Using Twitter for Dialogic Communication: Local Government Strategies in the European Union

Abstract

Social networks have changed the way in which governments communicate with citizens, encouraging them to participate in decision-making processes. Nevertheless, few studies have specifically addressed the use of social networks in public sector from the standpoint of dialogic communication theory. The aim of this study is, first, to analyse the extent to which European local governments are developing dialogic strategies in their Twitter profiles in order to establish and enhance relations with their citizens and then to examine the impact of certain factors on the implementation of these dialogic strategies. The findings show that the situation is open to improvement, because local governments are mostly unaware of the benefits offered by the use of dialogic principles when establishing online relationships with stakeholders. Therefore, this paper sheds light on the dialogic potential that social networks provide in public sector, and particularly, it offers a guide regarding how local government should implement Twitter to foster the dialogic communication with citizens.     

欧盟的一次"政治地震"

法国全民公投结果,对<欧盟宪法条约>说"不".荷兰继之.受此影响,本来对"一体化"半心半意的英国,乘机宣布搁置公投.这无疑是欧罗巴大陆的一次"政治地震".这次"地震"是欧盟内外,政治、经济、社会错综复杂矛盾的总暴露.     

The European Union: A Shield Against the Downside of Globalization

Because they have failed to address the fundamental economic imbalances within Europe obscured by the single currency, each effort by European leaders so far to resolve the euro crisis has only deepened it. Without a decisive move toward fiscal and political union, accompanied by policies that push productivity and competitiveness toward convergence while closing the democratic deficit, the Eurozone will disintegrate. To discuss the way forward, the Nicolas Berggruen Institute's Council on the Future of Europe met in Rome on May 28 with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. In this section we publish the contributions from that meeting by the former European leaders, scholars and Nobel laureates who are members of the Council.     

The European Union and Mercosur: A case of inter-regionalism

The article reviews the relation between two regional integration arrangements, the European Union and Mercosur, under three aspects: trade and investment, international negotiations and the institutional dimension. Tracing the agenda and issues dealt with between the two, leading to a project of a transatlantic free trade area, reveals that trade issues, one of two 'pillars' of reference, are important. However, the most influential results have stemmed so far from the other 'pillar', the political one. These results may be seen in the EU's role as a 'road map' for Mercosur's institutional trajectory, and second, as a signal for the private sector in furthering industrial networks within the ongoing world economic restructuring. The objective, thus, is to highlight how the relationship may interact with two encompassing processes: the shaping of regionalism/s, in particular the Mercosur case, and the so-called globalisation process.     

Technology Transfer: A Mode of Collaboration Between the European Union and China

BEING ONE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION'S MAIN TRADING PARTNERS-ranking fourth in terms of both imports and exports expressed in value-China has emerged as an indispensable market for any multinational enterprise willing to avail itself of the opportunities represented by one of the fastest growing economies at the turn of the century. In order to close the technological gap with the developed economies of the world, China launched its open door policy in the late 1970s, the priority of which was to acquire foreign technology, capital, skills and management, as well as to cut dependence on imports. Foreign direct investment (FDI) and collaborative ventures in China, as important channels for technology transfer, have consequently grown massively. Owing to its size and development requirements, the People's Republic of China is one of the largest importers of technology in the world. During the 1950s it used to import technology from the former Soviet Union and from other East European countries. Since the late 1960s the EU and Japan have been the main sources of Chinese technology imports. Today, the EU-15 is China's major supplier of advanced technology and equipment. The EU represents 43.8% of China's total imports of technology (US$764.4 million), a share which is well ahead of that of Japan (at 25.5%) and of the United States (18.3%).1 These figures need to be appraised against the background of poor EU performance in terms of FDI in China compared with its Japanese and American counterparts. Over the past 15 years total FDI from the EU accounted for less than 5% of total direct investment from overseas firms in China (Qian, 1998). Nevertheless, in the recent past a greater awareness among EU policy makers and businesses of the potential represented by the Chinese market has emerged. The Essen European Council of 1994 endorsed a 'new Asia strategy', which 'called for a higher profile of the EU in Asia' (CEC, 1995, p. 17) and which broadly involves developing a long-term relationship with China. A 'Technology Window' programme was emphasised in the policy, which encourages EU companies to embrace broadly the business opportunities on offer, and to transfer much needed technology to China. This article sees technology transfer (TT) as a practical and strategic means of increased collaboration between the EU and the Chinese economies. Research and studies that have touched on this issue are rare, mainly because the demarcation line between technology transfer and technology imports is blurred. Technology transfer differs from technology imports in conceptual as well as in real terms, as we discuss in this article. It goes along with FDI which requires a full involvement in occupying a new market. After an attempt at defining technology transfer and clarifying the optimal context in which TT can be performed, we shall briefly assess the positive impact of technology transfer from the standpoint of both the transferor and the receiver. We then provide a concise review of Sino-EU relations, with a specific emphasis on technology transfer in two selected industries.     

