International audience ; The aim of our research is to analyse the role and importance of sport and physical activity in Western European countries and Russia. Given that these activities constitute the major challenge stakes in the development of modern societies, the education of young people and the optimisation of professional and social activities, we analyse their link with societal policy and political interests in different countries, as well as their impact international relations. (p.860-870)
In this study sectoral specialization of European Union countries and regions in the current period of crisis is analyzed. As a result, groups of countries shall emerge based on which the real developmental archetypes of European space will be shaped. The distinction does not lie on the traditional axis (of favored) North – (less favored) South, but mainly, on the under configuration axis (of favored) West – (less favored) East. As a result, the regions of Europe that specialize in dynamic sectors of economic activity shall be located. These regions demonstrate comparative advantages, which give rise to export capacities as well. Moreover the intertemporal analysis of indicators shall exhibit the great contribution of sectoral composition in relation to the general socioeconomic basis along with the structural characteristics of countries and regions, which are fundamental for the developmental process. ; peer-reviewed
This book examines the increasing marginalization of and response by people living in urban areas throughout the Western Hemisphere, and both the local and global implications of continued colonial racial hierarchies and the often-dire consequences they have for people perceived as different. However, in the aftermath of recent U.S. elections, whiteness also seems to embody strictures on religion, ethnicity, country of origin, and almost any other personal characteristic deemed suspect at the moment. For that reason, gender, race, and even class, collectively, may not be sufficient units of analysis to study the marginalizing mechanisms of the urban center. The authors interrogate the social and institutional structures that facilitate the disenfranchisement or downward trajectory of groups, and their potential or subsequent lack of access to mainstream rewards. The book also seeks to highlight examples where marginalized groups have found ways to assert their equality. No recent texts have attempted to connect the mechanisms of marginality across geographical and political boundaries within the Western Hemisphere.
It has become common to note the failure of neoclassical economics to explain economic divergence between countries and regions. In recent years this has frequently been attributed to some countries developing or capturing industries with increasing returns; i.e. that the agglomeration effects typical of increasing returns industries are sensitive to slight differences in initial conditions that over time lead to further agglomeration and thus increasing divergence rather than convergence between regions and countries (Romer 1986, Krugman and Venables 1995, Fujita and Thisse 2002). Just as the lack of short-term convergence among modern economies can be attributed to the capturing of increasing returns-to-scale activities, many believe Europe (and its settler colonies) did this on a long-term, global scale as well, in a global division of labor at the state and regional level. In the economic history literature this process is sometimes explained in other language, i.e., that Europe deindustrialized its colonies e.g., in dependency theory in general, and works such as Amin 1976, Forbes and Rimmer 1984, and Alam 2000. This long-term, increasing returns perspective is interesting because it can be seen as (regarding reasons proposed for the 'great divergence' in levels of development that economic historians now tell us happened mainly in the last few centuries2) merging or at least compatible with both many recent mainstream economic observations related to regional economics, agglomeration, and increasing returns-to-scale activities ('new' trade theory) and aspects of important heterodox arguments (Marxist/dependency theories, some Austrian economics, and much evolutionary economics - related to competition, for example). How, then, did European states rise in the international division of labor?...
Electorally, Western European populist political parties have been rather successful in the last two decades. But how pervasive is their actual populist message? Although some scholars have looked at the diffusion of this message, they have only focused on the arena of party politics. Research on how widespread populism is beyond the party political sphere is still in its infancy. This study looks at populism in public debates in the media. Based on a content analysis of opinion articles in newspapers in five Western European countries, I demonstrate that these debates have become more populist over the years, and that the degree of populism is strongly related to the success of populist parties. This indicates that populism is more widespread than previously assumed. I also show that letters are more populist than other opinion articles and that debates in tabloid media are not more populist than debates in elite media. Adapted from the source document.
Many Roma across Europe continue to face a range of social problems, including ethnic discrimination, marginalisation, residential segregation, socio‐economic inequality, and extremist violence. The lack of effective policies to address these issues has reinforced a climate of hatred against Roma, further isolating many of them. It has also affected their position in the political arena, where Roma remain severely underrepresented. In this article, we analyse the situation of Roma in three Western Balkan countries and the policies developed to support them. We discuss the institutional structures for managing and improving the socio‐economic conditions of identity‐based communities and examine the position of the Roma within these institutional contexts. We also explore attitudes towards Roma‐related policies and how Roma citizens themselves in these three countries perceive their position.
The present study examined the clustering of nations using different clustering methods. Organizational attitudes and perceptions of 1768 managers from IS Western nations employed by a multinational corporation were surveyed. Divergent results were found and are discussed in terms of reconciling these differences, the need for additional research comparing competitive and alternative interpretations of Smallest Space Analysis (SSA), and the use of independent and objective methods, e.g., cluster analysis.
