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National Minorities and Diasporas in Lithuania
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
Having evolved from a Soviet republic to an EU member-state, Lithuania is viewed as an established democracy. Officially Lithuania is considered a ‘success story’ in handling minority issues. This work analyses the scope of national minority rights in Lithuania and is based on the country’s domestic...
ESDP Operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Realist Analysis
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
Whereas most interpretations of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) operations are either normative or functionalist, this article argues that what motivated the European Union member-states to launch military operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is nothing less than a classic struggle...
EU-Russian Economic Integration: Gridlocked by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement?
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
EU-Russian economic integration and the growing institutionalisation of bilateral relations is, partially, the way out of global recession. Dueto political obstacles the pace of economic integration is rather slow. Unable to overcome the ‘lowest common denominator’ attitude towards each other, the EU...
The Polish Missile Defence Decision: Reviewing the ‘Scrapping’ of the Bush-Era Missile Defence Plan
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
Although the decisions of the Polish government to deploy the US missile defence base in 2008 and 2010 was regarded by many commentators as taken against the domestic majority opinion, this article presents some arguments to support the assumption that those decisions were compatible both with the improvement...
From Preference Formation at Home to Preference Promotion Abroad: The Role of Czech Intrastate Actors
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
Building on the governance turn in EU studies, this work examines the emergence of polycentric interest structures among new member states and looks at the extent EU governance structures contribute to decentralisation and deconcentration of power with the state eventually losing its traditional monopoly...
Another European Cross-Road? Kosovo on the Brink of Recognition and Chaos
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 1
The current situation facing Kosovo is the result of a long historic process which essentially began several hundred years ago. This process accelerated following the break-up of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. While the series of conflicts between Croats, Serbs...
A Comment on Energy Security in the EU
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 1
Developments in international economic, industrial, political and military affairs largely depend on the access states and other political communities have to energy supplies. Such wide-scale dependency increases the acuteness of competition between international actors for the remaining fossil fuel...
Can Any Candidate End the Persistence of America's Tragic Diplomacy?
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 1
While scandals, failed military interventions, and public cynicism can characterize the terms of several Presidents in American history, few will stand out more than the two terms of George W. Bush. After September 11th 2001, the President quickly went from a public approval rating of less than 50% to...
2008 Czech Presidential Elections: A Commentary
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 1
Again after five years, the attention of the Czech public and politicians was focused on the Presidential elections, one of the most important milestones of 2008 in terms of Czech political developments. The outcome of the last elections in 2003 was a little surprising as the candidate of the Civic Democratic...
Who Really Lost the Georgian War?
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 2
The media coverage of Russia’s recent military intervention in Georgia has been intense. Moscow justified its early August attack on its Caucasian neighbour as a “peace enforcement” operation and an attempt to protect Russian citizens living in the breakaway republics of South Ossetia...
Personal Experiences from the Years of 'Late Normalization,' 1980s: Study at SS Cyril and Method's Theological Faculty in Litomerice
Issue:
2008 - Volume 2, Issue 2
Nearly 20 years after the Velvet Revolution, and the Czech Republic (among other neighbouring post-communist countries in Central Europe) has begun to expose its recent history for public consumption. Archival documents and memories of the contemporaries have often caused upheaval widely covered by the...
American Political Power: Hegemony on its Heels?
Issue:
2007 - Volume 1, Issue 2
International relations epochs seldom have abrupt beginnings and conclusions. Rather, changes to the norms, values and boundaries of international relations often occur in a painstakingly slow and ambiguous process. As the saying goes, Rome was neither built nor destroyed in a day.
The post-Cold War...
Is Peace-Building Common Sense?
Issue:
2007 - Volume 1, Issue 2
Peace, it is often claimed, is common sense. Whilst many of us feel a normative bond to this claim, the continuation of violence would suggest that the fostering of sustainable peace remains an elusive goal. Perhaps it is time to re-examine this most fundamental of claims if we are to accept the true...
Adoption of Socially Responsible Investment Practices in the Chinese Investment Sector: A Cost-Benefit Approach
Issue:
2007 - Volume 1, Issue 2
In 2003, ten of the world’s largest private banks, in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, voluntarily committed themselves to adopting social and environmental investment-standards. Since then, 54 institutions from 21 states, active in over a 100 countries have adopted these...
Uzbekistan: An Important Regional and International Actor
As an Uzbek national I often encounter questions regarding the current situation, and regional and international significance of Uzbekistan. Precious little information and knowledge is readily available, and many people seem to confuse other regional conflicts, for example in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan...
