scholarly journals Wprowadzenie: Westlessness czyli zmierzch Zachodu 2.0?

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Agnieszka K. Cianciara
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Special Section ◽  
The Other ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Power ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Rules Of The Game

This article introduces the special section entitled Westlessness or the  Decline of the West 2.0? Whereas the concept of the West remains a moving target and requires the Other – the Rest to exist and thrive, it does organize both global power relations and the way we think about them. Thus the ‘decline of the West’ is not only about material realities, but also about de-legitimizing practices and discourses produced by strategically-acting actors both outside and within the West itself. Whereas Westlessness in the World refers to the weakening ability of shaping the Rest, Westlessness in the West denotes contestation and hollowing-out of the liberal rules of the game in the very centre of the West: the us and the European Union. The question remains as to whether COVID-19 pandemic brings “more of the same”, while amplifying existing trends, or whether it provides for a transformation impulse and possibly Western revival.

Germany's relations with the United States and China from a strategic triangle perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Biba
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Puzzle Piece ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Angela Merkel

Abstract As the Sino-American Great Power competition continues to intensify, newly-elected US President Joe Biden's administration now seeks to enlist the support of its allies and partners around the world. As Europe's largest economy and a, if not the, leading voice within the European Union, Germany represents an important puzzle-piece for Biden. But Germany, at least under outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel, has been reluctant to take sides. It is against this backdrop that this article looks into Germany's past and present trilateral relationships with the US and China through the theoretical lens of the so-called strategic triangle approach. Applying this approach, the article seeks to trace and explain German behaviour, as well as to elucidate the opportunities and pitfalls that have come with it. The article demonstrates that Germany's recently gained position as a ‘pivot’ (two positive bilateral relationships) between the US and Chinese ‘wings’ (positive bilateral relations with Germany and negative bilateral relations with each other) is desirable from the perspective of the strategic triangle. At the same time, being pivot is also challenging and hard to maintain. Alternative options, such as entering a US–German ‘marriage’ directed against China, are also problematic. The article therefore concludes that Germany has tough decisions to take going forward.

European Union and China Relations in the Light of Changing Global Order

2020 ◽  
pp. 417-434
Author(s):  
Sedef Eylemer ◽  
Elif Cemre Besgur
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Relationship Context ◽  
Normative Identity ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Normative Basis ◽  
Strategic Perspective ◽  
Trade Wars ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU), United States (US), and China are the main global drivers of the international trade system. However, trade wars between them create tensions in the world. As the world is facing increasing neo-protectionist trade applications of the Trump administration, this chapter analyses whether a greater convergence between China and the EU is possible for protecting multilateralism through two case studies, namely (1) market conditions and discrimination, (2) cybersecurity. In this context, the chapter argues that although the US pressure has led the EU to rapprochement with China, this situation creates a dilemma for the EU in terms of the fears about the problems of alignment with the normative identity of the EU. Whereas the EU aims at regulating the global trade on a normative basis originating from its acquis, China has a more strategic perspective based upon specific relationship context. It is difficult to take a side for the EU due to its different standpoint compared to China in defending the multilateral trading system.

6. Arctic governance

2021 ◽  
pp. 108-124
Author(s):  
Klaus Dodds ◽  
Jamie Woodward
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
The World

‘Arctic governance’ discusses how the Arctic, unlike many other parts of the world, has been spared military conflict, civil wars, and terrorism. Arctic governance involves an array of actors, legal regimes, institutional and social contexts, and strategic aspirations. In 1989, Finland approached the other seven Arctic states with a proposal for the Rovaniemi Meeting, which discusses the protection of the Arctic environment. This provided the foundation for the intergovernmental forum the Arctic Council (1996). The eight Arctic states will remain significant players in the future governance of the northern latitudes alongside indigenous peoples/permanent participants. There will always be powerful drivers that ensure that the 'global Arctic' will be prominent in multiple ways, including the role that China, the European Union, and other external states will play in shaping its future.

