Suchergebnisse

This paper looks at conceptual approaches to digital sovereignty from an international political economy perspective, focusing on the state level. We consider the implications of the rise of the data economy and analyze different economic policy approaches to restoring and preserving Europe's digital sovereignty from market liberal and industrial policy perspectives. We conclude that networked sovereignty can optimally be attained by supporting the emergence and success of homegrown technology companies in a globalized data economy. Digital sovereignty can best be achieved by policy makers using a mix of market liberal and more proactive industrial policy instruments. The liberal focus on framework conditions is useful in refocusing policy makers' efforts on deepening the EU single market, while the industrial policy approach can be a suitable way of funding pilot projects in early-stage technology areas in partnership with industry and setting rules for newly emerging markets. State action is also necessary to avoid monopolies.

"The envisaged strategic partnership builds upon inter-regional cooperation. This article analyzes how this is used for external democratization. The development of open regionalism and democratization in Latin America (LA) had provided a resonance structure that matched with the EU's search for a global role and its norm-based, multilateral approach to international relations in the 1990s. The outcome for external democracy promotion in the inter-regional cooperation is ambivalent. The change from open regionalism toward a self-asserted and closed regionalism in LA fundamentally transforms the resonance structure for EU's policies. The new Latin American socio-political approach to development, the economic crises and the shifting geometry of regional integration challenge the EU's approach of socialization and norm-based inter-regional cooperation. The EU has no concept how to react and lacks an internal consensus at a moment when the representative democracy in LA is at stake." (author's abstract)

"The article tackles the question of the weaknesses and strengths of Europe as an actor in the 21st century. Which kind of power and influence can the European Union muster to implement its values and interests in a fundamentally changed international system? During the 18th and 19th century, European states have been the 'masters of the world'. Two World Wars reduced this position to a junior partnership of the United States but at the same time the weakness of Europe forced more and more states to unite in a supranational organization to protect their interests and to further play a certain role in world politics. Since the end of the Cold War, Europe's 'benign hegemon' USA is hardly interested in the European continent and signals that the European Union has to care for the security in her own backyard more or less on its own. The economies of both sides of the Atlantic are oriented towards Asia. The 21st century will see a multilateral world with new powers rising rapidly, with China in the forefront, India and others following suit. While the USA will stay as a predominant power for the foreseeable future, Russia strives for a comeback as a world power. The EU depends on Russian energy and on American support in questions of hard power. Its problem: it has not the coherent and swift decisionmaking system of a nation state and it is still not able to speak with one voice in world affairs. The EU has important means of soft and - increasingly - hard power to make its interests heard and to shape world politics. However, more integration will be needed in foreign policy and foreign security matters as well as in the economic sphere to pool the substantial forces of Europe. The EU has not the choice of being one of the poles in world politics, it is obliged to - otherwise the 'European Way of life' with its values, its wealth is endangered." (author's abstract)

One of the most demanding European Union policy areas, the environment has become important in the accession negotiations process. Transposition of the acquis, ensuring its adequate implementation
and absorbing the pre-accession funds constitute an enormous task for any, particularly a small, candidate country. Croatia is, in this respect, facing a great challenge and this article shows that there is still a long way to go. The lack of financing strategies and carefully planned timetables for implementation of the obligations sends a clear message that decisions should be made and actions taken immediately.

Das Gesellschaftsmodell der westeuropäischen Nachkriegsepoche war Ergebnis des Versuchs einer doppelten Versöhnung: zwischen Demokratie und Kapitalismus und zwischen Arbeit und Kapital. In allen westeuropäischen Ländern räumte die tatsächliche Verfassung von Staat und Wirtschaft den organisierten Großklassen der Industriegesellschaft einen privilegierten Status ein: Dachverbände von Arbeitnehmern und Unternehmen bildeten eine "zweite Regierungsebene", mit der sich die demokratisch gewählte staatliche Regierung weite Bereiche der öffentlichen Macht teilte, letztlich diente dieses Arrangement vor allem der Institutionalisierung der Gewerkschaften in einem sozialstaatlichen und "partnerschaftlichen" Kontext. Der vorliegende Beitrag betrachtet diesen "Euro-Korporatismus" im Kontext sowohl der Geschichte der europäischen Integration als Teil der Geschichte des Nachkriegskapitalismus in Westeuropa, als auch der Interaktion zwischen europäischer und nationaler Ebene der Politikformulierung und politischen Entscheidungsfindung. Die These dabei ist, dass die Entwicklung des Integrationsprozesses ebenso wie die des modernen Kapitalismus die Vorstellung obsolet gemacht hat, ein geeintes Europa könne politisch nach dem Muster eines klassenkorporatistischen Tripartismus von Staat, Unternehmen und Gewerkschaften organisiert werden. Im Gegenteil hat die europäische Integration in der Gestalt des "neoliberalen Projekts" wirksam zur Auflösung klassenkorporatistischer Strukturen auf der nationalen Ebene beigetragen, insbesondere - wie gezeigt wird - zur Schwächung oder gar Entmachtung der Gewerkschaften. (ICA2)