从欧洲主权债务危机看欧盟发展困境

2010年末爆发的爱尔兰债务危机,让尚未彻底走出次贷危机和希腊债务的欧盟再次陷入危机泥潭。虽然爱尔兰最终获得欧盟救助,但危机暴露出的欧盟发展困境令外界对欧洲的忧虑由主权债务风险,延伸至欧元是否会继续存在,欧盟是否会解体。     

The European Union and Post-9/11 Counterterrorism: A Reappraisal

In spite of the hectic activity subsequent to the so-called month of transformation in the wake of 9/11, it is not to be taken for granted that the European Union is the right vehicle in Europe for the combating of terrorism. The lack of the EU's executive powers with respect to regulating the behavior of member states relative to a common threat such as terrorism, raises the fundamental question of whether the Union itself, as opposed to its constituent members, or an alternative multilateral forum, is an appropriate body for effectively confronting terrorism in Europe.     

Ukraine between Russia and the European Union: Triangle Revisited

Ukraine has long been considered as a bone of contention between the EU and Russia which could eventually lead to a geographical split of the country. This interpretation, however, fails to explain the dynamic of the Ukrainian revolution and Russian–Ukrainian war. To address the deadlock in understanding the mixed dynamics of the situation in Ukraine, the article argues that the relations in the EU–Ukraine–Russia triangle are affected by the combination of choices that the Ukrainian political class, business elites and broader society make in four major dimensions: internal political practices; economic dimension; a dimension of international politics; and an ideological dimension.     

Myths,Measures and Modernisation: A Comparison of Local Authority Performance in England and Wales

Local Authority performance in Wales is widely perceived as inferior to that in England. We analyse statistical evidence on current levels of performance and rates of improvement in the two local government systems, and find few significant differences between English and Welsh councils. Adverse judgements on Welsh local government seem to reflect perceptions of their management processes and methods of service provision rather than their substantive achievements. This may in turn be symptomatic of UK central government's assumption that public service improvement cannot be achieved unless organisations follow the specific model of ‘managerial modernisation it is currently promoting.     

Civilization and international society: the case of European Union expansion

Joining a society of some kind requires the fulfillment of certain standards. In international society, states acknowledge the need for certain collective standards of international conduct if international order is to be maintained. The first truly global application of international norms took place during the nineteenth century through the process of the expansion of the European society of states and its gradual transformation to the contemporary global international society. In this process, the standard of ‘civilization’ played an essential role in determining which states would join the expanding European society and which ones would not. Despite the major changes that have occurred, the standard of ‘civilization’ has remained an international practice as well as a benchmark against which the attitudes and policies of states are assessed. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the EU policy of ‘membership conditionality’. Although many explanations for EU expansion have been put forward rather absent from debate has been the civilization dimension which is embedded in membership conditionality and which should be given more emphasis.     

The Quality of Life in English Local Authority Areas

Abstract

Since the enactment of New Labour's sustainable development agenda in 1999, English local authorities have been placed at the helm of a variety of devolved localism initiatives designed to foster sustainable communities that contribute to a high quality of life for existing and future generations. This paper considers the scale of the challenge that confronts local authorities in terms of attaining these outcomes, by drawing attention to their current quality of life situation. The baseline conditions in question are measured by reference to the Audit Commission's local quality of life indicators dataset, which it compiled in 2005 from a range of existing local government performance indicators. The dataset is subjected to k-means clustering and principal components analysis to assess how far English local authorities measure up to Labour's sustainable communities ideal and to highlight the type and degree of quality of life disparity that exists between them. The results from the analysis are used to evaluate the feasibility of Labour's devolved localism approach to sustainable community formation and to provide important insights to local policy makers responsible for fostering sustainable communities. The implications of the findings for future research are also considered.     

A Comparative Analysis of SME Friendly Public Procurement: Results from Canada,Hungary and Italy

This paper studies SMEs’ participation in public procurement in light of perceived barriers and expected benefits of accessing the public marketplace. It presents a comparative analysis of SMEs’ participation in three countries that share similar approaches to SME-friendly public procurement. A common survey protocol was developed to be administered to SMEs in the three countries. Data collected were then analysed using regression methods. Findings suggest that some issues that are typically considered critical barriers, namely administrative requirements and award based on lowest price do not hinder participation. However, findings also suggest that firms’ characteristics associated with size are still relevant hindrances, and that SMEs’ involvement are affected by a shortage of tangible (human and financial) and intangible resources (experience). These findings provide guidance to fine-tune public procurement policies directed to SMEs.     

