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This paper argues that imperialism continues to exist today. It focuses on the ideational dimension of such power constellation and highlights the role of 'educational diplomacy'. Specifically, it examines norm-settings within international educational politics as a way of identifying shifts within what might be called benevolent imperialism. At the centre of its analysis is the global dimension of the project aimed at establishing a European Area of Higher Education, also called the Bologna process. The paper examines three aspects of the process in more detail: (1) its main legal framework, (2) the European Register of Quality Assurance Agencies, and (3) the setting in which the European ministers have embedded the new international strategy of the Bologna process on the occasion of the follow-up conference in London 2007. The question it addresses is: to what extent is the Bologna process merely a form of Americanisation, or is there a set of European norms emerging that are accepted in other regions, suggesting that the EU is a new, emerging, imperialising power? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines US, Japanese, and European political economy approaches to China, and their effect on US-Japan and US-EU relationships. Great powers with a greater security concern in dealing with another major country care more about power while those with less of a concern are preoccupied with calculations for wealth. China's rise and its actions have posed a far greater security challenge to the United States and Japan and are driving the two countries closer together. The political economy game involving China reveals a dominant welfare motive among the advanced market economies. The ambition to transform China politically has diminished. China's integration into the global market makes a relative gains approach difficult to implement. Globalization simply limits the ability of a state to follow a politics-in-command approach in the absence of actual military conflict, which explains why the political economy approaches of the United States, Europe, and Japan are not that different in the scheme of things. China's own grand strategy to reach out to the world to outflank the US-Japan alliance has also contributed to a divergent European policy toward China although there are severe limitations to Beijing's ability to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the key challenges critical terrorism studies will have to face. Starting from the premise that a critical turn must both challenge traditional approaches to ‘terrorism’ and provide an umbrella under which traditional and critical perspectives from ‘terrorism studies’ and cognate fields can converge, the article reflects on the tensions this will introduce, ranging from how to define the boundaries of a critical field and whether to adopt the term ‘terrorism’ as a field delineator, to the need for policy-relevance and the tensions this introduces between striving to influence policy and avoiding co-optation. The paper ends with a reflection on the challenge of being sensitive to cultural and contextual differences while remaining true to one's emancipatory agenda.European Political Science (2007) 6, 236–243. doi:10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210144 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The doubts and criticisms with regard to the fiscal discipline imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) have been many and varied, and the SGP was revised as a result. The following paper evaluates the changes contained in the "new" SGP by considering the properties for ideal fiscal rules put forward by Kopits and Symansky. The analysis points towards a clear increase in flexibility together with the probable emergence of new enforcement problems. In this context, the need for new improvements within the European framework for the definition and implementation of national fiscal policies is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relationships between public policy and the development of industrial clusters. A conceptual model of the relationship between public policies and the development of industrial clusters is developed and tested using data from 43 European industrial clusters. The results indicate that most government policies have no significant impact on the growth of industrial clusters or for the development of co-operation within industrial clusters. There is limited evidence that packages of government policies that are specifically geared towards improving the local asset base are effective in overcoming obstacles to growth of industrial clusters. However, when age is used as a control variable the weak relationship between policy packages and growth of industrial clusters disappear. The results indicate that individual and packages of public policies are not strongly connected to either high levels of co-operation, or high growth in industrial clusters. Moreover, no clear evidence was found that high levels of co-operation were associated with growth in industrial districts. In the light of the failure to find clear-cut associations between public policies and the development of industrial clusters the paper outlines a research agenda to help to increase our understanding of these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of European unity, understandings of the terms ‘Europe’ and ‘European’ have become even more complicated than they were before. A contested concept within its borders, how is ‘Europe’ understood and seen from the outside? This paper deals with the under-researched issue of public perceptions of the European Union (EU) outside its borders, and the role of the international media in shaping such perceptions. The study addresses a (con)textual perspective in image creation, treating international news media discourse both as a product and as a process. The domestic contextualisation of