The Role of Foreign Policy in the 2009 Campaign and the Black-Yellow Future

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Techau
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Bundestag Elections ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Angela Merkel

Foreign policy issues did not play a decisive role in the German general election campaign of 2009. While Chancellor Angela Merkel conducted a decidedly presidential campaign, her main rival, SPD Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, found it difficult to break out of his role as Merkel's partner in the Grand Coalition the two had led for four years. This was especially true with respect to issues on foreign policy, where both candidates had cooperated rather smoothly. Neither the issue of Afghanistan (despite the hotly debated Kunduz airstrike), nor the unresolved issues of the future of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty could antagonize the main political protagonists in Germany. The overwhelming foreign policy consensus among the mainstream political forces remained intact. Nevertheless, the changing international landscape and increased German responsibilities abroad will turn foreign policy into a relevant campaign issue, probably as early as 2013, when, presumably, the next Bundestag elections will be held.

The Perception of Russia in Europe in Context of Ukrainian Crisis

2015 ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
N. Lapina
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Fruitful Cooperation ◽  
European Business ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This article deals with the impact of various factors on the perception of Russia in different European countries. The focus is on the role of mass media, expert and political elites in forming of Russia's image, especially in the context of Ukrainian crisis. In this article, the reaction of different European counties to events in Ukraine, the polarization of European space is analyzed: some countries prefer to put a pressure on the Russian Federation, other – to find a way out of the critical situation and reach a compromise. Some political establishment representatives in France, Germany, Czech Republic support Russia and the reunification with Crimea, dispute sanctions against Russia. For such politicians, this support results from anti-American views and independent foreign policy aspirations. Other representatives of the European elite demand tougher approach and more pressure on Russia by any means whatsoever (including military ones). European business-communities reveal great interest in solving issues related to sanctions. Many entrepreneurs in Europe (in particular major corporations in France, UK, Germany, Italy), who profit from long and fruitful cooperation with Russia, are against anti-Russian sanctions. In view of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia has to face and solve various important issues. How can Russia implement a modernization project after burning all traditional bridges to the West and western friends and partners? What is the right way for Russian foreign policy to support and defend Russian-speaking people all over the world? Which European political forces can provide support to Russia? How can civil society affect and influence cooperation between Russia and Europe?

Merkel 3.0: German Foreign Policy in the Aftermath of the 2013 Bundestag Election

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson Janes
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
German Foreign Policy ◽  
The World ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Will Force ◽  
Joachim Gauck ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So ◽  
At Home

Angela Merkel remains arguably the most powerful politician in Europe, now in her third term as chancellor. While she enjoys popularity at home, seen as pragmatic and reliable, she faces numerous outward expectations and pressures that challenge Germany's foreign policy of restraint. Some argue that Germany does not pull its weight in foreign policy, particularly militarily, or at least is reluctant to do so. This view is not only an external one, but also is shared by Germany's leaders—both Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and President Joachim Gauck, among others, have expressed their desire for an increased German role in the world. Many politicians, however, do not see an advantage to focusing on foreign issues in their export-heavy economy. Other challenges, including disillusionment among Germans regarding their tenuous relationship with Russia and damaged trust between the U.S. and Germany as a result of the NSA scandal, will force Merkel to set an agenda that balances domestic concerns with her allies' expectations.

scholarly journals Preconditions of the Baltic states’ foreign policy priorities formation in the period of their struggle for independence (1989–1991)

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-442
Author(s):  
A. A. Valodzkin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
National Ideology ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Independence Movements

The foundations of many future policy directions, either domestic or foreign, were laid during the period, when Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia struggled for restoration of their national independence. As the factors that had the greatest impact on the formation of these states’ main foreign policy priorities, the article analyzes, firstly, the structure of movements for their national independence (on the basis of which the political elites of the Baltic states were formed), and, secondly, the role of external influence in the formation of their ideology of foreign policy. The author traces the transformation of the main political powers that formed the national independence movements of the three republics into system political parties of the Baltic states, reveals the gradual consolidation of the leadership of right­wing political forces in the field of national ideology and foreign policy, as well as the special activity of the diaspora in establishing international relations of the independence movements of Lithuanian, Latvia and Estonia and in the formation of ideas and concepts that determined the main goals of future foreign policy of the three states. In addition, the article highlights the stages of the independence movements’ of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia international relations development in 1989–1991.

scholarly journals Abkhazia – 2019: from Khajimba to Khajimba

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
V. Novikov
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
The Political ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
The Third ◽  
Electoral Campaign ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Presidential Election Campaign

The paper considers the course and outcomes of 2019 Presidential election campaign in Abkhazia as well as factors that stipulated its character (postponement of elections because of Aslan Bzhania’s disease, the number of contenders, etc.). The alignment of forces before the campaign is outlined, and the principal contenders are characterized, together with political forces that promoted them. A due attention is paid to the extraordinary polycentrism of Abkhaz politics, in  which not only the authority, opposition and the “third force” but also various electoral competitors of both the authority and the opposition, as well as numerous contenders to the role of the “third force” co-exist. Such disposition led to scattering of the electorate at the presidential election. The course of the electoral campaign is scrutinized with an emphasis put on the analysis of programmatic provisions of the contenders and their political style. The political maneuvers of the authority, opposition and Alexander Ankvab’ team between two rounds of the elections are traced. A special attention is paid to the causes of Raul Khajimba’s victory. The situation after the elections is also considered in the paper, and a prognosis is suggested of possible development.