Challenging the European Union: the rising powers and the USA in the Doha Round

In this article, the challenges posed to the European Union's (EU) role in trade policy and its implications for development policy during the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda, also known as the Doha round, are highlighted. The authors argue that transformed power relations have created a situation characterized by role uncertainty, for the emerging powers but also for the EU. Priorities among multiple possible roles – in the existing trade regime, in relation to the global South and in the ongoing negotiations – become subject to redefinition. For the EU, heavily wedded to a multilateralist and reformist mission because of its own history, this process is particularly difficult. The EU's traditional role conceptions as a leader and a benign partner to developing countries have been challenged and partly replaced by a more realist approach.     

The European Union as a Regional Normative Hegemon: The Case of European Neighbourhood Policy

This article analyses the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy in the context of the European Union as an actor employing normative power in international politics. The European Neighbourhood Policy can be seen as a substitute for the Union's enlargement that has previously been the main vehicle for the Union's normative power in Europe. By relinquishing enlargement, the EU is in danger of losing its capacity for effectively stabilising its nearest neighbours as well as losing its legitimacy and justification in their eyes. The article discusses whether the European Neighbourhood Policy can be seen as a fruitful way out of the Union's present conundrum. It concludes that at least in its present form the Neighbourhood Policy is far from a panacea. It suffers from a lack of legitimacy as a result of its inability to answer the neighbours' calls for full political and institutional belonging in Europe.     

Russian and Caspian Hydrocarbons: Energy Supply Stakes for the European Union

The issue of EU gas supply security has become more and more important in the 2000s in the context of gas market liberalisation and the question of the reliability of Russia as a supplier. One answer to these problems is EU gas diversification, specifically the opening up of a fourth gas corridor to supply the EU with gas from Central Asia via the ‘Caucasus’ or ‘southern’ route. The feasibility of this strategy might now be called into question. This article reviews the new strategies that could emerge in the producing countries as well as those of international oil companies, and then examines what the consequences might be as far as the EU's diversification strategy is concerned. The article identifies some of the problems and limits of these strategies.     

欧洲现代史中的苏联史

苏联史就是现代史的同义语,只有把苏联包括在内才有可能书写20世纪的世界历史;苏联的存在对20世纪世界历史的事件序列和结构,对国际体系,对文化关系和微观环境(不只局限于苏联),对政治和社会话语,对有关政治、经济、社会理论的形成,都产生了决定性的作用;不能把苏联史错误地理解为苏联疆域内的历史,也不能理解为现代史部门内众多国别史中的一部,因为苏联史同时显示出欧洲和全球的维度,波及西欧和欧洲以外的社会乃至日常生活和生活环境。因此,本文在兼顾欧洲背景的情况下,试图突出苏联史的几个主要线索,如人口损失、暴政、非斯大林化、苏维埃社会国家、合法性基础的改变、社会的转变、帝国的形成等,并探讨了与苏联现代化和工业化有关的理论问题。     

Organizational Forms and Incentives in Public Procurement: Natural Experiment at a Large Public Sector Organization in Russia

This article analyses how the intensification of centralized monitoring within public organization may impact incentives for efficiency in those divisions of the organization that have different levels of financial autonomy. The efficiency of divisions’ activities was estimated through their procurement effectiveness. All the divisions were classified as non-commercial units (NCU) funded by the government or as income earning units (IEU) operating in the market and having broader financial autonomy. The results show that under standard monitoring, the IEU had more efficient procurements compared to the NCU. After intensification of centralized monitoring, the differences in performance became insignificant. These findings show that stricter monitoring is efficient for organizations with soft budget constraints, while for organizations with hard budget constraints it is preferable to use more flexible regulations.     

The Linkage between Security,Governance and Development: the European Union in Africa

The international community currently favours an approach to development that stresses a triangular linkage between security, good governance and economic development. This approach clearly informs the European Union's agenda in Africa, which has progressively integrated governance and security elements. This paper will show that this agenda is at least as much determined by the bureaucratic and national affiliations of the concerned EU actors as it is by African realities and international trends. African security indeed triggers a competition between the different European institutions, eager to be the driving force for a policy that can offer some additional resources and autonomy. The consistency and the credibility of the EU security policy in Africa will therefore depend on the responses provided to these institutional rivalries.     

Hungary and the European Union: The political implications of societal security promotion

Hungary's constitutional commitment to support kin-nationals beyond its borders (nation policy) has been a central feature of its post-1989 foreign policy and highlights a particularly important national security concern—the societal security of national identity, culture, language and tradition. This article examines Hungary's societal security concerns and the policy methods it utilises, including its EU membership and the promotion of minority rights at the European level, to help combat these concerns. It is suggested that Hungary has found it somewhat difficult to balance its societal security policy objective with internal economic demands on its welfare system and its external foreign policy objective to maintain good neighbourly relations. This article also notes that Hungary's attempts to Europeanise, or rather ‘EU-ise’, minority and ethnic rights issues as a means to enhance societal security for the Hungarian nation has certain political consequences for the EU. This suggests that societal security provision is an issue that cannot be overlooked when trying to understand the longer-term implications of EU eastern enlargement.