Suchergebnisse

Рассматриваются возможные теоретические объяснения феномена Общей политики безопасности и обороны Европейского союза через призму теорий европейской интеграции, а также традиционных и альтернативных теорий международных отношений. Делается вывод о том, что ни одна из существующих школ не обладает достаточной убедительностью, и научные исследования нуждаются в интегративном подходе. ; Sustainable development of integration process in the postwar Europe promoted emergence of a new scientific discipline known as European studies, which pools social sciences and humanities for investigation of different aspects of European integration. One of the most dynamical developing schools of European studies is studying Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union (EU), affected by consistent development of integration in this sphere in the 1990-2000s. As author notes, the phenomenon of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) of the EU is difficult to explain for political science and thats why the majority of its scientific/pseudoscientific studies has a descriptive character. According to that, author puts a question: How and to which degree can existing integration theories and international relations and foreign policy theories explain the CSDP and thereby become a theoretical basis for its scientific analysis? As classic European integration theories federalism and neofunctionalism are reviewed: the first considers the CSDP to be an end of European integration in itself but doesnt explain its institutional development and failures while remaining an influential political philosophy; the second explains the endogenous logic of integration, focusing on supranational institutions, and therefore doesnt examine the CSDP. Neorealism is skeptical about the future of the CSDP, but interprets its emergence via the change of the system of international relations and serves as ideological basis for intergovernmentalism, upon which the majority of CSDP studies is rested. Neoliberal theories dont consider the military aspects of the CSDP, but explain its civil dimension as well as only little progress in the CSDP in relation to economic spheres and coexistence of different security institutions. Liberal intergovernmentalism, equally with neofunctionalism, is focused on delegation of authority and doesnt account for the CSDP, but helps to understand the change of positions at intergovernmental negotiations. Historical institutionalism interprets the CSDP as a result of historical development of the European security institutions as well as causes of European foreign policy change, but doesnt take procedural and system factors into account. Social constructivism explains the CSDP via Europeanization of the foreign policies of member states, as well as its failures via multiplicity of national identities. Author comes to a conclusion that no one of the reviewed theories can completely explain the phenomenon of the CSDP, however everyone can be used to explain some aspects of the CSDP and partly its logic. Therefore a convincing CSDP study needs an approach integrating their strong points into an analytical model corresponding to its subject matter.

Because the quickest, simplest way for a financial institution to increase its profitability is to increase its leverage, an enduring tension will exist between regulators and systemically significant financial institutions over the issues of risk and leverage. Many have suggested that the 2008 financial crisis erupted because flawed systems of executive compensation induced financial institutions to increase leverage and accept undue risk. But that begs the question why such compensation formulas were adopted. Growing evidence suggests that shareholders favored these formulas to induce managers to accept higher risk and leverage. Shareholder pressure, then, is a factor that could cause the failure of a systemically significant financial institution. What then can be done to prevent future such failures? The Dodd- Frank Act invests heavily in preventive control and regulatory oversight, but this Article argues that the political economy of financial regulation ensures that there will be an eventual relaxation of regulatory oversight (the regulatory sine curve). Moreover, the Dodd-Frank Act significantly reduces the ability of financial regulators to effect a bailout of a distressed financial institution and largely compels them to subject such an institution to a forced receivership and liquidation under the auspices of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. But the political will to impose such a liquidation remains in doubt, both in the United States and in Europe. If bailouts are to be ended, something must replace them, beyond relying on the wisdom of regulators. Because financial institutions are inherently fragile and liquidity crises predictable, this Article proposes a "bail-in" alternative: namely, a system of "contingent capital" under which, at predefined points, a significant percentage of a major financial institution's debt securities would convert into an equity security. However, unlike earlier proposals for contingent capital, the conversion would be on a gradual, incremental basis, and the debt would convert to a senior, nonconvertible preferred stock with cumulative dividends and voting rights. The intent of this design is (1) to dilute the equity in a manner that deters excessive risk taking, (2) to create a class of voting preferred shareholders who would be rationally risk averse and would resist common shareholder pressure for increased leverage and risk taking, and (3) to avoid an "all or nothing" transition, which may evoke political resistance and bureaucratic indecision, by instead structuring a more incremental change. More generally, in the belief that reliance on enhanced agency oversight will likely produce an ad hoc and politically contingent system of regulation (and thus significant disparities in treatment), this Article recommends, as a supplementary strategy, the use of objective market-based benchmarks that are embedded in the financial institution's corporate governance. It argues that such controls are less subject to political exigencies and more able to provide the economic shock absorber and loss absorbency that an effective response to systemic risk requires.