images of the EU in Asia-Pacific news texts is scrutinised in order to assess features of the content of the EU news texts as well as regional newsmakers' attitudes and behaviours when representing the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses different conceptualisations of the term globalisation of research. From this discussion five dimensions of globalisation of research are identified. Using three different type of data, the paper goes on to examine the extent, motivations and mechanism for the globalisation of research along these five dimensions among leading European and US pharmaceutical multinational companies (MNCs). The evidence for the period 1975–1998 shows that the general process of international expansion of research activities varied significantly between leading US and European MNCs. It is also clear that the development of the process of globalisation has proceeded unevenly along the five dimensions studied. The data also show the increasing concentration of both US and European research investment in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) marks an important political moment when European integration has been extended to the issue of defence. Understandably, there has been extensive commentary on the ESDP, most of which has focused on the ESDP's institutional, industrial or military deficiencies. These commentaries have been illuminating but by concentrating on the manifest weaknesses of the ESDP, scholars have perhaps neglected to discuss explicitly how a coherent ESDP could develop. Drawing on recent work by Ben Tonra, this paper discusses the social conditions which are likely to be necessary if the ESDP is to develop into a robust policy. Above all else, a coherent ESDP depends upon the development of a binding sense of mutual obligation between France, Germany and Britain. These nations need to commit themselves to collective defence goals. The paper goes on to argue that for this collective commitment to be developed between these nations, the ESDP requires missions. Only through missions, in which these nations together experience a shared threat, will enduring collective interests and the political will to address them be developed. The future of the ESDP will thus be finally determined by the actions which are carried out in its name. In the end, this may mean that a European defence identity develops not through an independent ESDP but through NATO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers three challenges to the mature European welfare states posed by economic and social integration, demographic changes, and the alleged decline of state capacity in the form of fiscal extraction in an era of globalization. I argue that the experiences of the older member states in the European Union are difficult to reconcile with the common assertions that globalization necessarily leads to a “race to the bottom” where welfare spending is downsized to the lowest common denominator. I develop a set of hypotheses on plausible linkages between demographic challenges, globalization, political capacity, and welfare spending, and test the propositions in an empirical analysis of 14 European Union member states from 1983 to 1998. My empirical results suggest that economic integration does not pose a threat to European welfare states. Rather, demographic changes such as low fertility rates and the aging of the population and their political implications for political leaders’ incentives are more serious challenges for the continuation of the welfare state in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the constitutional aspects of the ‘Future of Europe’ reform process in the light of interactions between German and ‘European’ federalism. Many aspects of the traditions of German federalism and German post-war constitutionalism have been influential, if not to say formative, for the evolution of the EU. These aspects are set out as a frame for the paper, before more detailed analysis of the constitutional process and a particular focus on the division of competences. The constitutional outcome reveals clear German ‘fingerprints’, though that finding needs to be balanced by a recognition of the constitutional debate as multi-perspectival, involving all member states both separately and collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a rather unambitious working document,[4.5pc] theEuropean Commission (2002)has presented its analysis of globalization and views on how Europe should respond to its challenges. Provoked by the blandness of this disappointing report, this paper examines whether the EU has other options than pursuing its current policies, which stay within the framework of neoliberal globalization and are roughly equivalent to the ones followed and propagated by the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central argument of this paper pivots around the idea that the structure and functioning of the states and political systems of South Eastern Europe are strongly determined by a long lasting particular feature of the economies and societies of the region: their dualism. This feature has its origins in the modernization process, has evolved in parallel with it and has shaped in a distinctive way both the structure and the dynamics of the polities and states of these countries. The dualism of their economies is thus a key explanatory factor in any attempt to understand the dynamics of the region. Moreover, dualism has always played a crucial role in the process of international integration of South Eastern Europe in the European and global system and it is very likely that it will continue to play a major role in the future. Accordingly the approach articulated is not laying the emphasis on ethnicity, nationalism or religion as the mainstream approaches to the states and problems of the South East European region usually do, but on the regional political economies and on what this paper considers to be their key