Kosovo

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Judah
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
National Pride ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Accessible Format

On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, becoming the seventh state to emerge from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. A tiny country of just two million people, 90% of whom are ethnic Albanians, Kosovo is central - geographically, historically, and politically - to the future of the Western Balkans and, in turn, its potential future within the European Union. But the fate of both Kosovo, condemned by Serbian leaders as a “fake state” and the region as a whole, remains uncertain. In Kosovo: What Everyone Needs to Know, Tim Judah provides a straight-forward guide to the complicated place that is Kosovo. Judah, who has spent years covering the region, offers succinct, penetrating answers to a wide range of questions: Why is Kosovo important? Who are the Albanians? Who are the Serbs? Why is Kosovo so important to Serbs? What role does Kosovo play in the region and in the world? Judah reveals how things stand now and presents the history and geopolitical dynamics that have led to it. The most important of these is the question of the right to self-determination, invoked by the Kosovo Albanians, as opposed to right of territorial integrity invoked by the Serbs. For many Serbs, Kosovo's declaration of independence and subsequent recognition has been traumatic, a savage blow to national pride. Albanians, on the other hand, believe their independence rights an historical wrong: the Serbian conquest (Serbs say “liberation”) of Kosovo in 1912. For anyone wishing to understand both the history and possible future of Kosovo at this pivotal moment in its history, this book offers a wealth of insight and information in a uniquely accessible format.

scholarly journals Bordering the “other”: the case of the Finnish-Russian border

2017 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Hannonen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Keynote Speech ◽  
Western Perspective ◽  
The Eu

This short reflection on the keynote speech given by Henk van Houtum at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Geographers enhances discussion on bordering and border construction, both within the European Union (EU) and via the external border of the EU in the northeast, specifically the Finnish-Russian border. And it focuses attention upon the problem of Eurocentric geographies, and a dominant Western perspective of the rest of the world.

Trans-Atlantic Relations in Germany's Foreign Policy

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
A. Kokeev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The West ◽  
German Government ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Eu

Relations between Germany, the US and NATO today are the core of transatlantic links. After the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, NATO has lost its former importance to Germany which was not a "frontline state" anymore. The EU acquired a greater importance for German politicians applying both for certain political independence and for establishing of a broad partnership with Russia and China. The task of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) development has been regarded by Berlin as a necessary component of the NATO's transformation into a “balanced Euro-American alliance”, and the realization of this project as the most important prerequisite for a more independent foreign policy. Germany’s refusal to support the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 led to the first serious crisis in US Germany relations. At the same time, there was no radical break of the deeply rooted Atlanticism tradition in German policy. It was Angela Merkel as a new head of the German government (2005) who managed to smooth largely disagreements in relations with the United States. Atlanticism remains one of the fundamental foreign policy elements for any German government, mostly because Berlin’s hope for deepening of the European integration and transition to the EU CFSP seems unrealistic in the foreseeable future. However, there is still a fundamental basis of disagreements emerged in the transatlantic relationship (reduction of a military threat weakening Berlin’s dependence from Washington, and the growing influence of Germany in the European Union). According to the federal government's opinion, Germany's contribution to the NATO military component should not be in increasing, but in optimizing of military expenses. However, taking into account the incipient signs of the crisis overcoming in the EU, and still a tough situation around Ukraine, it seems that in the medium-term perspective one should expect further enhancing of Germany’s participation in NATO military activities and, therefore, a growth in its military expenses. In Berlin, there is a wide support for the idea of the European army. However, most experts agree that it can be implemented only when the EU develops the Common Foreign and Defense Policy to a certain extent. The US Germany espionage scandals following one after another since 2013 have seriously undermined the traditional German trust to the United States as a reliable partner. However, under the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, the value of military-political dimension of Germany’s transatlantic relations and its dependence on the US and NATO security guarantees increased. At the same time, Washington expects from Berlin as a recognized European leader a more active policy toward Russia and in respect of some other international issues. In the current international political situation, the desire to expand political influence in the world and achieve a greater autonomy claimed by German leaders seems to Berlin only possible in the context of transatlantic relations strengthening and solidarity within the NATO the only military-political organization of the West which is able to ensure the collective defense for its members against the external threats. However, it is important to take into consideration that not only the value of the United States and NATO for Germany, but also the role of Germany in the North Atlantic Alliance as a “representative of European interests” has increased. The role of Germany as a mediator in establishing the West–Russia relations remains equally important.