History under the Threat of Politics
There is a church in the centre of Prague, near Karlovo Namesti. One who is unfamiliar with its history may simply pass it by. As many buildings in Prague, it is charming; retaining its own history and specificity. Nevertheless, there is a unique story attached to this particular church. On the south...
The Peace Process in Northern Ireland: A Real Breakthrough?
Although ‘friendship’ was not on offer, March 26th 2007 witnessed a historical moment when leaders of the two main parties representing rival factions of society in Northern Ireland sat down at the same table. Who would ever have imagined Ian Paisley, a hawkish protestant cleric heading the...
US Missile Defence in Central Europe: A Comment
Three different missile defence systems are currently operational or under construction within the European theatre. These are: 1) NATO Missile Defence, 2) NATO Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence and, 3) an American Missile Defence initiative (achieved bilaterally). Recently, the American system...
Small Scale Successes and Hope in the Horn of Africa
In November 2006, I traveled to Ethiopia to join an international medical mission organized by ‘Operation Smile;’ a twenty-five year old, non-profit organization, based in Norfolk, Virginia, which provides free cleft palette and cleft lip surgery to the economically disadvantaged worldwide....
Towards Supranational Governance in EU Counter-Terrorism? – The Role of the Commission and the Council Secretariat
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
Since the events of 11 September 2001 (9/11), it has been argued by some scholars that security has become the dominant force in the European Union’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ). As a result, there has been an active debate on the ‘securitization’ of the new threats, such as refugees...
The Use and Effectiveness of Migration Controls as a Counter-Terrorism Instrument in the European Union
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the issue of the linkages between security concerns, in particular terrorism, and asylum and migration policies in the European Union (EU) has received an increasing amount of scholarly attention (see Guild, 2003a; Guild, 2003b; Baldaccini and Guild,...
Perceptions of the Terrorist Threat among EU Member States
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
The European Union’s (EU) efforts in the fight against terrorism have already been analysed in a number of scholarly articles and edited volumes. While differing substantially in their scope, depth and focus, most analyses have identified important gaps and shortcomings of the nascent EU Counterterrorism...
Bringing Effectiveness into the Debate: A Guideline to Evaluating the Success of EU Targeted Sanctions
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
The relevance of international sanctions has increased since the end of the Cold War as states and international organisations have resorted to this foreign policy tool more frequently than in the past. The European Union (EU) has contributed to this trend by using sanctions in more than twenty different...
Assessing the Effectiveness of EU Sanctions Policy
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
While the European Communities (ECs) has applied autonomous sanctions for many years, their character has significantly changed since the 1990s. Such changes may be the result of the transformation of the ECs into the European Union (EU), and to the creation of its second pillar; the Common Foreign and...
Western Values and Strategic Interests? Evaluating Potential Georgian Membership in NATO
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
Since the Russian-Georgian conflict in August 2008, the Republic of Georgia’s potential membership in NATO has been a hotly contested issue. Unfortunately, the arguments on both sides of the debate often rely on catchphrases such as “vibrant democracy” and “corrupt authoritarianism” without referencing...
Moving Together Toward an Uncertain Future: US-European Counterterrorism Vision, Responses & Cooperation Post-9/11
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2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
The lead-up to the Iraq War, and its conduct, highlighted significant differences in transatlantic perspectives, capabilities, and methods. While terrorism has generally been America’s central fixation since 9/11 (until the recent economic recession), Europe sees terrorism as only one of several important...
Europe and the United States in the “Asian” 21st Century: The Political, Economic and Security Context
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
While, at the western end of Eurasia, most European states are taking part in a great experiment; broadening and deepening their political, economic and security integration within the EU, at the eastern end of Eurasia, an experiment of no less importance is underway. China, the world’s most populous...
What We Talk About When We Talk About Democracy Assistance: The Problem of Definition in Post-Conflict Approaches
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
Since the early 1990s, one of the most striking characteristics to emerge in post-conflict peacebuilding has been the prime position assumed by democratisation; an approach we can term post-conflict democracy assistance. This focus has hinged on an unerring belief that democratic governance, provided...
Questioning the Dominance of Military Means: The Bush Administration’s Fight against Terrorism
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
This work is devoted to investigating the variety of approaches that the US presidential administration of George W. Bush deployed to counter terrorism following 9/11. This topic deserves special attention because Bush’s approach to fighting terrorism is often misconceived as primarily or even only,...
Evaluating Sub-State Participation in the History of International Health Co-operation
Issue:
2010 - Volume 4, Issue 1
The Treaty of Westphalia is often referred to as the point of departure in the history of international relations. It was in 1648 that the modern state system was established and the concept of national sovereignty born. Today, these two concepts remain essential elements that govern interstate relations....