Re‐setting the Euro‐Mediterranean security agenda

The EU’s reaction is slow; the EU is divided; the EU is unable to deliver: time and time again, newspapers depict the image of an incoherent and uncoordinated EU foreign policy. This time, the topic under discussion was the EU’s response to the Libyan crisis. Many have compared the EU’s internal divisions over Libya with those over the Iraq war, an often used example to illustrate the limits of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). This article aims to assess the coherence of the EU’s short- to medium-term response to the Libyan crisis. It distinguishes between the horizontal, inter-institutional, vertical and multilateral dimensions of EU coherence. The analysis shows that unilateral actions or inactions of the member states mainly account for the EU's incoherent response. The post-Lisbon institutional structure has done little to compensate for these internal divisions. While the EU cannot change the course of national foreign policies, it should increase its ‘leadership for coherence’, Europeanise its crisis response in the medium term and aim at preventing incoherence in the longer term.     

European‐Chinese relations in the Nineties

In recent decades, there have been many international campaigns on numerous issues. In turn, scholars have analysed the activist networks promoting human rights, environmental quality and global justice, developing theories of transnational advocacy, strategies and outcomes. However, analysts have seldom noted that the ‘progressive’ networks on which these theories have been based seldom act unopposed. Instead, on numerous global issues leftwing groups face fierce opposition from networks of rightwing activists. This article provides examples of such clashes, focusing on these understudied conservative networks. In addition, it outlines a theory for understanding the conflict of networks over many policy issues.     

Conceptualizing the effects of mass‐mediated terrorism

Abstract

In summer 1985, a TWA plane was hijacked by Shiite terrorists to Beirut creating what turned to be one of the most impressive spectacles of the mass‐mediated “theater of terror.” After the event the American media were blamed for fanning the crisis atmosphere, giving the terrorists the publicity they craved, abetting the terrorists by reporting U.S. military movements, holding a brutal competition among themselves to get exclusive footage or interviews, harassing the hostages’ families, negotiating directly with the terrorists, milking the hostages still held by the terrorists for political and ideological declarations, and propagandizing the terrorists’ anti‐U.S. and anti‐Israel messages. The resulting debate that followed these accusations, illustrates the lingering argument regarding media and terrorism. While some claim that “the media are the terrorists’ best friends. The terrorist act by itself is nothing. Publicity is all”,¹ others argue that the media are avoiding the “real terror” for ideological reasons, averting Western public opinion from U.S. terrorism by underreporting its share in Third World Terrorism.² The ideological loadings of definitions and arguments are combined with confused interpretations of media effects and public opinion to yield an endless, futile debate. The purpose of the paper is to conceptualize basic effects of mass‐mediated terrorism by relating media effects studies to the case of terrorism and public opinion.     

Assessment of country‐risk on the euromarkets

Recent years have seen several studies and proposals from national parliaments (NPs) to deepen their direct involvement in European decision-making, most notably by strengthening the early warning mechanism (EWM – also known as yellow card procedure). The EWM is a technical-legalistic procedure that is restricted to subsidiarity. This ‘straightjacket’ is too limited as a monitoring tool for European policies more broadly and can hardly be seen as a response to current democratic concerns. Framing the EWM as a democratic solution to empower NPs thus risks becoming one of Europe’s empty mantras.     

NATO's Southern flank in the east‐west balance

American primacy continues to characterise the international system, despite trends toward a diffusion of power. The discussion is too often biased in favour of multipolarity due to imprecise or misleading definitions of US primacy. On the basis of a simple definition of what a “pole” is, combining GDP and defence expenditure, only the US can be considered a global pole. The current economic crisis is not changing this reality. Even considering perceptions, soft power, and the ability to translate power into influence, rising powers like China or an aggregate power like the EU have a long way to go before they can get on an equal footing with the United States.     

Do it yourself: The national approach to the out‐of‐area question

European Union: Identity and international role

Birthmarks of Europe: the origins oj the European Community reconsidered / Edelgard Mahant. ‐ Ashgate : Aldershot, c2004. ‐ISBN 0–7546–1487–5

EU trade strategies : between regionalism and globalism I edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Edward A. Fogarty. ‐ Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, c2004. ‐ xiv, 249 p. ‐ ISBN 1–4039–3258–1 (pbk)

L'Europa potenza civile / Mario Telò. ‐ Bari : Laterza, c2004. ‐ XIV, 261 p. ‐ (Libri del tempo , 358). ‐ ISBN 88420–7258–3

European Union foreign and security policy : towards a neighbourhood strategy / edited by Roland Dannreuther. ‐ London : Routledge, 2004. ‐ xiv, 226 p. ‐ ISBN 0–415–32298–7 (pbk)

Paneuropa : geografia e storia di un'idea / a cura di Gianfranco Lizza; Sergio Balanzino [et al.]. ‐ Torino : UTET, C2004. ‐ x, 230 p. ‐ ISBN 88–7750–894–9

The politics of European security / edited by Jess Pligaard. ‐ Copenhagen : Danish Institute for International Studies, C2004. ‐ 198 p. ‐ ISBN 87–7605–015–7

