Suchergebnisse

Abstract
This contribution explores the Visegrad Four's (V4) foreign policy initiatives in the Western Balkans by considering each state's interests and policies and the evolution of joint V4 objectives. My underlying hypothesis is that the foreign policy‑related behaviour of individual states is shaped by certain roles that they assume and by their national interests. This work uses role theory to explain the V4 states' foreign policies both generally and in the specific case of the Western Balkans. The V4 have prioritised cooperation with this region, and I analyse the programmes of the last four V4 presidencies (Slovakia 2014-2015, the Czech Republic 2015-2016, Poland 2016-2017 and Hungary 2017-2018) to reveal key foreign policy objectives and explore why they were selected. At the same time, I examine the interests of each V4 country and the reasons for their joint attention to the Western Balkan region. My analysis shows that the V4 perceive themselves as supportive and constructive EU and NATO members and see their policies as reflective of European values. Moreover, they believe they should contribute to EU enlargement by sharing experiences of economic and political transformation with the Western Balkan states and serving as role models.

"The Western Balkans and the European Union" published on by Oxford University Press.

The article focuses on the issue of foreign fighters from the Balkan peninsula, and examines the measures that have been taken by governments in the region to combat it. The author asserts that the first ISIS losses and the thinning of the first wave of enthusiastic recruits accompanied with the first disillusioned returnees and changes in public policies and in public discourse (political narrative and narrative of Islamic communities, mass media) caused the unprecedented decline in the number of new recruits.

Nach einem Jahrzehnt der Vernachlässigungen und Versäumnisse ist die Zeit gekommen, um die vollständige Einbeziehung aller Länder des westlichen Balkan in die Europäische Union voranzutreiben. ZEI Alumni aus der Region, alle unterdessen in eindrucksvollen Positionen in ihren Staaten und Gesellschaften, bringen ihre Frustration, aber auch die Hoffnung zum Ausdruck: Die neue EU Führung muss die unvollständig gebliebene Agenda der EU Erweiterung in den nächsten Jahren komplettieren um sich nicht den Vorwurf einzuhandeln, die Jugend des westlichen Balkan verloren zu haben.

Foreign Relations in Federal Countries addresses questions such as: What constitutional powers do the federal governments and constituent states have to conduct foreign affairs? To what degree are relations between orders of government regularized by formal agreement or informal practice? What roles do constituent governments have in negotiation and implementation of international treaties? The volume offers a comparative perspective on the conduct of foreign relations in twelve federal countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

Although Western Balkan economies are still on the list of EU candidates or potential candidate countries, they do have some integration with EU economies. The EU is the leading trading partner of the Western Balkans and is one of the top destinations for the fl ow of people. The Western Balkan economies have been trying to address their populations' ongoing emigration (the so-called "brain drain" phenomenon) by implementing targeted economic policies. Since one of the main contributors to economic growth is the ability to create innovation, it is crucial to building innovation potential. The main challenge for innovation policy is to provide a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and economic growth to create jobs. Thus, this paper aims to examine innovation potential - an innovation input - as it creates the conditions needed for innovation development. The results of analysing the data (on research and development spending, human resources, an environment friendly to innovation, and intellectual property rights) indicate that the Western Balkan countries are lagging behind the EU in many aspects of innovation potential, so they should still develop their strategies towards creating higher innovation potential. Thus, they will be able to have a higher level of innovation and, as a result, be more competitive in economic terms.

This book reviews a variety of approaches to the study of the European Union's foreign policy. Much analysis of EU foreign policy contains implicit theoretical assumptions about the nature of the EU and its member states, their inter-relationships, the international system in which they operate and the nature and direction of European integration. In many instances such assumptions - not being discussed openly - limit, rather than facilitate debate. The purpose of this book is to open up this field of enquiry so that students, observers and analysts of EU foreign policy can review a broad range of tools and theoretical templates from which the development and the trajectory of the EU's foreign policy can be studied. Situated as it is at the interface between European Studies and International Relations, the book also seeks to engage the attention of readers who are anxious to understand how the European Union relates to the rest of the world and to explain the efforts of the EU and its member states towards the creation of a credible, effective and principled foreign, security and defence policy.

Composite indices have recently become a very popular measure for tracking the progress of national economies. One of them is Legatum Prosperity Index (LPI), a relatively new and comprehensive indicator, which describes in a unique way the level and the dynamics of prosperity in the countries across the world. In this paper, prosperity of European Union and Western Balkan states during the last ten years was analyzed and its drivers investigated, using data for LPI. Also, analysis was performed of the relationships of LPI with GDP per capita and Human Development Index, as well as of the deviation of LPI level from the one that could be expected based on GDP per capita level for each observed country. In addition, the paper examines convergence/divergence between developing European countries and old EU members according to the level of LPI and the key dimensions and components of this indicator. Results indicate that new member states have the most room for improvement in the Institutional dimension, or more precisely in the Personal Freedom component, whereas Western Balkan countries could speed up their prosperity by investing more into Environment, as well as into Education, Health, and Personal Freedom.

This book reviews a variety of approaches to the study of the European Union's foreign policy. Much analysis of EU foreign policy contains implicit theoretical assumptions about the nature of the EU and its member states, their inter-relationships, the international system in which they operate and the nature and direction of European integration. In many instances such assumptions - not being discussed openly - limit, rather than facilitate debate. The purpose of this book is to open up this field of enquiry so that students, observers and analysts of EU foreign policy can review a broad range of tools and theoretical templates from which the development and the trajectory of the EU's foreign policy can be studied. Situated as it is at the interface between European Studies and International Relations, the book also seeks to engage the attention of readers who are anxious to understand how the European Union relates to the rest of the world and to explain the efforts of the EU and its member states towards the creation of a credible, effective and principled foreign, security and defence policy.

The exploration of what May Sarton calls the "foreign country of old age" usually does not go far beyond the familiar: the focus of aging studies has thus far clearly rested upon North America and Western Europe. This multi-disciplinary essay collection critically examines conditions and representations of old age and aging in Eastern and Southeastern Europe from various perspectives of the humanities and social sciences. By shedding light on these culturally specific contexts, the contributions widen our understanding of the aging process in all its diversity and demonstrate that a shift in perspectives might in fact challenge a number of taken-for-granted positions and presumptions of aging studies.