Framing the other: stepping into the stream of history

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Other ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Fertile Soil ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Of Greece

Since the Agricultural Revolution 12,000 years ago, human beings have demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to carve up the world between us and them, have and have nots. This cleaving of humanity reflects fertile soil for the production and reproduction of the pejorative, demonised, and relegated other which is the subject of this book. From ancient empires, stepping into the classical age of Greece and Rome, to more recent political tyrannies, the refugee crisis, and the problem with the European Union, this chapter explores and illustrates the long reach of pejorative othering. It doing so it frames the subject to provide critical and urgent insights into a pressing problem.

scholarly journals La IV Conferencia Mundial sobre las mujeres y sus protagonistas.

2010 ◽  
pp. 217-233
Author(s):  
Pilar Giménez Armentia
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Holy See ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Approach ◽  
The Media ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
Spanish Press

The Conference of Beijing had a media cover without precedents, not only at worldwide level, but also in the Spanish scope. It was inquired more on this event than on the other three world analogous conferences altogether. But, how did the Spanish press inform about this event? , Who were the protagonists? It cannot be forgotten that although the topics to debate in the conference were mainly the lack of rights and the difficulties which women suffer in the world, the Spanish media focused on the disputes between the European Union – actually Spain, that exerted as spokesman of the European Union- and the Holy See, and the presence of Hillary Clinton in Beijing. Newspapers chose a “political approach” and they didn’t report about the subjects of interest for the women. In this article it will be determined the importance the media settled in their agendas to the main characters in the conference and how they were shown and valued by the media. By this way, through an analysis of the approach that the newspapers gave the protagonists of the information we will reach conclusions on the informative treatment of the Conference.

The Euro Area In Crisis, 2008–18

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Hadjiemmanuil
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Euro Area ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Deep Recession ◽  
The Eu

In autumn 2008, just as the euro was approaching its tenth anniversary, the European Union (EU) became embroiled in the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Elsewhere in the world, including in the US, where it originated, the GFC caused a very deep recession but then receded, and was essentially over by the end of 2009. In the EU, however, it took a double-dip form, with the EU-28 area’s real gross domestic product (GDP) suffering a -4.4 per cent fall in 2009 and another -0.5 per cent fall in 2012. The timing and impact of the crisis differed significantly across Member States, and the recovery was uneven. Taken as a whole, the euro area (EA19) performed worse than the rest of the EU, especially in 2012–13, when it lost -1.3 per cent of GDP, and only returned to its 2007 GDP level in 2015.

4. Liberalism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Russett
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Feedback System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World

This chapter examines the expansion of three central phenomena associated with liberalism and its emphasis on the potentially peace-promoting effects of domestic and transnational institutions: the spread of democracy throughout most of the world; globalization; and the proliferation of intergovernmental organizations, especially those composed primarily of democratic governments. Each of these assumptions supports and extends the other in a powerful feedback system envisioned by Immanuel Kant. The chapter first considers four major changes in the world over the last century and particularly over recent decade before discussing the ‘epidemiology’ of international conflict. It then explores constraints on war from the perspective of realism vs. liberal institutionalism, whether democracies are peaceful in general, and how order is nurtured within anarchy. It also presents a case study of the European Union and concludes with some reflections on power, hegemony, and liberalism.

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