In a global economic context where the WTO is losing momentum, nations experiment all sorts of agreements which are likely to help them implement their international integration strategies: bilateral, strategic, regional, cooperation, association agreements, etc. It results in a competition between the United States and the European Union to win the most important market in Latin America, Mercosur, which now enjoys a favourable context and can choose its partners. Since the Free TradeArea of the Americas project was rejected, the game of seduction benefits Europe for it has offered a more complete project including cooperation for development, a deeper political dialogue and a free trade area. Furthermore,the negotiations opened in 1999 with a view to getting to a so-called "association" agreement between the two regional integration systems, symbolise the emergence of a new concept: "interregionalism"Why were those 12 years of negotiation notsufficient to reach a consensus on the terms ofthe association?The complexity of the files, the number ofcountries involved, the agricultural issue andthe lack of consulting from the private sectorare all clues to be taken into consideration.The interest of this research lies in theperspective given by political and economicstakeholders from the two regions. Meetingthem and analysing their speeches helped meshow that the private sector has not beendirectly consulted at all during thenegotiations. In addition, the economicstakeholders have expressed their will to bepart of the process. The private sector alsocalled out the Universities, reminding the rolethey can play in the evolution of therelationship between the two regions. ; Tandis que l'OMC éprouve des difficultés à réglementer le commerce, les nations expérimentent tous types d'accordssusceptibles de favoriser leur stratégie d'insertion internationale : bilatéraux, stratégiques, régionaux, de coopération,d'association, etc. Les États-unis et l'Union européenne sont en concurrence face au plus important marchélatino-américain, le Mercosud, lequel bénéficie désormais d'un contexte favorable l'autorisant à choisir ses partenaires. Depuis le rejet du projet de ZLEA, le jeu de séduction tourne à l'avantage de l'Europe qui a su proposer un projet plus complet incluant la coopération pour le développement, l'approfondissement du dialogue politique et la libéralisation deséchanges. L'ouverture de négociations en 1999 en vue de parvenir à un accord, dit d'association, entre les deux systèmesd'intégration régionale, symbolise l'apparition d'un concept nouveau : l'« interrégionalisme»Pourquoi 12 années de négociations n'ont-ellespas été suffisantes pour parvenir à unconsensus sur les termes de l'association ?L'acuité des dossiers, le nombre de paysimpliqués, le « noeud agricole, l'absence deconsultation du secteur privé, sont autantd'éléments à prendre en considération. Cetravail synthétise un processus de négociationcomplexe et présente la particularité d'inclurele secteur privé. En partant à la rencontre, desacteurs politiques et économiques, des deuxrégions, on observe que le secteur privén'occupe pas la place qui lui revient de droitdans ce projet. Il ne manque pas de le rappelerici et, ce faisant, interpelle l'Université sur lerôle qu'elle a à jouer dans l'évolution desrelations entre l'Europe et le Mercosud

Between 1944 and 1989, the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) took several steps in order to transform the Romanian women into political actors. The first direction of action was the creation of a communist women mass organization whose name and structure changed several times: the Union of Antifascist Women of Romania, the Union of Democratic Women of Romania, the Women National Council. The role of this mass organization was to attract the feminine population to the major projects of PCR: gain of power, collectivization of agriculture, a better promotion for women in all spheres of public life, the demographic project during Nicolae Ceausescu's regime, the administration of public goods and services. In second place, the PCR, according to the Marxist-Leninist doctrine, taking as model the USSR, PCR introduced a so-called egalitarian legislation. In order to apply these principles to the Romanian society, the communist propaganda encouraged women to join the paid working force. The women presence within the PCR was one of the lowest of all the communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In the mid-1970s the Nicolae Ceausescu' regime introduced the principle of quotas for women representation, as members and candidates, in all party structures. The result was an increase in the percentage of women in the party up to 36% at the fall of the Romanian communism regime. With regard to the positions of authority, except a small group surrounding Elena Ceausescu, the feminine participation remained modest. ; Dans l'intervalle 1944 -1989, le Parti Communiste Roumain (PCR) a pris plusieurs mesures pour transformer les femmes roumaines en acteurs politiques. La première direction d'action a été la création d'une organisation féminine de masse dont le nom et la structure ont changé plusieurs fois: l'Union des Femmes Antifascistes de Roumanie, l'Union des Femmes Démocrates de Roumanie; le Conseil National des Femmes. Le rôle de l'organisation féminine de masse a été d'attirer la population féminine vers les principaux projets du PCR: la prise du pouvoir, la collectivisation de l'agriculture, une meilleure promotion des femmes dans tous les domaines de la vie publique, le projet démographique du régime Nicolae Ceausescu, l'administration des biens et services publics. En seconde place, le PCR, selon à la doctrine marxiste-léniniste, ayant comme modèle l'URSS, a mis en place une législation dite égalitaire. Pour que les principes juridiques deviennent réalité, la propagande communiste demandait aux femmes d'entrer dans une activité salariée. En la présence féminine dans le PCR restait une des plus basses de tous les pays communistes de l'Europe Centrale et de l'Est. C'est au milieu des années 1970 que le régime Nicolae Ceausescu introduisit le principe des quotas pour la présence féminine dans les organes dirigeants du parti mais aussi pour le nombre total des candidats. La conséquence a été l'augmentation du pourcentage des femmes dans le parti jusqu'à 36% au moment de la chute du régime communiste. En ce qui concerne les positions d'autorité, sauf un groupe restreint qui entourait Elena Ceausescu, la participation féminine est restée basse.