It is observed that despite the legislative endorsement of the West Africa Countries there is still a glaring divergence in economic structures, which impedes the performance to realize macroeconomic convergence and economic growth within the region. This paper investigated the effects of trade and financial indexes in WAMZ on economic growth. The paper uses three variables and a host of control measures to focus on six countries of WAMZ covering the periods of 2001-2018. Given the heterogeneous nature of the information gathered for the study, the models are cast in static and dynamic panel frameworks that provided micro-structure for the combined data analysis. The models were tested with various econometric and statistical instruments. Results from the analysis show that exported trade is highly concentrated to fewer goods, while imported trade is concentrated on more products and partners; that is, countries in WAMZ tend to shadow liberal import policy. The weak link was also noticed among financial and trade indexes and economic growth in the WAMZ economies. The implications call for short term economic plans and policies in the WAMZ economies so as to collectively monitor economic policies and growth. We equally observed that the structures of the economies in the region are heterogeneous making it rather difficult for regional trade and financial indicators to accelerate output growth in the region. Thus our basic postulations are an inter-policy approach on social, political and economic (trade and finance) arrangements that would neutralize the heterogeneity and foster institutional and attitudinal reforms, eliminate insecurity challenges, and spur political stability and responsible leadership within the regions.
It is observed that despite the legislative endorsement of the West Africa Countries there is still a glaring divergence in economic structures, which impedes the performance to realize macroeconomic convergence and economic growth within the region. This paper investigated the effects of trade and financial indexes in WAMZ on economic growth. The paper uses three variables and a host of control measures to focus on six countries of WAMZ covering the periods of 2001-2018. Given the heterogeneous nature of the information gathered for the study, the models are cast in static and dynamic panel frameworks that provided micro-structure for the combined data analysis. The models were tested with various econometric and statistical instruments. Results from the analysis show that exported trade is highly concentrated to fewer goods, while imported trade is concentrated on more products and partners; that is, countries in WAMZ tend to shadow liberal import policy. The weak link was also noticed among financial and trade indexes and economic growth in the WAMZ economies. The implications call for short term economic plans and policies in the WAMZ economies so as to collectively monitor economic policies and growth. We equally observed that the structures of the economies in the region are heterogeneous making it rather difficult for regional trade and financial indicators to accelerate output growth in the region. Thus our basic postulations are an inter-policy approach on social, political and economic (trade and finance) arrangements that would neutralize the heterogeneity and foster institutional and attitudinal reforms, eliminate insecurity challenges, and spur political stability and responsible leadership within the regions.
Food production systems are undergoing a structural transformation towards a sustainable resilient state, offering opportunities for economic benefits, employment creation, and enhanced food safety and security. Governing this sustainability transition is a complex process which calls for interventions at all policy levels, including higher education. Adopting an agri-food systems perspective, the Western Balkans countries are facing challenges which are mostly related to issues such as the modernization of food engineering and food management practices, the organic agriculture production, the post-harvest processes, the supply chain management, the corresponding environmental footprint, etc. Tackling with the afore-mentioned topics requires educational interventions (among other actions), which may contribute effectively towards the specific sustainability transition. To this purpose, and in light of these countries' current convergence, with the European Union, the Erasmus+ "STEPS" project offered a unique opportunity for collaboration between eleven (11) European partners, who led to the development of a joint Master of Sciences Program entitled "Sustainable Food Production Systems" with two directions: "Food Engineering and Food Safety", and "Food Production Systems Management". The paper sheds light on the development process of the curriculum, providing evidence on the design process, the structure and the syllabus of the courses, the necessary accreditation process, and the benefits of the new joint postgraduate program.
The process of democratization in Western Balkans is connected with the process of state-building before and after the reconstruction. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, the region became a brutal battleground as different nation-based groups fought to define the boundaries of a set of new states in the Balkans. One of the key challenges related to the democratization of the Western Balkan countries is resolving the issues with their neighbours. However, political pragmatism and bilateral relations between the countries of the Balkans, including their internal conflicts do not exclude informal alliances, but as a temporary form of exploitation of the current political and security situation or in order to achieve their own national interests. One of the key tools in the achievement of national interests, especially expressed in the Balkan countries is represented by the ethnic minorities. Ethnic minorities in the Balkans cannot be overlooked and most of them are seen as a destabilizing factor in the countries in which minorities live. Without overcoming prejudices and differences of the past, the Western Balkans could not continue their independent development. Democratization of the Western Balkans means that improving the peace and coexistence should not be viewed in the past, but in the current process of cooperation. The EU integration process of Western Balkan countries and the democratization process of the region will have to be implemented in the future if the political elites in Western Balkan countries wish to achieve security, stability and prosperity of their societies. Keywords: democratization, Western Balkans, European integration, security. (Romanian Journal of European Affairs / SWP)
Since the 1967 war in the Middle East, The Israeli settlements in the West Bank have always been one of the most controversial topics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This article deals with the question: What is the impact of the West Bank settlements on the national security of Israel? The approach used to explore these issues is face-to-face in-depth interviews, during 2016, with 27 high-ranking Israeli Generals from the Military Intelligence (Aman), the National Intelligence Agency (Mossad), the Internal Security Agency (Shabak), the National Security Council (Malal), the Planning Branch of the General Staff (Agat), and the Prime Minister's close circle of advisors. The interviews revealed three perspectives on the importance of the settlements for the Israeli national security. The first, views the settlements as a contribution to the national security of Israel, the second, views the settlements as a heavy national security liability, and the third, views the question as an irrelevant one, explaining that no one asks if Tel Aviv is important for the national security of Israel. As securitization of political messages is arguably at least as common in Israel as in other countries, with immediate national security challenges, the detailed perspectives of the Israeli National Security Elite (INSE) helps to extract the professional security rationales from the misleading political clatter. The article can be of interest to policy makers and researchers who deal with national security in general and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular.
