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601. Legal labor migration: a snapshot of practices

Author:
Evangelia Georgiou
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
Europe is facing a sharp decline in its working-age population, in combination with the significant and persistent skill and labour shortages that range from low-skilled professions, such as construction, to mid-range, such as care, and finally to high skilled professions such as Information Technology. These shortages, combined with Europe’s ever-growing economic needs, lead to an increased demand for labour migration. The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the increased automation adoption, also triggered a shift in the labour market within the EU, influencing the job vulnerability of low and middle-skilled workers. As such, EU nationals have also exhibited a stronger focus on high-skilled professions and the pursuit of higher education, widening the pre-existing divide even further. Due to the limited and fragmented legal acquis of the European Union on migration, the admission of low and medium-skilled professionals in EU member states has taken a secondary position, until recently. The current brief offers a snapshot of recent reforms and practices in select countries in the EU with an emphasis on programs seeking to establish labour pathways. We look at Germany, Italy and Spain, for two reasons: one is that they have undertook recent reforms to address significant labour shortages; secondly all three have embedded migration in their foreign policy to attract foreign labour.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, COVID-19, Migrant Workers, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
Europe

602. On the Propaganda and Supply Fronts of the Russia-Ukraine War: North Korean Soldiers, Workers, and Munitions in the Donbas?

Author:
Avram Agov
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In the past summer, there were reports about the possibility of North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) providing 100,000 volunteers to fight with the Russian army in Ukraine as well as construction workers to help reconstruct war-torn areas in the Donbas. These reports, based on Russian sources, became fodder in the propaganda war in Ukraine and resonated in international media and the academic community. Western sources reported possible supply of North Korean munitions to the Russian army. This paper will critically assess the three reports in the context of wartime dynamics and in the wider international context. The feasibility of sending North Korean troops, munitions, and workers to Russia will be viewed in light of the latest wartime developments in both Ukraine and Russia, including the retreat of the Russian army in some of the occupied areas, Russian partial mobilization and the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. The international context of evaluation includes the recent history of Russia-North Korea security and economic relations. The essay will argue that sending North Korean soldiers to Ukraine is out of the question, though the dispatch of North Korean workers has some degree of probability. The likeliest possibility is Russian procurement of North Korean munitions.
Topic:
Propaganda, Armed Conflict, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Asia, and North Korea

603. Making Sense of Multinational Cooperation

Author:
Ina Kraft
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Multinational cooperation is a prominent characteristic among the armed forces of European states. However, despite its prevalence, a shared understanding of this phenomenon is lacking in the research community. Furthermore, studies often restrict their focus to examining the effects of cooperation, neglecting the essential exploration of its underlying conditions. To overcome these limitations, this article develops a categorisation of multinational cooperation into structures, processes, and activities. It concludes that multinational cooperation in Europe can be categorised into three distinct phases (1990-2004, 2005-2013, 2014-) with significantly varying underlying motives for cooperation, particularly since the ‘wave of multinational cooperation’ in Europe following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014. By introducing a novel framework for comprehending military cooperation and presenting an empirically informed overview of recent shifts in cooperation across Europe, this article aims to invigorate further research in the field.
Topic:
Armed Forces, Multinational Corporations, Regional Security, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe

604. Mind the Gap! Small State Influence within the EU during the Brexit Process: The Case of Slovakia

Author:
Sedanur Yıldız
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
The United Kingdom has been seen as a balancing element for small states to prevent big states from gaining hegemony in the EU, especially Franco-German. The decision, which was stated to withdraw the UK from the EU with a referendum in 2016, has reawakened the concern of small states. Inevitably, member states have been affected by the outcome of this decision, even though in a different dimension. The Brexit negotiations preserved the dominance of the EU interests so as not to create a chain effect among the other members based on Article 50, which was applied for the first time. In contrast, the EU’s implementation of immigration policies has mainly led to the strengthening of anti-EU groups in the member states. Since Central and Eastern European countries are the first boundaries of migration waves, anti-immigration movements are felt in those countries’ political and social spheres. Slovakia faced the Brexit decision at the first Council Presidency after becoming a member of the EU. On the other hand, the Presidency’s agenda was not overshadowed by Brexit and focused on the predetermined road map. For this reason, the Council Presidency of Slovakia had not been subject to the shocking effect of any crisis agenda and was relatively moderate. With the immigration policies, which include the general interests of the EU, there was no progress in the asylum and migration title as the point of view of Slovakia is not very compatible. This article deals with the Brexit process and its impact on Slovakia. The main question of the study is how small states fill in the gap that Brexit might cause and whether small states can take the initiative for the future of the EU, which is discussed in the case of Slovakia.
Topic:
European Union, Brexit, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and Slovakia

