Politics
The logic of respect for human rights and democratic values contributing to the political and economic stability of current and prospective European Union (EU) member states is irresistible. In the context of EU enlargement, the dominating theme is of candidate states striving towards and achieving the Copenhagen political criteria for membership. The 'political criteria' for accession require candidate countries to demonstrate 'stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities'. Analysis of the UK domestic experience in attempting to uphold human rights in the context of the fight against terrorism affords some interesting perspectives on the impact of human rights on security issues. The European Constitution, if adopted, would provide the basis for the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Turkey's future relationship to the European Union (EU) will have a significant impact on both the role Turkey plays in Europe's future security architecture and on Europe's security agenda. Turkey straddles many cultural and political fault lines, such that it has been designated a 'pivotal' state in terms of regional and global security. Although Turkey's location might suggest that it could constitute a security burden to the EU, Turkey can equally be seen as a security 'provider'. With the Cold War's demise, many anticipated a decline in Turkey's strategic utility. Turkey's aspiration to join the EU is part of a broader post-1945 integration into the Western world. Turkish political culture notes a strong attachment to the utility of military force and a tendency to adopt a hard security approach to domestic issues, such as Kurdish identity politics and the role of political Islam.
This chapter investigates the construction of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) in response to international terrorism. Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the first and foremost security threat to enable the construction of the AFSJ is terrorism. The chapter argues that European Union (EU) institutions have capitalised on the presence of this 'security threat' in order to drive forward the process of European integration. The area of counter-terrorism can be described as the hardest case for the Commission, or any EU institution, to demonstrate its potential to act as a supranational policy entrepreneur (SPE). The chapter examines the importance of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for European integration. It also examines to what extent the model of a SPE was indicative of the behaviour of the European institutions.
During the 1990s, the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) enlarged their memberships. The record since the start of the new millennium has been one increasingly marked by co-operation rather than competition between the two institutions: the European Council and the North Atlantic Council (NAC). This chapter focuses on what has been Europe's most significant region in terms of security challenges and international responses since the end of the Cold War: the Balkan. Some have seen the increasing lack of rancour in debates about the roles of the EU and NATO as being due to a growing de facto division of labour between them. An examination of key agreed statements by EU and NATO ministers provides additional support for the contention that incremental linkage between their respective enlargement processes has been maintained into the twenty-first century.
This chapter concentrates on a case study from outside the European Union's (EU) borders, because it highlights both the scale of the problem and the EU's limitations in dealing with it at a political and operational level. It provides an overview of organised crime in the Balkans and selects Transdniestria as a case study of a criminalised zone in the EU's new neighbourhood. The Transdniestria example focuses on identifying the links between organised crime and frozen conflicts and the policy implications this has for EU enlargement and foreign policy. The relationship between EU enlargement and the soft security threats posed by organised crime is complex and heavily contested. The existence of Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika (PMR) appears an insurmountable blockage to the consolidation and democratisation of the post-Soviet Moldovan state and to any aspirations of Moldova joining the EU.
This chapter addresses the main security challenges faced by the European Union (EU) in the Mediterranean region and the effectiveness of EU policies in dealing with them. The EU's fifth enlargement, comprising eight Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries and the two Mediterranean island states of Cyprus and Malta, extended the Union's frontiers southwards towards North Africa and further eastwards towards Russia. The chapter focuses on the security of energy supplies, illegal immigration, terrorism and the Middle East conflict and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation. It then deals with the advantages and pitfalls of the Union's soft or 'civil' power approach. The 2003 Arab Human Development Report noted that 'the occupation of Palestinian and other Arab lands exerts a direct and continuous burden on the economies of affected countries and diverts resources from development to military and security objectives'.
One of the most frequently cited ‘lessons’ of the Kosovo crisis has been the alleged extent to which it spurred West European leaders to address a perceived need for Europe to carry out more for its own military security. Member states of the European Union (EU) decided to establish a ‘European Security and Defence Policy’ (ESDP) in the months following Operation Allied Force. This chapter considers the long- and short-term origins of the ESDP and assesses the extent to which the Kosovo crisis was the key driver leading to the decisions by EU members formally to create it in 1999. The most basic of what may be called the ‘permissive facilitators’ for the development of the ESDP can be found in the nature of the EU itself. The idea encapsulated in the concept of ‘functional integration’ exercised significant influence on political leaders in continental EU countries. This chapter also focuses on the ESDP during and after the Cold War, the Western European Union, and the role of the UK and France in the adoption of the ESDP.
The European Commission had become one of the more contentious actors during both Irish referenda on the Lisbon Treaty. This book discusses the role of the European Commission and institutions more generally, as well as the policy area of justice and home affairs. It argues that it is important to evaluate the role of EU institutions for the process of European integration. The book suggests a reconceptualisation of the framework of supranational policy entrepreneurs (SPEs), which is often referred to by the academic literature that discusses the role of agency in European integration. It focuses on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) at the policy and treaty levels; primarily on four grounds: academic literature, SPE behaviour, EU's policymaking, and the interplay between treaty negotiations and policy-making. To analyse the role of the European institutions, the book combines an analysis of the Lisbon Treaty in relation to the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice with an analysis of the policy-making in the same area. The public policy model by John Kingdon with constructivist international relations literature is also outlined. The external dimension of counter-terrorism in the EU; the role of the EU institutions in EU asylum and migration; and the role of he Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is discussed. The book also analyses the role of the EU institutions in the communitarisation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, and thus subsequently in the Lisbon Treaty.
This chapter presents a concept of an evangelical subculture to explore how both the politics of the post-Agreement period, as well as more mundane, everyday concerns about God, faith and life, have helped shape changes in evangelicals' personal religious practices and identities. In Northern Ireland, evangelicals have maintained much higher rates of church attendance, with up to four-fifths attending services at least once a week. Evangelicals repeatedly tell their testimonies to one other, formally and informally, so telling conversion stories is central to the evangelical subculture. Most evangelical churches offer a staggering variety of social activities. People have the opportunity to participate in something nearly every day of the week. The chapter outlines the ways in which post-Agreement politics have affected evangelicals' religious journeys.
This book examines how the conflict affects people's daily behaviour in reinforcing sectarian or ghettoised notions and norms. It also examines whether and to what extent everyday life became normalised in the decade after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Cross-border commerce has been the stuff of everyday life ever since the partition of Ireland back in 1921. The book outlines how sectarianism and segregation are sustained and extended through the routine and mundane decisions that people make in their everyday lives. It explores the role of integrated education in breaking down residual sectarianism in Northern Ireland. The book examines the potential of the non-statutory Shared Education Programme (SEP) for fostering greater and more meaningful contact between pupils across the ethno-religious divide. It then focuses on women's involvement or women's marginalisation in society and politics. In considering women's political participation post-devolution, mention should be made of activities in the women's sector which created momentum for women's participation prior to the GFA. The book deals with the roles of those outside formal politics who engage in peace-making and everyday politics. It explores the fate of the Northern Irish Civic Forum and the role of section 75 of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act in creating more inclusive policy-making. Finally, the book explains how cross-border trade, shopping and economic development more generally, also employment and access to health services, affect how people navigate ethno-national differences; and how people cope with and seek to move beyond working-class isolation and social segregation.