structural problem. It is indeed difficult to imagine and analyse the Balkan problems making abstraction of the powerful ethnic and religious forces that shaped the destiny of the region but it is important to approach these problems from different and complementary angles. The present analysis implies a simplification indeed, but it is an instrumental and pragmatic one that helps us to discern and disentangle some patterns or configurations of factors relevant for a better understanding of the internal evolutions and of the international integration prospects of South Eastern Europe. The main objective of the paper is to use a specific way of conceptualizing the political economy dynamics of the region in order to illuminate from a structural and historic perspective a crucial problem currently faced by the Balkan states in their attempt to settle on the path of self-sustained growth and European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates the use of an in-class simulation to model negotiations in the European Council. Simulations are an increasingly popular way to teach the complex processes of policymaking and negotiations in the European Union (EU) where institutional procedures are difficult to understand and where intergovernmental and supranational issues often conflict. Advocates of active learning promote simulations to get students more involved and to reach an increasingly diverse student body. The simulation presented here has three separate sessions, each covering a different issue and lasting for a week (two class days) each. Modeling the European Council allows students to experience the intergovernmental side of policy decisions in the European Union while at the same time learning about the issues facing EU policymakers. It is a useful tool for teaching about the EU presidency and a worthwhile exercise for studying the national aspects of European integration. Student surveys indicate that students process the information they gain by role-playing better than information they receive in the traditional classroom. A simulation of the European Council gives students a base for understanding issues of European integration and can serve as a springboard for further study of EU institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the manner in which the east of Europe has been theorized in the post cold war environment, and the implications for our understanding of the relationship between east and west. It argues that hegemonic discourses of neoliberalism lend a quality of inevitability to the integration of east into west, which in turn leads to a singular conception of Europe at the end of a trajectory of development. The paper argues that the relationship of western Europe to eastern Europe is more fruitfully explored through the conceptual framework of a center to its margins, which allows for a broader range of analysis on the issues – conceptual and implementational – at stake in transition processes, and which will allow for a theoretical exploration of where power is located and exercised. Because eastern Europe is understood in scholarly and policy communities as politically and geographically European, the study of postcommunist transition in Europe falls outside the purview of a development studies community that is increasingly focused on the emerging north/south divide. In a scholarly environment where the East/West divide no longer constitutes a salient focus of study, there is a need for the development of a framework that will provide a richer understanding of the reconstituted relationships being formed in Europe in the post-cold war environment. This paper argues that the social, economic, and political impact of disciplinary neoliberalism in eastern Europe can benefit from an analysis that takes into consideration the Eurocentric, disciplinary power that lies at the core of the transition process. Toward this end, it is necessary to query the discursive foundations of what constitutes the `properly European' in order to develop a framework for a more fruitful course of analysis with respect to the relationship between Europe and its fluctuating eastern margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about the status of human trafficking in Europe is presented. It explains the differences between human smuggling and trafficking. It discusses why many women and children are being trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation. It highlights how women and children are being trafficked from Eastern to Western Europe, and how authorities, non-governmental organizations and international organizations are collaborating to address this problem.

On 6 July 2017, after four years of negotiation, the EU reached an agreement with Japan over the main elements of a comprehensive free trade agreement. The breakthrough came at a time when progress on multilateral trade negotiations at the global level seemed out of reach and EU bilateral trade agreements faced strong public opposition. This paper examines the content of the new agreement with a view to global trade dynamics and assesses its main trade policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Group has developed a new multidimensional instrument measuring cancer-related fatigue to be used in conjunction with the quality of life core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). The module EORTC QLQ-FA13 assesses physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of cancer-related fatigue.Methods: The methodology follows the EORTC guidelines for phase IV validation of modules. This paper focuses on the results of the psychometric validation of the factorial structure of the module. For validation and cross-validation confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood estimation), intraclass correlation and Cronbach alpha for internal consistency were employed. The study involved an international multicenter collaboration of 11 European and non-European countries.Results: A total of 946 patients with various tumor diagnoses were enrolled. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis, we could approve the three-dimensional structure of the module. Removing one item and reassigning the factorial mapping of another item resulted in the EORTC QLQ-FA12. For the revised scale, we found evidence supporting good local (indicator reliability ≥ 0.60, factor reliability ≥ 0.82) and global model fit (GFI t1|t2 = 0.965/0.957, CFI t1|t2 = 0.976/0.972, RMSEA t1|t2 = 0.060/0.069) for both measurement points. For each scale, test-retest reliability proved to be very good (intraclass correlation: R t1-t2 = 0.905-0.921) and internal consistency proved to be good to high (Cronbach alpha = .79-.90).Conclusion: Based on the former phase III module, the multidimensional structure was revised as a phase IV module (EORTC FA12) with an improved scale structure. For a comprehensive validation of the EORTC FA12, further aspects of convergent and divergent validity as well as sensitivity to change should be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that attempts to make this type of collaboration permanent failed during the years which followed, the Euro-Arab Dialogue was a significant moment in the field of international relations and of the history of the European Community, especially analyzing the global scenario and the American opposition. Thought by the Quai d'Orsay to be an alternative strategy to the Washington deals during the 1973 oil crisis, it certainly represented an important attempt to develop an EC foreign policy that did not necessarily imply – as it turned out –incompatibility with the wishes of the White House. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the EAD and to compare it with the Trans-Atlantic dealings. Nevertheless, the typology and the methods of Washington opposition changed over time; in some circumstances Kissinger seemed to control the evolution of the EAD, pressing the Western European governments to confront and oppose the Arab intention to transform the dialogue into a base for political claims. This manuscript aims at investing the beginning of the EAD and the relations with the Trans-Atlantic limits and constraints, mainly using archival documents available at the Historical Archives of the European Union, at the National Archive, at the National Archives and Record Administration. There is not much literature about the EAD and this is mainly focused on the poor results. Beside the first academic works with a political science approach (i.e.: Al-Dajani, 1976; Allen, 1977; Taylor, 1978; Jawad, 1992), in the new articles the EAD is not always the main subject (i.e.: Miller, 2014; Möckli, 2009). Furthermore, Bat Ye'or (2005) attaches too much importance to the political issues, while Zakariah (2013) focuses its analysis on the ‘real' attitude of the British policy towards the EAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France is one of the most prominent European military powers and a strong proponent of an independent European military capability. Yet, France’s actions since 2009 suggest that it may be prioritizing the transatlantic relationship over the development of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Does this signal a fundamental Atlanticist shift in the way that France envisions its future defence and security, or does it simply signal a temporary re-evaluation of French Europeanist security ambitions? Our analysis attempts to answer whether there is presently an Atlanticist shift evident in French foreign policy, and whether any such shift is rooted in a desire to preserve French influence through international institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This paper combines elite interviews with content analysis of French media comparing the current time with the mid-1990s to determine whether there is a shift in how defence and security issues are discussed and, if so, whether that signals a fundamental change. We find that, while there is a shift, it does not necessarily indicate a more Atlanticist posture, but suggests rather a pragmatic move to further French security goals through the most effective institutional mechanisms available. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Europe has been recently shaken by the great number of persons coming from Syria and neighbouring countries which were calling themselves "refugees". According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, since 2015 more than 1 million refugees travelled to Greece. This paper aims to analyze the notion of "refugees" in light of international legal instruments applicable and to draw up distinctions between different categories of migrant persons and those who are really refugees and may apply for international protection under the 1951 UN Convention on refugees. The distinction regarding the use of terms is relevant for shaping the legal status of different persons who leave their country of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently the issue of international policy coordination has been a major topic in the literature. Mostly Europe is treated as one bloc and characterized by real wage rigidity (RWR). In this paper it is shown that this may be too simple and lead to counter-productive policy conclusions. Relaxation of the RWR assumption reverses the policy conclusions. More specifically, if one allows for regional differences within Europe and for the dependence of the indexation mechanism on the level of actual inflation the conclusions on policy coordination may be more realistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about the Asian influence in Europe is presented. It talks about the Tartar influence in European Russia. The author discusses his travels through Russia and the crossing of the Caucasus Mountains into Europe. Subjects of the paper also include tribes of Jews in the mountains, the Armenian Plain, and Tartar mill-work.

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Slavica Litteraria is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper follows the development of international cooperation in Europe in the field of the teaching of history from the end of the Great War to the beginning of the 21st century. The impetus for this arose from the traumatic shared experiences and memories caused by the events of the years 1914–1918. The aim was to use education in schools to prevent circumstances that might lead to the incitement of feelings of enmity towards other nations. From the year 1925, the official date of the establishment of the Casarov declaration of the Unity of states to the second world war there were few if any successes in this. However immediately at the start of 1946 UNESCO took charge of these initiatives as a direct result the interwar attempts. In reality European cooperation was soon to be hampered for almost half a century by the bipolar separation of Europe and the world. A deeper level of cooperation began to develop in western Europe in the 1960s and 70s and also the beginnings of the first steps towards cooperation between East and West. A further impetus was of course provided by the fall of the communist regime in Europe and today’s cooperation is many-sided. Nevertheless a true wholly European history text book or curriculum is still a long way away. It appears that supranational regional textbooks are much more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When states over- and under-react to perceived transboundary threats, their mistakes can have equally harmful consequences for the citizens they mean to protect. Yet, studies of intelligence and conventional foreign policy tend to concentrate on cases of under-reaction to threats from states, and few studies set out criteria for identifying cases of under- and over-reaction to other kinds of threats or investigate common causes. The paper develops a typology of over- and under-reaction in foreign policy revolving around threats assessment, response proportionality and timeliness. Drawing on pilot case studies, the contribution identifies combinations of factors and conditions that make both over- or under-reaction more likely. It is hypothesized that three factors play significant causal roles across the cases: (1) institutions have learned the wrong lessons from previous related incidents; (2) decision-making is organized within institutional silos focused on only one kind of threat; and (3) actors have strong pre-existing preferences for a particular outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates the events of the Frasheri government in interwar Albania. This government, usually described as liberal or as of the 'Young' represented a novelty for Albanian society of the time, but lasted only one year. This study seeks to investigate what elements characterised this government, who were the protagonists and what consequences had the Frasheri experiment for the country? Through the study of domestic and foreign politics and the analysis of the relationship with the local press, the paper investigates the Minister's actions in detail. The Frasheri government, defined by the historiographical literature as a liberal experiment of the zoghist era, has never been thoroughly studied. Through unexplored sources from the Albanian press and archival sources from Rome and Tirana, this study presents a new interpretation of the Frasheri government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its elusiveness and undefined boundaries, policy-makers and pundits have strived to pin down what ‘Europe’ as a territorial project actually represents and where it might (and should) be going. Two of the most intriguing arguments refer to Europe as either a ‘super-state in the making’ or a ‘neo-medieval empire.’ These models are typically presented as either mutually exclusive or in tension with one another. In this paper, I argue that the European territorial project's current trajectory is actually characterized by a mix of the two models. Such hybrid form of governance can be defined as ‘neoterritorial’ since it is based on the modern principle according to which freedom can only flourish in a clearly demarcated political space. Yet, this enclosed political space does not necessarily require the modern nation state's entire legal and institutional paraphernalia, but can instead be based on a ‘pooling’ of sovereignty and a flexible institutional framework and be spread out over a larger and more heterogeneous area than the traditional nation state. This hybrid model is epitomized by the Schengen regime, the institutional arrangement governing the management of Europe's borders. Despite its ongoing internal tensions and the challenges it has faced over the years, this model has become—and it is likely to remain in the foreseeable future—an established presence in Europe's political landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populist parties are often seen as a threat to liberal democracy domestically, and in the international arena, they are often accused of unwillingness to support a liberal international order. We study how what we know about foreign policy preferences of populist parties is driven by how we study the phenomenon; and how we can fix the shortcomings which exist in the literature. To sketch a future research agenda, we first conduct a systematic review of the literature on the foreign policy views of populist parties in Europe and investigate how what we know is driven by how we know it. We look at the themes of foreign policy, research methods, as well as the parties and countries in researchers' focus. Our findings indicate that skewed focus on particular countries and parties combined with a uniform use of methods contributes to a lack of detailed understanding of populist views on foreign policies. We propose future avenues of research into the foreign policy views of populist parties, including a diversification of methods and more in-depth empirical and cross-national studies on specific themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poveştile hărților. Istorie şi geopolitică în#8222;ări ale Uniunii Europene" [The stories of the maps. History and geopolitics in European Union countries], published by Lumen Publishing House from Iaşi, Romania, in 2016, was born from the desire of the author, the historian Cristian Sandache, to offer the general public a set of essays, meant to clarify some issues related to the historical and geopolitical developments that have been experienced, at least over the last century, by some of the states that make up the European Union today. Having as a central point the map of each analyzed state and the changes it has undergone over time, but also the relations between the different states of Europe, the volume presents the "story", "destiny", but also "hopes / future" of Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, France, Spain and Romania, stories that we will try to underline through the lines below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the book "Global Competitive Strategies in the new World Economy: Multilateralism, Regionalization and the Transnational Firm," edited by Hafiz Mirza. In this book nineteen papers seek to understand the strategies of transnational firms in an evolving international environment, where issues of globalization, regionalism, and muitilateralism have become salient. Papers also examines the complex relationship between conflict and cooperation that characterizes firms, nation states and supranational groupings, Samsung Group's views on global regionalization strategies, the strategies of transnational corporations in Europe, North America and Asia.