Néstor Kirchner, Santa Cruz, and the Hielos Continentales Controversy 1991–1999

2007 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURENCE ALLAN
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Potential Utility ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Political Controversy

AbstractThis article traces the development of the political controversy in Argentina over the resolution of border issues between Argentina and Chile during the 1990s, examining provincial opposition to the Menem government's proposals for the Hielos Continentales zone in the far southern Andes. It argues that territorial perceptions held by Argentine opponents of the proposals, whilst highly significant, are insufficient to explain domestic opposition to the territorial accords. Instead it suggests that the sensitivity and longevity of the controversy reflected both specific territorial perceptions and anti-Menem dynamics in Argentina. Whilst the article highlights citizen opposition to government policy, it also points to the key role of Néstor Kirchner, at the time governor of the province of Santa Cruz, and subsequently Argentina's president. Kirchner's role in the decade-long controversy highlights two key factors. First, the potential utility of foreign policy issues, and particularly those centred on territory, as a resource in the domestic political environment, and, second, the fact that Kirchner's opposition itself responded at least in part to disputes within Peronism during the 1990s.

Foreign policy shift will be limited in Brazil

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Shift ◽  
The Government ◽  
Will Force ◽  
Trade Deals ◽  
Foreign Ministry

Subject Foreign policy in the Michel Temer government. Significance New Foreign Minister Jose Serra seeks to signal a radical departure from policy under the centre-left governments of suspended President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Nowhere is this more visible than in trade, where the Foreign Ministry has taken over policy responsibility from the Ministry for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The governing idea is that Brazil should abandon its focus on multilateral negotiations under the WTO framework and embrace regional trade deals from which it has largely abstained. Impacts As a political 'heavyweight', Serra boosts the role of the Foreign Ministry in the government. His apparent ambition to use the ministry as a launching pad for a 2018 presidential bid will not necessarily undermine his performance. However, it will force him to show significant results quickly.

Academics Know Better (?): Scholars and Politics in Major Opinion Dailies During the 2015 Presidential Campaign in Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1267-1281
Author(s):  
Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Good For ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Point Of Departure

What is the role of scholars when discussing activities of politicians during an election campaign? The article offers a study of articles and interviews conducted with academics in major opinion dailies Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna in the final weeks of the 2015 presidential campaign in Poland. Pielke’s categories of scientists – Honest Brokers of Policy Alternatives, Pure Scientists, Science Arbiters and Stealth Issue Advocates – are used as a point of departure to ask about the part played by scholars in media, to ‘enlighten’ and admonish readers they deem uninformed about what is good for them, or to serve a role closer to Burawoy’s Public Sociologist, who engages in dialogue with others. I conclude that given the election results, which surprised and disappointed most of these scholars, adopting the latter stance may prove a better strategy in convincing voters about the usefulness of scholarly expertise in their political choices.

Public Opinion

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devesh Kapur
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Issue Area ◽  
Indian Foreign Policy ◽  
Over Time

This chapter examines the role of public opinion on Indian foreign policy and focuses on four principal questions: One, how informed is the Indian public about foreign policy issues and how have its views been measured? Two, what shapes public opinion on foreign policy issues in India? Who are the key actors and how have they changed over time and issue area? Three, what are the mechanisms that link public opinion to public policy in foreign policy and on what issues has public opinion mattered? And four, what is public opinion about India in other major countries and what does it reveal? Finally the chapter concludes with some observations on public opinion’s interactions with changes in other variables shaping foreign policy, such as the rise of business and a more federal polity.

scholarly journals The Development, (Non) Institutionalisation, and (Lost) Opportunities of Slovenian Environmental Diplomacy in the Last 25 Years

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (76) ◽  
pp. 29-51
Author(s):  
Boštjan Udovič ◽  
Miha Pongrac
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Structural Approach ◽  
International Environment ◽  
External Variables ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Environmental Diplomacy ◽  
Made In

Abstract The article analyses the development of environmental diplomacy in Slovenia since 1991, when the country declared independence. The objective is to present the structural changes (and the lack thereof) in the development of Slovenian environmental diplomacy – from its blueprints (made in the first years of independence) to a more structural approach towards environmental diplomacy, and its regression. With respect to the development and regression of Slovenian environmental diplomacy, the article confirms the thesis that the formulation of Slovenian foreign policy is influenced by two factors: the role of the agent (i.e. the foreign minister and his or her interests) and the external variables, coming from a supranational or international environment.

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