Who are the Europeans now? I Edward Moxon‐Browne. ‐ Aldershot : Ashgate, c2004. ‐ viii, 202 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–429–7

China

China's role in Asia and the world economy .‐ fostering stability and growth / edited by Jan Joost Teunissen. ‐ The Hague .‐ FON‐DAD, 2003. ‐ xvi, 98 p. ‐ ISBN 90–74208–22–3

Integrating China into the global economy / Nicholas R. Lardy. ‐ Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, c2002. ‐xii, 244 p. ‐ ISBN 0–81–57–5136–2     

Third party monitoring in the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict

The 2014 elections brought a record number of xenophobic populist parties into the European Parliament (EP). They have a strong incentive to be more united and active than in previous terms, and they could use the Parliament to shape voter attitudes, pressure mainstream parties to adopt more xenophobic rhetoric, fragment the mainstream right, and obstruct parliamentary proceedings. The rise of xenophobic populism could affect the open society through the EU’s policies and budget if it alters EP debates on issues that split left and right, particularly Roma exclusion, migration and asylum, and EU external policies and development aid.     

US Foreign Policy Decision‐Making during the Clinton Administration

Citizenship and identity in Europe / edited by Leslie Holmes and Philomena Murray. ‐ Aldershot: Ashgate, c1999. ‐ xii, 167 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–002‐X

The enlargement of Europe / Stuart Croft... [et al.]. ‐ Manchester and New York : Manchester University Press, c1999. ‐ XVI, 188 p. ‐ ISBN 0–7190–4971–7 (pbk)

The rebirth of Europe / Elizabeth Pond. ‐ Washington D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, C1999. ‐ xiv, 290 p. ‐ ISBN 0–8157–7157–6

Theory and reform in the European Union / Dimitris N. Chryssochoou... [et al.]. ‐Manchester and New York : Manchester University Press, c1999. ‐ xiv, 174 p. ‐(Europe in change). ‐ ISBN 0–7190–4991–1

The competitive advantage of nations: the case of Turkey : assessing Porter's framework for national advantage / Özlem Öz. ‐ Aldershot: Ashgate, c1999. ‐ xii, 214 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–982–5

Ethnic conflicts and civil society: proposals for a new era in Eastern Europe / edited by Andreas Klinke, Ortwin Renn, Jean‐Paul Lehners. ‐ Aldershot : Ashgate, c1997. ‐ XVI, 283 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–455–6 (hbk)

Ethnicity and intra‐state conflict / edited by Håkan Wiberg, Christian P. Scherrer. ‐Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. ‐ x, 327 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–713‐X

The European Union and Turkey: an anchor/credibility dilemma / Mehmet Ugur. ‐Aldershot: Ashgate, c1999. ‐ xviii, 286 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–443–2

The G7/G8 system : evolution, role and documentation / Peter I. Hajnal; with a contribution by Sian Meikle. ‐ Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. ‐ xvi, 197 p. – ISBN 1–84014–776–8

The G8's role in the new millennium / edited by Michael R. Hodges, John J. Kirton, Joseph P. Daniels. ‐ Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. ‐ xvi, 191 p. – ISBN 1–84014–774–1

Mediatori in armi: l'allargamento della NATO e la politica USA in Europa / Roberto Menotti. ‐ Milano : Guerini e associati, c1999. ‐ 228 p. ‐ (Frontiere). – ISBN 88–7802–996–3

Revolutionary Iran : civil society in the modernization process / Masoud Kamali. ‐Aldershot : Ashgate, c1998. ‐ xx, 318 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–449–1

Russian national interests and the current crisis in Russia / Henry Trofimenko. ‐Aldershot: Ashgate, c1999. ‐ viii, 324 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–405‐X

Serbia under Milosevic : politics in the 1990s / Robert Thomas. ‐ London : Hurst &; Co., C1999. ‐ xx, 443 p. ‐ ISBN 1–85065–367–4 (pbk)

Gli Stati Uniti e l'apertura a sinistra : importanza e limiti della presenza americana in Italia / Leopoldo Nuti. ‐ Bari: Gius. Laterza &; Figli, c1999. ‐ XXIV, 729 p. ‐ ISBN 88–420–5749–5     

Ukrainian‐polish relations between 1991 and 1998: From the declarative to the substantive

From the first days of Ukraine's independence, Poland was singled out by Kyiv to act as its ‘strategic partner’. This partnership was expected to extend to Poland helping Ukraine integrate with subregional institutions and move ever closer to regional institutions. However, up until 1994, Ukraine's hopes were frustrated — Poland's own objectives precluded it from moving too close to Ukraine. This article will argue that the demands of regional integration, in particular NATO enlargement, promoted a greater harmonisation of policy objectives between Kyiv and Warsaw (especially on the bilateral and subregional levels) from the time it was announced. The positive impact of NATO enlargement contrasts with the deleterious effects of EU enlargement, which threatened to disrupt ties between the two neighbours.     