The comparative analysis allows a better understanding of the evolution of Public Economic Law in France, Russia and in the European Union. The First Part of the study is devoted to Public Economic Law in France with its base principles and main concepts, sources and categories as the elements characterizing independence of Public Economic Law. The Second Part contains the analysis of Russian Public law in the economic sphere, because in Russia the academic discipline "Public Economic Law" is absent. A complex mix of concepts before Revolution and Soviet concepts in new Russia has influenced the globalization and European Law, however, has not led to the maintenance of Public Economic Law in Russia. Questions of a public regulation of economic relations are disseminated between various branches of Russian law. The Third Part focuses on estimations of the general tendencies in Public Economic Law under the influence of internal and external factors (the globalization, the European integration, economic policy, etc.). The policy of the European Union of reforms of the State administration has caused the moving to governance and regulation. Now that the competition is visible in the economy, concepts of public services and public contracts have seriously changed. Some new approaches of reforming the economic administration enter Russia with the Council of Europe. All these new tendencies change the maintenance of Administrative Law and Public Economic Law, which results in their further development. ; L'analyse comparative permet de mieux comprendre l'évolution du droit public économique en France, en Russie et dans l'Union européenne. La Première partie de l'étude est consacrée au droit public économique en France avec ses principes de base et concepts, sources et catégories principaux en tant qu'éléments caractérisant l'autonomie du droit public économique. La Deuxième partie contient l'analyse du droit public russe dans le domaine économique, puisque en Russie «le droit public économique» comme discipline académique est absent. Ni le mélange complexe des conceptions prérévolutionnaires et soviétiques dans le droit de la nouvelle Russie, ni l'influence de la mondialisation et du droit européen n'ont pas amené à l'affirmation du droit public économique en Russie. Les questions de la réglementation publique des relations économiques sont dispersées entre les différentes branches du droit russe. La Troisième partie concerne l'appréciation des tendances générales dans le droit public économique sous l'influence des facteurs intérieurs et extérieurs. La politique de l'Union européenne de réforme de l'administration d'État a conditionné le passage à la gouvernance et à la régulation. Actuellement, c'est la concurrence qui commence à jouer un rôle principal dans l'économie, les conceptions du service public et des contrats publics ont radicalement changé. De nouvelles approches de la réforme de l'administration économique pénètrent en Russie par le biais du Conseil de l'Europe. Toutes ces nouvelles tendances changent le contenu du droit administratif et du droit public économique, ce qui conditionne leur développement ultérieur.

During the 1990s American leaders and many others in the West viewed Russia as the most important test case for a transition to democracy. Today the consensus of scholarly analyses in the West concludes that, if Russia did enter a transition to democracy, that transition was not successful. This article attempts to suggest some of the main lessons about democratization that may be derived from the study of the experience of post-communist Russia, seen in a comparative perspective.The thesis that the first competitive national election after the downfall of an authoritarian regime marks a decisive breakthrough for forces striving for democratization has not proved true for Russia. Yet the withering of democracy and the consolidation of a semi-authoritarian regime followed the period of competitive elections in Russia.In the early and mid-1990s scholars who had specialized in the study of communist regimes warned that the post-communist states would need to carry out radical economic and social changes as well as sweeping political transformation. In Russia, however, the consequences of a corrupted process of privatization of state assets were enormously damaging for the institutionalization of democracy.As was shown in a number of countries in the 1970s and 1980s, a strong civil society can play an important role in a nation's transition to democracy. The barriers to the development of civil society within the Soviet system and the conditions causing weakness in social organizations in post-communist Russia made it easier for members of the elite to subvert reform and guaranteed that there would be fewer restraints on the tendency toward more authoritarian control after 2000.Among post-communist nations, those in which a consensus of most segments of the elite and the public was committed to a radical break with the old system have been much more successful in carrying out marketization and democratization. The combination of historical conditions that had created a strong anti-communist consensus in most of Eastern Europe had not taken shape in Russia. The absence of a fusion of democratization and national liberation in Russia explained the lack of a clear national consensus in favor of political and economic transformation.One of the main lessons from the course of events in Russia from the early 1990s to the present is that change away from one form of authoritarian rule, which usually has been labeled as a transition to democracy, is not irreversible. Some democratic transitions may prove to be shallow, and the changes in post-communist Russia have provided a good example of a shallow transition. The scholarly literature on transitions to democracy that appeared after the early 1980s departed from earlier writings' emphasis on the growth of social, economic, and cultural conditions for the institutionalization of democracy in the political system. The experience of Russia may encourage us to return to the study of the long-term trends facilitating or inhibiting the growth of democratic institutions.

