Cejiss

2013 - Volume 7, Issue 1 | Archive

A Meeting of Minds: Sino-Pakistani Military Relations

This paper examines defence cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It suggests that both countries have a strong convergence of security perspectives which encourages continued close ties. However, along with such ties comes the risk of an authoritarian consensus among militant nationalists within these countries. With the United States now being viewed as a declining power by sections of Pakistani society, Beijing has gained considerable influence within the Pakistani military. This does not [...]

Understanding China’s Global Search for Energy and Resources

The need for massive amounts of energy sources, raw materials, and natural resources is, in part, driving Beijing’s defense, energy, and foreign policies. The dynamic economic growth rates experienced over the past twenty years, coupled with increased manufacturing levels, rising exports of low-cost goods, rapid urbanisation, and higher demands for air travel and land transport, among other things, are increasing China’s appetite for crude oil, natural gas, timber, and critical minerals. To give an idea of China’s accelerated economic [...]

Insurgencies, Border Clashes, and the Security Dilemma: Unresolved Problems for ASEAN

The decision to deepen ASEAN cooperation by creating the ASEAN Community and particularly the concept of ASEAN as a Security Community has been debated heavily among academics. As no large scale war has occurred between the member states since the founding of ASEAN in 1967 it is reasonable to ask if the institutionalisation of a Security Community was not long overdue. Furthermore, the official proclamation of ASEAN as a Security Community should lead to the expectation that ASEAN is a zone of peace and stability. This article questions the [...]

The Regional Policy and Power Capabilities of Jordan as a Small State

This article deals with the foreign policy activities of Jordan as a small state with a special focus on the Middle Eastern region. The article explores the impacts of Jordan´s “smallness,” its lack of power capabilities in terms of foreign policy, and its relations with other states in the Middle East as well as with extra-regional powers such as the United States. It also focuses on Jordan’s behaviour both within regional organisations, during regional conflicts, and its economic and military dependence on other (stronger) states. [...]

After a Violent Revolution: Romanian Democratisation in the Early 1990s

The 2011 uprisings in the Middle East have frequently been compared with the revolutions of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe. The prospects of the first free elections in countries such as Egypt and Libya gave rise to concerns over the extent to which the regime change can be equated with the pursuit of a democratisation path, in particular in the absence of a strong socio-economic integration programme at the regional level. Drawing on a social constructivist perspective, I present the Romanian experience in pursuing and complying with [...]

The Europeanisation of Political Communication: Framing the Online Communication of French Political Parties


The aim of this article is to examine the process of online Europeanisation of political communication, both theoretically and through empirical analysis. On one hand, the text emphasises the relationship between the public sphere and the legitimacy of the EU and examines different concepts of the public sphere on a European level. On the other hand, it touches on the significance of the World Wide Web, a relatively new medium, and its propagation to a pan-European public arena. Furthermore, the article attempts to explore the role of political [...]

National Parliaments in the Council: Parliamentary Scrutiny Reserves

This research compares the activity of different groups of national parliaments in European decision-making as reflected by the use of parliamentary scrutiny reservations by Member States in the Council. It aims to contribute to the comparative literature on national parliamentary scrutiny systems of European Affairs by using data that reflect everyday practices and offer new insight on level and timing of activity of national parliaments. It shows that while there are no substantial differences between the level of activity of parliaments with [...]

Agenda Setting of the EU mission in Kosovo – A constructivist read

The EU’s paradigmatic conceptual relationship to Kosovo is based on a post-conflict agenda, which seeks the development of a sustainable democracy. According to Laidi, a democracy building agenda in the Balkans gives the EU great leverage and accountability on nation state building. Yet, the EU’s mission agenda to Kosovo is racked with ‘internal’ or ’conceptual’ incoherencies between the EU’s discourse (re: EU promotion) and its implementation (in terms of funding and financial allocation). On a constructivist pursuit, this work [...]