Greece in the new Balkans: A neo‐realist approach

Official commitment to chemical disarmament in Russia appears to have signalled the end of chemical weapons development and production and has been accompanied by far‐reaching defence cuts, conversion of military‐related chemicals capabilities and government support for international nonproliferation norms. Although it appears unlikely that a large‐scale chemical weapons capability has been preserved, the industrial and scientific base for such a programme still exists and there is support for retaining a chemical weapons option among some groups in the Russian security establishment. Concern also persists about the transparency of chemical demilitarization due to secrecy in the defence establishment; questions about a Soviet/Russian binary CW programme, the existence of which is suggested by published archival documents but which is still officially denied, remain unanswered.     

Crisis leadership and non‐communication: Marcos of the philippines

For all of their centralized power and undisputed authority, even crisis leaders are susceptible to breakdowns in political communication. This is particularly significant when martial rule or a state of emergency—most effective when of short duration— becomes open‐ended; the sense of urgency no longer prevails.

In the initial stage of proclaiming a constitutional emergency it is perhaps easiest to create an atmosphere of crisis and to promote a collective sense of danger. A climate of national fear and insecurity, in turn, enables the constitutional dictator to mobilize broad support even for draconian measures imposed at the expense of individual freedoms. With the prolongation of the emergency, however, and the institutionalization of crisis government, certain immunities to authoritarianism do begin to surface. As suggested by periods of prolonged emergency rule in India and South Korea, the leader becomes remote and isolated; he or she no longer feels quite so compelled to communicate; domestic opposition increases.

The experience of President Marcos and the Philippines since 1972 illustrates some of the political dynamics of the modern, permanent “emergency state.” What has happened to the New Society program of reforms should help in understanding the critical link of communication between leaders and their followers under conditions of either real or manipulative domestic political stress.     

The militant palestinian organizations and the Arab‐Israeli peace process

The current Arab‐Israeli peace negotiations have normalized frequent and open contacts between Israel and its neighbors. This new situation is primarily the result of Operation ‘Desert Storm’ and the Soviet Union's dissolution. Both events forced the Middle Eastern states and sub‐national organizations to re‐evaluate their perceptions of one another, as well as of the degree of support they might expect from their superpower patrons. This article begins by examining the ways in which these events have affected those countries and organizations which chose to participate in the peace process and finally focuses on the policies of the Palestinian national movement ‐ specifically the groups which are opposed to the negotiations and have vowed to undermine them. It argues that these groups seek to subvert any peace treaty which the talks may produce and that the moderate Palestinian leadership has proven incapable of controlling them. It concludes that unless this occurs, it will be impossible to implement any agreement.     

Back to the future: How Serbia is heading the way of post‐versailles Germany

This analogy written before Milosevic's ouster theorizes that Serbia in the aftermath of Kosovo mirrors Germany after 1919 as a nation forced to accept an imposed peace. From the evidence a resurgence of Serb nationalism and territorial ambition is still inevitable. Various parallels support this conclusion including the use of post‐war sanctions, demands to hand over a wanted war criminal and owe up to guilt, geographical fragmentation, political uncertainty, economic depression, and military association with Russia. The salient point remains one of oversight by the victors to acknowledge an ignominious settlement is the source of all grievances and patterns of instability.     

Military Dialogue in the Euro‐Mediterranean Charter: An Unjustified Absence

The summer 2006 war in Lebanon can be perceived through at least five different frames of reference. The US administration saw the war in Lebanon as a local manifestation of the global war on terror. According to this framework, Hezbollah is an Al Qaeda-type enemy, not a national group with a local agenda and constituency; bargaining with Hezbollah is not possible. This point of view makes fighting global terror more difficult and jeopardises the search for stability and peace in the region. Many Israeli and European politicians saw the war as a confrontation between radical Islam and a modern Israeli state, a clash of cultures between Islamic fundamentalists and Western civilisation. This frame of reference, however, fails to recognise the fault line within the Muslim world itself, between those who want to integrate their societies into a globalised world and those who do not. The conflict in Lebanon can also be interpreted as a consequence of the weakening of a state, a framework which underlines the need to strengthen Arab institutions, or as an asymmetrical war between an armed nation state and a guerrilla movement. Finally, the war in Lebanon can be seen as a conflict over power, land, resources and sovereignty–the classic realist perspective. If the international community fails to work toward a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, another framework will gain strength in the Arab world: one that interprets events according to a theory of non-negotiable conflicts between Western imperialism and radical Islamic resistance.     

Islamic versus other identities in the Greater Middle East: Comments on the Ex‐Soviet Muslim republics

The six newly independent, ex‐Soviet Muslim republics share many characteristics. Common to all are identity conflicts based on ethnic ties, cultural traditions and attitudes to Islam. Most ethno‐nationalist groups have been mythologizing their past history and culture. Islam remains, however, the most important factor determining identity throughout the area, although in diverse ways. Realizing this, most political elites take an unfavorable view of the flow of extreme religious propaganda from Iran and Saudi Arabia and of the incursions from Afghanistan. Aware of the revival of Islam, some political leaders of the new states strive to encourage various patterns of moderate religion as a bulwark against militant Islam.