La Constitución española consagra el derecho a ser juzgado sin
dilaciones indebidas, como derecho fundamental, en consonancia con la referencia
al «plazo razonable» del artículo 6.1 del CEDH. Ante la endémica lentitud de la
justicia, no es infrecuente la lesión del derecho referido, lesión que abre paso a
la indemnización estatal como reparación simbólica. No obstante, como advierte
el Consejo de Europa, esta reparación no estimula a la superación de los males
del sistema de justicia. En el ámbito penal, la jurisprudencia española ha consolidado
en la última década una reparación en «especie», a través de la atenuación
de la pena. Pero la indeterminación temporal del «plazo razonable», por un lado,
y por otro, las concretas reglas de individualización de la sanción del Código Penal,
conducen a resultados poco equitativos. El presente trabajo documenta los
aspectos de esta problemática, subrayando las contradicciones de la fundamentación
de la atenuante, y propugna la procedencia de una diversificación de los
«remedios».
Espainiar Konstituzioak bidegabeko atzerapenik gabe epaitua
izateko eskubidea oinarrizko eskubide bezala jasotzen du, Giza Eskubideen
Europako Hitzarmeneko 6. artikuluak epe arrazionalari egiten dion aipamenarekin
bat etorriz. Justiziaren moteltasun endemikoaren aurrean, Estatuaren kalte-
ordainak kalte konponketa sinboliko moduan jarduten du aipatu eskubidea
urratzen denean. Hala ere, Europear Kontseiluak ohartaratzen duen bezala, kalte-
konponketa honek ez du Justizia sistemaren gaitzen gainditzea sustatzen. Zuzenbide
penalaren baitan, espainiar jurisprudentziak zigorra arintzearen bitartez
«gauzazko» kalte-konponketa bat finkatu du azken hamarkadan. Dena den, «epe
arrazionalaren» denbora zehazgabetasunak eta zigor kodeko zigorra zehazteko
arau konkretuek oso bidezkoak ez diren emaitzetara eramaten dute. Lan honek
problematika honen alderdi batzuk dokumentatzen ditu, aringarriaren funtsaren
inguruko kontraesanak azpimarratuz eta irtenbideak dibertsifikatzearen alde eginez.
The Spanish ¨Constitution establishes the right to a public
hearing without unjustified delays as a fundamental right, in consonance to the
requirement of a «public hearing within a reasonable time» in ECHR art. 6.1. In
view of the endemic slow pace of justice, the state economic compensation works
as a symbolic redressing when the above mentioned right has been impaired.
However, as the Council of Europe suggests, this economic compensation does
not motivate the overcoming of the wrongs in the judicial system. In criminal
proceedings the Spanish case law has consolidated in the last decade a form of
compensation in sentencing, by means of a mitigation of the penalty. Nonetheless, both the temporal indeterminacy of the term «reasonable time» and the concrete
sentencing rules of the Penal Code gives way to un fair results. The present work
documents aspects of this issue, underlining contradictions in the grounding of
mitigation; it also proposes a diversification of possible solutions.

ABSTRACTZentraler Untersuchungsgegenstand dieser Diplomarbeit sind die vom Komitee zur Verhütung von Folter und unmenschlicher oder erniedrigender Behandlung oder Strafe (CPT) entwickelten Standards zum Schutz gegen die Misshandlung von Personen in Polizeigewahrsam sowie deren Umsetzung in den drei ausgewählten südosteuropäischen Staaten Kroatien, Serbien und Slowenien. Zunächst wird dem Leser in einem allgemeinen Kapitel ein Überblick zur Thematik gegeben. Dabei werden vorrangig Funktion und Bedeutung des CPT im Zusammenhang mit dem zentralen Thema der Bekämpfung von Folter in Europa beschrieben. Der Fokus wird hierbei auf die vom Komitee entwickelten Standards, deren Bedeutung sowie die Frage ihrer Rechtsverbindlichkeit gesetzt.In weiterer Folge werden die vom CPT entwickelten Standards zum Schutz gegen Misshandlungen von Personen in Polizeigewahrsam (Benachrichtigung einer dritten Person über die Inhaftierung, Recht auf einen Rechtsanwalt, Recht auf einen Arzt, Aufklärung über die Rechte) näher erläutert. Ebenso wird erörtert, welche Maßnahmen das CPT selbst als Teil dieser grundlegenden Garantien erachtet.Anschließend wird der formelle Dialog zwischen den ausgewählten Staaten und dem CPT dargestellt.Zudem erfolgt eine Analyse der Umsetzung der Standards ?Schutzvorkehrungen gegen die Misshandlung von Personen in Polizeigewahrsam? in den betreffenden Staaten. Anhand der veröffentlichten Besuchsberichte des CPT sowie der darauffolgenden Antworten der Staaten wird aufgezeigt, inwieweit sich diese Schutzvorkehrungen mit Hilfe der Empfehlungen des CPT weiterentwickelt haben und die Gesamtsituation diesbezüglich in den betroffenen Staaten verbessert wurde.Abschließend wird durch einen Vergleich der betreffenden drei Staaten zusammenfassend dargelegt, inwieweit die Tätigkeit des CPT eine legistische sowie praktische Fortentwicklung der grundlegenden Schutzvorkehrungen gegen die Misshandlung von Personen in Polizeigewahrsam in dieser Region bewirkt hat. ; ABSTRACTThe purpose of this diploma thesis is to investigate the standards developed by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) for the prevention of ill-treatment of persons in police custody, as well as their implementation in the three South East European States chosen: Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia.The aim of the first chapter is to offer the reader a broad idea of the function and impact of the CPT in the area of combating torture in Europe. Special emphasis in this connection is placed on all the developed CPT-standards, their importance, as well as the question of their legal obligation.In further consequence the thesis contains a chapter, which focuses on the standards developed by the CPT to prevent ill-treatment of persons in police custody (notification of custody, access to a lawyer, access to a doctor, information on rights). It includes a detailed explanation of these standards and makes reference to the measures that, according to CPT?s view, form part of these fundamental safeguards.Further the formal dialogue between the chosen states and the CPT will be described.Subsequently the main chapter contains an analysis of the implementation of the CPT-standards ?safeguards against the ill-treatment of persons in police custody? in the chosen states. By reference to the published reports of the CPT, as well as the state responses, the chapter will demonstrate to what extent these fundamental safeguards developed by means of the recommendations made by the CPT. It will also show how far the general situation in the states improved, related to this subject of concern.Finally to sum up, a comparison of the chosen states related to the fundamental safeguards against the ill-treatment of persons in police custody shows to which extent the CPT?s function helped to improve the legislative, as well as the practical situation in the chosen states relating to these safeguards. ; eingereicht von Martina Rajić ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers ; Graz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2010 ; (VLID)207343

