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4541. Fake, Partial and Imposed Compliance: The Limits of the EU's Normative Power in the Western Balkans

Author:
Gergana Noutcheva
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the EU's external power through the prism of perceptions by non-EU countries of the aims of EU foreign policies, as shown in the Western Balkans. The paper argues that the EU's policy in the Western Balkans lacks a strong normative justification, which affects the degree of compliance with the EU's demands in areas related to state sovereignty. The perceived lack of legitimacy opens up political space for domestic actors to contest the positions taken by the EU on normative grounds. The Western Balkan countries have responded by giving preference to internal sources of legitimacy and asserting domestic reasons for fake compliance, partial compliance or non-compliance with the EU's conditions, with the latter provoking imposed compliance. The EU's transformative leverage in the region has been much weaker to date in comparison with that in Central and Eastern Europe prior to EU accession.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

4542. Political Islam in Morocco

Author:
Samir Amghar
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Islamist parties in Morocco have seen an ideological transformation from a radical – even violent – political doctrine to a more pragmatic and progressive strategy in recent years. This paper seeks to understand how the internal ideological evolution of Moroccan Islam and the international context have made collaboration with Europe and the US possible. The key Islamist players on the Moroccan political stage are the Party of Justice and Development and the Association for Justice and Charity, both of which have shown a desire to increase cooperation with Europe but this, they claim, has not been reciprocated by the EU.
Topic:
Islam and Politics
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Morocco

4543. Whole, free and integrated? A Transatlantic Perspective on the European Neighbourhood

Author:
Fabrizio Tassinari
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Since the end of the cold war until 2004, the United States and the European Union held largely complementary views towards the European neighbourhood. Washington's foreign policy mantra was that of a Europe 'whole and free', where the dividing lines inherited from the cold war were to dissolve through the gradual inclusion of Central and Eastern Europe in the Euro-Atlantic family of nations. The EU concomitantly focused on its enlargement strategy, which ensured that the transition of the former communist countries would be benchmarked and monitored, in order to attain the ultimate goal of their full integration into the EU.
Topic:
International Relations and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

4544. Political Islam in Algeria

Author:
Emad El-Din Shahin
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The recent legislative elections of May 2007 in Algeria have shown how complex the evolution of Islamist parties is in this country and how crucial an understanding of these mechanisms has become for Europe. Since the civil war of the 1990s, Islamist parties have experienced increased political participation. Drawing on interviews with various Algerian Islamist actors, this paper analyses how Islamist parties are building a new relationship with democratic mechanisms in Europe. In light of these recent changes, a reconsideration of EU democracy promotion policies is now necessary.
Topic:
Islam and Politics
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Algeria

4545. The Armenian road to democracy – Dimensions of a tortuous process

Author:
Maria Raquel Freire and Licínia Simão
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper looks at the Armenian transition towards democracy, focusing on the internal and external dimensions of the process. Internally, we consider the decision-making structure, with particular emphasis on the role of leadership, the development of political parties and changes in civil society. Externally, our attention is focused on neighbourly relations and external actors, including international organisations, particularly the European Union (EU), and its specific instrument, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The paper aims to shed light on the democratisation process in Armenia and the role of the EU in this process, by looking at the relationship between Brussels and Yerevan, at the instruments and strategies in operation, and at the international context in which these changes are taking place.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Brussels

4546. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree - Member States' Indirect Use of Extraordinary Rendition and the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Author:
Florian Geyer
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Recent investigations, not least by the EP Temporary Committee, have shed light on the illegal practice of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions by foreign security services on European territory with the alleged involvement of certain member states, which suggests that the line between cooperation and complicity has become blurred. This paper addresses the issue of how EU member states could not resist taking advantage of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions and how they still profit from such practice. Recent examples of this kind of profiteering are provided, together with an assessment of their legality.
Topic:
Development, International Organization, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

4547. Political Islam and Europe – Views from the Arab Mediterranean states and Turkey

Author:
Robert Springborg
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The social, political and economic power of moderate Middle East and North African Islamist movements has been growing for a generation or so. The question of how to deal with Islamists who reject violence, embrace democracy and outperform their competitors at the polls has therefore become a central concern not only of incumbent Middle East elites, but also of interested foreign actors such as the EU and US. Robert Springborg sees the need for the EU to clarify its policies towards the MENA region and Muslim democrats within it. The present lack of EU policies on engaging with moderate Islamists leads them to be at best curious about the EU and at worse to be suspicious of it. Engagement might itself help to contribute to policy formation in this important area, and serve as a vehicle to disseminate information about relevant EU policies.
Topic:
Politics and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, Arab Countries, and North Africa

4548. Political Islam in Turkey

Author:
Senem Aydin and Rusen Çakir
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Turkey differs from the Arab states studied in the CEPS–FRIDE Political Islam project in not only in having a European Union membership prospect, but also in the fact that a broadly Islamist-oriented party has been in office since 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) still enjoys the primary support of pro-Islamic constituencies in Turkish society and its orientation towards the EU has not changed since its assumption of power. An overwhelming majority in the party still sees the EU as the primary anchor of Turkish democracy and modernisation despite the inferred limitations of cooperation on issues relating to the reform of Turkish secularism. Yet the growing mistrust towards the EU as a result of perceived discrimination and EU double standards is beginning to cloud positive views within the party. Decreasing levels of support for EU membership in Turkish society and the fact that explicitly Euro-sceptic positions are now coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum suggest that the sustainability of the pro-European discourse within the party could be difficult to maintain in the longer run.
Topic:
Development, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Arabia

4549. Europe's Unrecognised Neighbours: The EU in Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Author:
Nicu Popescu
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The EU can do little to achieve its policy objectives in its Eastern neighbourhood without facing the issue of secessionist conflicts. This paper deals with EU policy towards Georgia and the secessionist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It discusses the reasons for and constraints on EU policies, their effects and perception in the secessionist entities. The paper concludes with recommendations on how the EU can contribute to conflict resolution in Georgia through a greater inclusion of the conflict regions into the European Neighbourhood Policy.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Georgia, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia

4550. The EU Border Management Strategy: FRONTEX and the Challenges of Irregular Immigration in the Canary Islands

Author:
Sergio Carrera
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The EU is developing a border management strategy aiming at an "integrated and global response" to the challenges posed by the phenomenon of irregular immigration through the common external borders. "The Southern maritime borders" constitute one of the main targets addressed by this strategy. On November 2006, the European Commission published a communication calling for the reinforced management of the EU's Southern maritime borders and for the maximisation of the capacities of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union – FRONTEX. This paper provides some reflections about these current policy approaches by looking at the nature, scope and practical implications of the implementation of the Integrated Border Management strategy and its relationship with a common EU immigration policy. After assessing the latest policy developments in these areas, we raise a number of questions about some of the functions and capacities carried out by FRONTEX, and present a series of vulnerabilities characterising the joint operations coordinated by this Community body taking the example of the operations HERA I, II and III in the Canary Islands (Spain).
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain