
Increasing Trends ◽  
The Eu

Evaluation of changes in the value and structure of public aid in Poland and EU during the years 2007-2012 was the objective of the paper. The data from reports by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection as well as data from the State Aid Scoreboard published by the European Commission based on the information provided by the Member States concerning that aid was used. In Poland, evident increasing trends of the horizontal aid value can be observed. In 2012, as compared to 2007, it increased by 0.5 billion euro to the level of 1.64 billion euro. Its share in the total value of support oscillates within 55-60% range. In the European Union that share is generally at the level of 70-74%. In Poland, the sectoral aid is limited gradually although its magnitude still differs from the Union standards. In 2012, the share of that aid was relatively small at ca. 14% while in the EU it was 12.9%. The regional aid is at the similar level both in Poland and in the EU oscillating around 20%. However, in 2012, the share of regional aid in Poland increased to the level of 26% and it was higher by 8 pp than the share of that aid in the EU. Significant differences are characteristic for the share of the aid in the GDP. During the period covered by the study the largest differences occurred in 2010 when the share of support in Poland was 1.7% of the GDP and in the EU 0.6% of the GDP. In 2012, a half of the public aid in Poland was allocated to large enterprises. 

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