Der biometrische Reisepass und dessen Vereinbarkeit mit den Grundrechten der österreichischen RechtsordnungDurch die Veordnung der (EG) Nr. 2252/2004 normierte der europäische Gesetzgeber neue Sicherheitsnormen für Reisedokumente und Pässe in den Mitgliedstaaten.Das Telos dieser Verordnung bestand darin, die Fälschung und die Verfälschung von Reisedokumenten und Pässen europaweit zu unterbinden: Die Geburtsstunde des biometrischen Reisepasses. Es bedurfte folglich einer technischen Umsetzung dieser Sicherheitsnormen. Das Verständnis dieser technischen Abläufe ist Vorraussetzung, um den Umfang und die Tragweite der Einführung von biometrischen Reisepässen zu erkennen. Gleich zu Beginn dieser Arbeit gilt es daher darzustellen in welcher Form biometrische Daten technisch erfasst werden und auf welche Art und Weise eine Verifikation und Überprüfung der vorhanden Daten erfolgt. Auf diesem technischen Wissen aufbauend wird in einem nächsten Schritt inhaltlich die Veordnung der (EG) Nr. 2252/2004 sowie die Abänderungsverordnung der (EG) Nr. 444/2009 ausführlich geprüft. Der österreichische Gesetzgeber reagierte legislativ auf diese Verordnung, indem er das Passgesetz 1992 renovellierte. Entsprechende inhaltliche Änderungen werden anhand der einzelnen Paragraphen des Passgesetzes 1992 systematisch dargestellt.Inwieweit durch die Renovellierung des Passgesetztes 1992 die Rechte des Einzelnen tangiert und betroffen sind, wird in einer abschließenden Grundrechtsprüfung ausgeführt. Dabei wird das Grundrecht auf Datenschutz gemäß § 1 DSG , auf Achtung des Privat und Familienlebens gemäß Art 8 EMRK und letzlich das Grundrecht auf Freizügigkeit gemäß § 4 StGG geprüft. Berücksichtigt wird punktuell eine rechtsvergleichende Sicht in die deutsche Rechtsordnung. Ebenso die Stellungnahmen des Österreichischen Datenschutzrates. ; The biometric passport and its compatibility with the fundamental rights of the Austrian legal systemThrough Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004, the European legislator has standardized new security features for travel documents and passports issued by Member States. The aim of this Regulation was to prevent forgery and falsification of travel documents and passports all over Europe: the birth of the biometric passport. Hence, these security features had to be technically implemented. The understanding of these technical processes is a precondition in order to realize the extent and consequences of the introduction of the biometric passports. Therefore it is necessary to present, right from the beginning of this paper, the way in which biometrical data are technically collected and the way in which the existing data are verified and checked. Following this technical knowledge, the next step is to thoroughly scrutinize the contents of Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 as well as of the amending Regulation (EC) No 444/2009. The Austrian legislator reacted legislatively to this Regulation by revising the Passport Law 1992. The changes made to the content are systematically described based on the individual articles of the Passport Law 1992. A final examination of the fundamental rights will explain to what extent the individual rights are affected by the revision of the Passport Law 1992. At the same time, the fundamental right to data protection based on Art. 1 DSG (Data Protection Law), to respect of private and family life based on Art. 8 ECHR and finally the fundamental right to free movement based on art. 4 StGG (Constitutional Court Law) are examined. A comparative perspective will be given selectively on the German legal system as well as the opinion of the Austrian Data Protection Council. ; von: Michael Ferdinand Hollerer ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers ; Graz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2010 ; (VLID)213021

Due to the Reform and Open Door Policies initiated in 1978, China recorded a fast sustainable economic growth with an estimated average GDP growth rate of 9.7% in the period of 1980-2008, turning China-- in 2009 - into the world's second largest economy, just after USA. With an export oriented economic model, highly supported by FDI, mostly from developed countries, China is, since 2002, the most attractive developing country for FDI flows, both at short and long terms, becoming not only the world's factory, but also its number one exporter, after surpassing Germany in 2009. With the biggest current account surplus balance, China has been able to achieve a foreign exchange reserve of US$ 2.2 trillion -- the world's largest reserve currency. Around 50% of this huge reserve is being applied in American bonds, while the remaining supports Chinese health and social security systems, Chinese banks' solvability, internationalization of the Chinese economy, investment in geostrategic positioning to guarantee energy independence and making foreign aid available to other developing countries. During 2008's global crisis, China was able to resist better than the major world economies even benefitting from this downturn to implement policies to reduce its economic imbalances. One of these imbalances is the gap between Chinese FDI and OFDI which is now progressively narrowing. In fact, in the near future, OFDI is expected even be larger than FDI. Mostly two types of Chinese OFDI can be distinguished: trade-oriented investment and resource-seeking investment. Governmental backing, including official developments assistance (ODA) has been crucial for the resource-seeking investment. Although the Chinese investment is nowadays more oriented to mature economies, its bulk is mainly directed to the other developing countries mainly to Latin American countries and now also to African countries. Following the Beijing Consensus, Chinese planners are pushing partnerships with African countries and within those, the Chinese government identified one strategic group worth to cooperate and invest, the Portuguese Speaking African Countries which are linked through a network of language and culture between themselves and also to other geostrategic economic spaces; to Europe via Portugal, to Latin America via Brazil and to Asia via Macau. These African countries have high expectations on the Chinese cooperation and our research questions are. (a) Should this investment be consider ODA or OFDI; (b) How far can Chinese finance flows contribute to the development of these countries in terms of employment, exports, technology transfer; (c) is this investment seen as an opportunity or a threat by local people, is it fulfilling the created expectations or not? In this paper our empirical case is researching the perception of Mozambique government on the ODA and OFDI Chinese investment there, and the conclusions were reached by analyzing the Mozambique government high officials opinions publically expressed or resulting from their answers to media inquires. We also will try to find secondary data with information on the perception of the population on China presence in Mozambique through secondary data.

My paper describes the changes in the focus of my PhD research; from a vague intention to investigate the learning benefits of organising student learning around learning outcomes to a more critical approach investigating the influence of learning outcomes on a learning culture.The research is a form of praxis related enquiry, and concerns a Swedish university level teacher training course for prospective English language teachers, for which I am the course co-ordinator.From July 2007 all higher education degrees in Sweden, as well as in the rest of Europe, have to be expressed through so-called learning outcomes. The introduction of learning outcomes into higher education are a key part of the 1999 Bologna declaration, that emphasises the need to express the knowledge, understanding, competences and other attributes contained within courses and their components. The course concerned was organised around student learning outcomes from the beginning of 2008.The paper outlines my own learning and understanding of the research process and learning culture; from a technical rational approach of trying to "prove" that improvements in student learning had occurred, to a second stage of trying to open up the research process to other stakeholders and then to an understanding of why this "democratisation " process had only a limited success. The final research stage involves a more critical understanding of theintroduction of student learning outcomes when put into the context of the complexities of the local (and global) learning culture. James and Biesta describe learning cultures as the social practices through which people learn, and the combination of the theory of learning cultures and the cultural theory of learning necessitates a different approach towards the improvement of teaching and learning, one which focuses on changing the culture rather than on only one element of it. This involves interpreting the interplay between teaching, teachers, learning, learners, learning situations and wider historical economic social and political influences.While I have only just begun to analyse my data, initial reflections suggest that the introduction of student learning outcomes has only had a limited influence on the local learning culture. Whilst there has been a positive influence on synergy (increasing cooperation and openness between teachers, and also between teachers and learners ) this has had only a limited influence on practice. Other aspects of the learning culture have not been greatly improved. As far as learning opportunities are concerned ( what is allowed, disallowed, encouraged or discouraged in the name of learning) there still exists a culture where examinations tasks tend to encourage the transmission of factual knowledge . Students have very few opportunities to express a critical voice, there has been only a very limited move towards increasing student levels of empowerment; with little or no flexibility for students to decide on the method and content of their studies.

Defence date: 7 June 2010 ; Awarded the François Mény Prize for the Best Comparative Study of Political Institutions, 2011 ; Examining Board: David Farrell (UCD), Mark Franklin (EUI), Adrienne Héritier (EUI/RSCAS) (Supervisor), Simon Hix (LSE) ; Awarded the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) Prize for Best Dissertation in EU studies: the thesis marks a substantial contribution not only to the literature on parliaments in general and the European Parliament in particular, but also to the understanding of the democratic deficit in Europe and how it might be tackled. ; First made available online: 27 August 2021 ; The European Parliament (EP) now acts as an equal co-legislator with the Council of Ministers in adopting many policies that affect 500 million European citizens on a daily basis. However, the parliamentary legislative organisation is under-researched despite its profound consequences for EU policies and policy-making. Addressing this gap, this thesis studies the internal setup and legislative impact of the EP committees. Drawing on congressional literature, I confront distributive, informational and partisan theoretical approaches to answer the research questions of this project, namely whether and why the EP committees and their legislative output are dominated by preference-outlying legislators with special interests, experts serving the informational needs of the plenary, or loyal members of the working majority party group (coalition). Statistical analyses of committee assignments, allocation of legislative tasks, and adoption of committee reports in plenary are conducted using data on the 6th European Parliament (2004-2009). They are complemented with evidence from semi-structured interviews. The results show that legislators' special interests and expertise account for the formally regulated assignment to committees depending on the predominant character of their legislative output (distributive or regulatory). In contrast, party group affiliation and loyalty shape the allocation of important legislative tasks in committees, owing to the informal allocation process. Furthermore, committee reports are more successful on the floor if drafted by rapporteurs from the working majority party group - perhaps a natural consequence of the EP open amendment rule. Thus, the parliamentary legislative output is ultimately controlled by the working majority party group and not committees. The congressional rationales fail to account for committees' legislative influence when an informal early agreement is reached with the Council of Ministers. This occurs increasingly often, rendering decision-making in committees largely obsolete. The observed regularities are used to advance the literature on legislative organisation by identifying conditions under which each of the main congressional rationales can explain committee setup and influence, namely: 1) the policy areas a committee covers; 2) the parliamentary rules regulating committee-party and committee-plenary relationships; and 3) the balance of power and mode of negotiation between the legislative chambers. More substantively, the EP committees are not conducive for pursuing particularistic policies. Instead, they promote left-right party politics. This has important implications for EU legislative politics, interest representation, legitimacy, and more generally the EU democratic deficit.