605. Women Leaders and the Concept of Women Empowerment: Benazir Bhutto and Margaret Thatcher

Author:
Betül Tiryaki
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Women empowerment is a significant concept in gender equality. Political empowerment is particularly critical because they need to be active in the decisionmaking process (Rasul, 2014). However, women’s experience shows various difficulties while trying to reach high positions, especially in politics. The situation raises an important question about how women who have experienced holding authority use it for the benefit of other women. So, the research aim is to investigate how two women leaders in different countries with different development levels contribute to women’s empowerment. Therefore, Benazir Bhutto and Margaret Thatcher are the two cases of this research. Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s first Muslim female prime minister, an underdeveloped country from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996 (Jangbar, 2021). On the other hand, Margaret Thatcher was the first woman prime minister of the United Kingdom, a developed country from 1979-1990 (Özdikmen and Kartın, 2021). A woman leader in a developed country is expected to contribute more to women’s empowerment than a woman leader in an underdeveloped country. Yet, while Benazir Bhutto is shown to have made significant strides in empowering women in Pakistan, Margaret Thatcher’s use of power did not align with supporting women. She was known to criticise women’s rights, which had already been gained. This unexpected contrast challenges the notion that the development level of countries influences the work of women leaders as expected. The findings suggest that women leaders in underdeveloped countries may hold more significance in the context of women’s empowerment.
Topic:
Women, Leadership, Benazir Bhutto, Empowerment, Gender Equality, and Margaret Thatcher
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United Kingdom, Europe, and South Asia

606. Portuguese Neutrality during World War II - A Case Study of Portuguese Foreign Policy Analysis

Author:
João Tavares
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
The main object of this investigation into Portuguese neutrality during the Second World War is to understand the reasons that led to the choice of neutrality and how the conceptual elements of the Foreign Policy Analyses and the historical events relating to the conflict conditioned the decision-making process. Portuguese foreign policy decision. Portuguese foreign policy under Salazar followed a set of guidelines that were based on norms and intangible elements, which allowed the regime to carry out its mission of ensuring its autonomy on the European continent and, simultaneously, guaranteeing the security of the colonies located in the rest of the world. The Portuguese option for neutrality is conditioned by a vast series of internal and external constraints, as well as an ideological coherence that is somewhat standardised in relation to previous events, where sometimes a lack of information and uncertainty regarding the other parties demolish ideal premises of the Rational Actor model. In the Portuguese case, as it was an idiosyncratic dictatorship in which the head of government centralised all the main decision-making powers within himself. However, he surrounded himself with capable elements and an information network, which excelled in bilaterality, to help with the decision-making task. Portugal had to position itself in the face of the conflict, and this highlights the alliances to which it was linked and which would influence decision-making. Salazar was aware that he could not marginalise Spain or ignore the importance of Great Britain.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, World War II, Estado Novo, and António de Oliveira Salazar
Political Geography:
Europe and Portugal

607. Global Islamophobia and the Rise of Populism with Ivan Kalmar & Audrey Truschke

Author:
Ivan Kalmar and Audrey Truschke
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Islamophobia has seen a disturbing rise across Asia and Europe. Professors Audrey Truschke and Ivan Kalmar focus on India and Eastern Europe, respectively, in examining the global trend of blaming Muslim minorities for economic, political, and social problems, which in turn causes anti-Muslim violence.
Topic:
Minorities, Discrimination, Islamophobia, and Violence
Political Geography:
Europe, India, Eastern Europe, and Asia

608. Islam in Liberalism with Joseph Massad (Episode 10)

Author:
Joseph Massad and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
American anxieties about intolerance, misogyny, and tyranny are projected onto Islam as part of the broader European use of Islam as a foil in Western liberalism. A recent book contextualizes this trend within recent efforts by the western world to proselytize liberalism as the only valid and sane worldview to Muslim-majority nations and references a rich historical record of Christian and liberal discourses revealing such attempts to cure Muslims of their supposed illiberal ways. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) addresses these issues with “Islam in Liberalism (https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/...) ” author and Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad (https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-d...) .
Topic:
Islam, Islamophobia, Liberalism, and Intolerance
Political Geography:
Europe and United States of America

609. Toward A Comparative History of Sexual Violence and War - A Book Talk with Feminist Chizuko Ueno

Author:
Chizuko Ueno and Carol Gluck
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Speaker: Chizuko Ueno, Professor Emerita University of Tokyo, Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network Moderator: Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor Emerita of History, Columbia University Sexual violence in war is a perennial and a global phenomenon. The “comfort women” system of sexual slavery in Asia and sexual assaults by Allied soldiers in Europe during World War II, the rape camps in Bosnia in the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia -- the list is long and continues to this day. Based on her book, A Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence, Ueno explores a range of issues, including the discourse of victimhood and the question of agency, rape as a weapon of war, and also love and “horizontal collaboration” between enemies. A provocative argument from Japan’s leading feminist and influential social activist. Speaker Bio: Chizuko Ueno is an emeritas professor at the University of Tokyo. Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network ( http://wan.or.jp/) . A leading feminist theorist and an influential social critic, a prolific author of books and articles and a high-profile intellectual in Japan. In 1994, one of her many acclaimed books, Kindai Kazoku no Seiritsu to Shuen (The Rise and Fall of the Modern Family), won the coveted Suntory Academic Award. English publications are available as follows; The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall (2009), Nationalism and Gender (2004). Asahi Shinbun Award winner in 2012 for her contribution to feminism and women’s studies, in addition to studies of care. Received Hän Honor from the Finnish government in 2019 for the contribution to promote gender equality. Selected as a member of American Academy of Art and Sciences in 2020. Event sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the Japan Research Program.
Topic:
War, History, Sexual Violence, Comfort Women, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
Japan, Europe, Asia, and Balkans

610. Russian Military Reconstitution: 2030 Pathways and Prospects

Author:
Dara Massicot
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As the Kremlin’s antagonism toward Ukraine and the West sharpens, it will be critically important for policymakers and warfighters to anticipate, monitor, and respond to Russia’s military reconstitution progress in the years ahead.
Topic:
Armed Forces, Military, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine