Europe

Turkey’s EU Membership and EU-Middle Eastern Affairs

Mieke Molthof • Aug 30 2011 • Essays

As relations between the West and the Islamic world have significantly deteriorated in recent years and the situation in the Middle East appears more and more threatening to the EU, Turkey’s potential role as a soft power for the EU becomes increasingly clear as a bridge between East and West.

Why did the EU enlarge to the East? A Neo-Gramscian critique of Schimmelfennig’s Constructivist Approach

Tom McCarthy • Aug 24 2011 • Essays

Enlargement has been fuelled by transnational actors, aiming to enhance the economic prospects of transnational capital within Europe, and secure the interests of the hegemonic bloc. It was part of a wider process to increase economic competitiveness and remove internal barriers to trade.

The European Union’s Actorness and Presence in Humanitarian Assistance Affairs

Sharanya Ravichandran • Aug 24 2011 • Essays

Since the European Union first forayed into the field of humanitarian assistance affairs, it has demonstrated significant actorness, through capability, opportunity and presence. It has done so both in the measures it has taken, and the policies and institutions that it has created, solely for this purpose.

The collective memory of WWII in France

James Chisem • Aug 22 2011 • Essays

This essay shows how, over the past six decades, collective memory of the Second World War in France has been centrally implicated in, and influenced by, wider socio-political debates relating to the nature of French national identity. The discourse will be structured in a manner which engages with the primary vectors of French memory regarding ‘les annes noires’.

Turkey’s Foreign Policy in the AKP Era: Has There Really Been a Change?

Yilmaz Kaplan • Aug 22 2011 • Essays

The AKP government created a new synergy in Turkish foreign policy by using the “change” discourse, however, the main problems with Turkish foreign policy have not yet been solved, and disappointments related to the new strategy have increased through time. Therefore, time will show whether the AKP will be successful or not.

Germany’s Role in Turkey’s Accession to the EU

Yilmaz Kaplan • Aug 18 2011 • Essays

Most German citizens are against Turkey’s membership, but they have different reasons for their opposition. It is also clear that Germany does not have a stable position towards Turkey’s membership. Turkey should develop policies that encourage right-based dynamics in Germany to progress and to accelerate its accession negotiations with the EU.

The European Union: Changing the Face of Regionalism

Bea Kylene Jumarang • Aug 18 2011 • Essays

The EU is no longer just a regional association. It is a view of the future, a state in many respects though also subservient to member initiatives, a world economic powerhouse and a home to policies commonly instituted. The Union is no longer just an external body, but a concrete expression of European unity and is at least, a partial fulfillment of the European ideals expressed after the First and Second World Wars.

EU counter-terrorism: security, justice, democracy and opportunity for all?

Jennifer Lang • Aug 14 2011 • Essays

The European Union (EU) has been engaged in the fight against terrorism as far back as the 1970s, triggered by attacks at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The EU’s counter-terrorism plans call for the vigorous promotion of security, justice, democracy and opportunity for all. But to what extent have such aims proved compatible and consistently pursued?

Economic Revival of West Germany in the 1950s and 1960s

Cameron Payne • Aug 7 2011 • Essays

The economic revival of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the two decades following the second world war saw a period of unprecedented growth. This impressive leap in growth figures, which bought about greatly increased living standards for the populace, found its roots among underlying economic conditions, foreign influences and the domestic drive towards competition and consumerism.

Why did the Soviets provoke a series of crises over Berlin between 1958 and 1961?

Eleanor Kaye • Aug 5 2011 • Essays

The motivations for the Soviets in provoking the crises of 1958-1961 can, for the most part, be divided into four categories: defensive, economic, the role of the East German communists and external factors. Different historians place varying amounts of importance on each group of factors.

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