Region basenu Morza Śródziemnego odgrywa ważną rolę w tworzeniu współczesnej architektury bezpieczeństwa europejskiego. Stabilność Europy wymaga podejmowania działań w skali globalnej, które nie są ograniczone do jednego kontynentu. Wzdłuż Morza Śródziemnego przebiega widoczna granica pomiędzy krajami położonymi na południowym i wschodnim jego wybrzeżu, nękanymi wieloma wewnętrznymi konfl iktami i pozostającymi na niskim poziomie rozwoju gospodarczego, a bogatym północnym wybrzeżem. Ogromne zróżnicowanie tego obszaru ma wpływ na przyszłość nie tylko krajów położonych w jego sąsiedztwie, ale i całego świata. Niniejszy artykuł przedstawia zagrożenia, z którymi mierzy się Europa w związku z bliskością regionu śródziemnomorskiego. Wynikają one przede wszystkim z dysproporcji ekonomicznych, stagnacji gospodarczej, ciągle rosnącego bezrobocia, problemów demografi cznych i nielegalnej migracji. Kraje regionu borykają się także ze wzrostem przestępczości zorganizowanej, niestabilnością polityczną, terroryzmem i konfl iktami o charakterze lokalnym. Najbardziej niepokojący jest fakt, że trwający od ponad pół wieku konfl ikt izraelsko-arabski pozostaje nierozwiązany. Autorka w artykule dokona także oceny dotychczasowych inicjatyw europejskich w zakresie stabilizacji regionu Morza Śródziemnego. ; Mediterranean region play the important role in create structures of present European security. European stability demand taking actions in global scale which are not limited to the one continent. Across the Mediterranean sea is the border between the countries lies on south and west seaside, disturbed by many inner confl icts and stay on the low economic position and the rich north area. Big diversity this spaces infl uence the futures not only countries its neighborhood but the whole world. This article present threats which Europe measure with due to Mediterranean region proximity. This threats are connected with economical disparity and stagnation, rising unemployment, demographical problems and illegal migrations. countries of the region face the increase of organized crime, political instability, terrorism and local confl icts. The more warring fact is lasting trough the half of century not resolved Israeli-Arab confl ict. Author in the article make the estimate of the last European initiatives in sphere Mediterranean region stabilization. ; Регион бассейна Средиземного моря играет большую роль в создании совре- менной архитектуры европейской безопасности. Стабильность Европы требует действий в глобальном масштабе, не ограниченной одним континентом. Вдоль Средиземного моря проходит четкая граница между государствами располо- женными на его южных и восточных берегах, характеризующихся постоянны- ми внутренними конфликтами, низким уровнем экономического развития и бо- гатыми странами северного побережья. Огромное расслоение развития этого региона имеет влияние на будущее не только соседствующих государств, но и всего мира. В статье указаны угрозы, которым подвержена Европа, в связи с близостью средиземноморского региона. Прежде всего, эти угрозы являются следствием экономических диспропорций, экономической стагнации, постоян- но растущей безработицы, демографических проблем и нелегальной миграции. Страны региона борются также с ростом организованной преступности, полити- ческой нестабильностью, терроризмом и местными конфликтами. Беспокойство вызывает факт, что продолжающийся в регионе более полувека израильско- арабский конфликт все еще остается нерешенным. В статье дано также оценку предпринятых до сих пор европейских инициатив касающихся стабилизации региона Средиземного моря.

Öffentliche Fahrradverleihsysteme haben Konjunktur: Mehrere große Systeme wurden in den letzten Jahren in europäischen Großstädten aufgebaut (u.a. Paris und Barcelona) – in Deutschland bisher jedoch nicht in vergleichbarem Umfang. Um auch den Aufbau von Fahrradverleihsystemen in Deutschland voranzubringen, richtete das Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung (BMVBS) 2009 einen Wettbewerb um innovative, mit dem ÖPNV verknüpfte Fahrradleihsysteme aus. Das BMVBS versuchte damit erstmals, in dem traditionsreichen, stark verregelten und politisch hoch aufgeladenen ÖPNV-Umfeld angebotsseitige Innovationen mit finanziellen Anreizen zu generieren. Dieser Wettbewerb erfreute sich einer regen Teilnahme von 44 Städten und Regionen. Jedoch gab es auch Städte, die trotz großen Interesses am Wettbewerb und intensiver Vorarbeit keine Projektvorschläge einreichten. Diesen Nichtteilnehmern und den Hemmnissen, die von ihnen als entscheidend für den Rückzug aus dem Verfahren wahrgenommen wurden, gilt diese Studie. Die Analyse zeigt vielfältige Argumente auf, sich gegen eine Teilnahme am Wettbewerb zu entscheiden: Genannt werden u.a. ein zu enger Zeitrahmen für die Erstellung eines soliden Antrags, zeitlich zu aufwändige Verfahren der politischen Beschlussfassung, eine politisch ungelöste Finanzierung der Implementations- und Betriebskosten des zukünftigen Fahrradverleihsystems, verwaltungsinterne Konflikte um den erforderlichen Bedarf an öffentlichen Flächen für ein Stationssystem. Die parallele Untersuchung von Gewinnern des Wettbewerbs offenbart gleichwohl, dass auch sie vor diesen Schwierigkeiten standen, sich aber trotzdem für eine Beteiligung entschieden. Die Untersuchung zeigt außerdem, dass öffentliche Fahrradverleihsysteme mit Innovationshemmnissen auf mehreren Ebenen zu kämpfen haben. Nicht zuletzt ist es die Organisation des ÖV selbst, die die Aufnahme neuer innovativer Bausteine in die Angebotspalette so kompliziert macht. Komplementär zur Zersplitterung des ÖV in unzählige Verbünde und Unternehmen mit eigenen Zielen, Strategien und Strukturen stellt sich – weniger für die einzelnen Teilnehmer als für das BMBVS, dessen Ziel ein möglichst bundeseinheitliches, übertragbares System sein muss – die bundesdeutsche föderale Struktur als Implementationsproblem dar. In diesem Sinne handelte es sich um einen höchst voraussetzungsvollen Wettbewerb, bei dem auch viele Gewinner in der Umsetzungsphase vor technischen, organisatorischen oder administrativen Herausforderungen stehen. ; Judging from their growth in number and size throughout Europe, public bicycle rentals have become increasingly popular in recent years. To support this development – and thereby acknowledging that Germany is somewhat lagging behind – the German Federal Ministry of Transport offered ten million Euros as prize money in a competition for innovative bike rental schemes. The aim was to induce German cities to draw up plans for bicycle rental systems, which would integrate rented bikes into traditional public transport. 44 cities and regions participated in the contest. Nevertheless, in spite of having reached an advanced planning stage, there were also a number of cities, which did not hand in project proposals. The discussion paper investigates the arguments which were made for this withdrawal from the competition. Interviews held in three of these cities revealed a number of significant arguments, from time pressure, over administrative hurdles to practical concerns. To test these reasons we also interviewed members of a control group consisting of winners of the competition in three cities. We found that the cities in this second group had faced similar obstacles – they had merely decided to go ahead with the project in spite of them and without fully solving the problems at that stage. The comparison of winners and non-participants leads us to conclude that the integration of public bicycle rental systems into traditional public transport generally faces obstacles on several levels, not the least of which is the lack of support of public transport companies and associations, German public transport being notoriously change resistant. Our analysis suggests that integrated bicycle rental systems are a very sophisticated instrument of transport policy, and therefore can challenge policy makers and administrators alike.

International audience ; The brutal collapse of the Late Bronze Age western world-system around 1200 B.C. and of the Shang state in China at the end of the first millennium B.C. led to a period of political fragmentation and then to a new phase of integration in the two regions. The renewed growth of networks and states was furthered by crucial technological and institutional innovations (development of iron metallurgy, agricultural progress, diffusion of alphabets, organizing of provinces or satrapies, creation of stamped money.). Innovations were also ideological, with the appearance of universal religions in the crucial period of the 6th century B.C. In China, intense competition between emerging powers (Warring States) led to the ascendancy of the Qin state in the 3rd century B.C. The different empires which built up in Western Asia were clearly aimed at controlling spaces and peoples between the Mediterranean and the Persian gulf, also pushing towards Arabia and Egypt on one side, and towards the Indus and Central Asia on the other. It could be argued that the urban blossoming in Central Asia in the 7th and 6th centuries B. C. and the thrust of the Persian empire towards this region and the Indus valley marked the formation of a single system uniting the spheres of western Asia-Egypt-the Mediterranean and northern India. For the former, it is possible to distinguish phases of limited demise and of restructuring during the second part of the 9th century, during the second part of the 7th century, at the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th century (the demise of Greece), and then a major phase of recession (for the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cores) and of restructuring between 200 and 50 B.C. Some of these recessions were partly initiated by climatic deteriorations - on a limited scale - around 800 and 200 B.C., which can be seen as part of a systemic logic. If we look at the trajectories of each region, we clearly see, first that not all of them followed the same rhythm, and secondly that some regions were directly affected (negatively or positively) by the expansion of dominant cores. The evolutions between the 3rd and the 1st century B.C. represent a decisive step towards an integration of the Mediterranean-western Asian, Indian and Chinese spheres. The unification of a large part of India under the Mauryas, together with the fast spread of Buddhism, the increasing integration of western Asia, and the unification of China (Qin and Han empires) made possible the opening of land routes across Central Asia and maritime routes in the China Sea and the Indian Ocean. They foreshadow the turning period of the 1st century A.D., when the rise of exchange networks led to an interdependence of the various parts of an area that can be considered as a single world-system stretching from eastern Asia to Europe and Africa.