This paper aims to give a comprehensive picture of the objectives and perspectives behind the creation of the Central European Initiative (CEI). It also analyzes the role of CEI in the political, economic and social transition in the post-Socialist states. The article studies how CEI helped the integration of the Central European countries to the Western institutions, especially to the European Union (EU). The cooperation was founded in 1989 by Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Yugoslavia. It was unique and special in the era, as it had member states from totally different political and economic blocks. There are more approaches to explain the creation of this cooperation. According to the Liberal one, the founder states wished to create a flexible platform for the cooperation of countries from different blocks. This was also a political initiative to overcome on the divisions of bipolarity and the Cold War. The laid down political objectives in the official documents included the values represented by the European institutions. These values were adopted by the post-Socialist states. At the project level, the initiatives of CEI indirectly contributed to the economic and social transition in these countries. CEI and EU progressively built their close relations, and the support of EU integration became the mission of CEI. If we study the EU accessions in the region, we can state, CEI had a successful and important role in bringing closer the post-Socialist states to the EU.
In recent decades, the United States has increasingly used the means of economic warfare in its geopolitical struggles. Among these instruments – in addition to the financial markets – it most often launches geoeconomic attacks in the oil market against its geopolitical adversaries. The United States can cause significant economic damage both for oil exporter (eg. Iran, Venezuela) and oil importer (eg. Cuba, North Korea) countries by restricting their access to oil markets.This paper analyzes the economic warfare in the oil market between the United States and Iran, Russia, and North Korea. Through these examples this paper demonstrates how the United States organizes and executes geoeconomic attacks in the oil market and how it handles country-specific problems. The United States has the means to organize broad international coalition alongside the oil market sanctions – even in the lack of UN Security Council resolutions.United Nations has decided on a number of economic sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program. These sanctions reduced the supply in the world oil market and resulted in about 10-20% price increase, while Iran – despite of the sanctions – found the way to sell significant amount of oil, mainly to China and India.Russia is a member of the UN Security Council, so no UN sanctions can be imposed on it, nevertheless the United States and its allies launched a geoeconomics assault against Russia after the annexation of the Crimea. Russia was prepared for these economic sanctions and could effectively reduce the negative effects on its oil export, which could even increase after the western sanctions. North Korea is under UN sanctions since 2006 because of its nuclear program. The sanctions refer to oil and oil products as well, but has no significant effect on world oil market and oil price, because North Korea is a relatively small country with low oil consumption.North Korea is suffering a huge economic burden due to severe restrictions and its only way to circumvent the embargo – according to American accusations – is to smuggle some oil from China and Russia. ; In recent decades, the United States has increasingly used the means of economic warfare in its geopolitical struggles. Among these instruments – in addition to the financial markets – it most often launches geoeconomic attacks in the oil market against its geopolitical adversaries. The United States can cause significant economic damage both for oil exporter (eg. Iran, Venezuela) and oil importer (eg. Cuba, North Korea) countries by restricting their access to oil markets.This paper analyzes the economic warfare in the oil market between the United States and Iran, Russia, and North Korea. Through these examples this paper demonstrates how the United States organizes and executes geoeconomic attacks in the oil market and how it handles country-specific problems. The United States has the means to organize broad international coalition alongside the oil market sanctions – even in the lack of UN Security Council resolutions.United Nations has decided on a number of economic sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program. These sanctions reduced the supply in the world oil market and resulted in about 10-20% price increase, while Iran – despite of the sanctions – found the way to sell significant amount of oil, mainly to China and India.Russia is a member of the UN Security Council, so no UN sanctions can be imposed on it, nevertheless the United States and its allies launched a geoeconomics assault against Russia after the annexation of the Crimea. Russia was prepared for these economic sanctions and could effectively reduce the negative effects on its oil export, which could even increase after the western sanctions. North Korea is under UN sanctions since 2006 because of its nuclear program. The sanctions refer to oil and oil products as well, but has no significant effect on world oil market and oil price, because North Korea is a relatively small country with low oil consumption.North Korea is suffering a huge economic burden due to severe restrictions and its only way to circumvent the embargo – according to American accusations – is to smuggle some oil from China and Russia.
Regions and regionalism are rather flourishing in Europe. But what do regionalism and the expression "Europe of regions" exactly mean? There are three approaches to the question: first, the concept of cross-border interregionality between the Member States of the European Union; second, the effort to make regions the basic building blocks of European integration instead of states; and finally, the objective to introduce a three-tier structure to the European Union which would extend the already existing tiers of the European Union and the Member States with a third one, the territorial units within nation-states. The first approach (interregional cooperation) has long been adopted; the second approach (the vision of Europe made up of regions instead of states) is rather utopian. The third one is subject to fierce debates: a three-tier European Union with European, nation-state and regional levels. Although the form, motives and causes of movements promoting regionalism may vary greatly, 1 their purpose is the same for autonomous, federalist and separatist movements alike: to relativise the existing central nation-state. Thus, advancing European integration has become a natural ally for them as – from their perspective – it meant the disfunctionality of traditional nation-states. A supranational and therefore multinational and multicultural community promises much more room for development than a classic nation-state.
Central Europe means different political, economic, cultural, geopolitical and a "regional security community" contents in relation to my topic. Nowadays, this region, the "Central Europe" region primarily means the V-4 cooperation and the very important role and initiatives of the region in the EU. The V-4 cooperation, which was established in 1991, can be conceived as an attempt at creating a special form, as a mechanism and sub-stance to the political dimension of this region. The four members of the special mechanism are trying to get closer to one another by relying on solidarity with each other. The V-4 cooperation is based on the common history of the participating countries and close similarities between their recent transformation processes. Such resemblances explain the V4 structure's success, including parallel navigation in the problems of European Union and NATO accession. In the absence of permanent institutions [except the International Visegrad Fund (IVF)], the dimension and ambitions of the V-4 cooperation depends on the political objective of the governments and direct security environment, which impacts on these countries.
The aim of the study is to present the position and possibilities of Vojvodina in the European territorial cooperation with special focus on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Firstly, I examine the external relations of Vojvodina. I analyse the institutionalisation and the future of the DKMT Euroregion and the Banat-Triplex Confinium EGTC from the aspect Vojvodina, because these cooperations are significant component of the European integration process. The European territorial cohesion includes all the cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperations and democratic local and regional structures, forming under the identity of the EU Danube Strategy. This macro-regional strategy covers parts of 8 EU countries and 6 non EU countries (include Serbia) and faces numerous specific challenges: big socioeconomic disparities, underdeveloped potential of the Danube waterway, a unique environment threatened by pollution –to name just a few. Accordingly, there is a need for a stronger than usual cooperation dimension and for an integrated cooperative response across borders. Finally, I summarise how the Danube Strategy can achieve greater effect and reveal how macro-regional cooperation can help tackle local problems in Vojvodina, providing alternative solutions to problems stemming from legal and institutional differences of the border regions.
During the Cold War, the Philippines was an indispensable US ally, and this was still basically the case at the turn of the 21st century. However, the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2016 heralded great changes for the international position of the Philippines: a shift towards China and Russia occurred, followed by the emergence of a more balanced foreign policy. The partnership with the US has changed, too: during the Obama administration, the relationship between the two countries became cooler, although the foundations of the alliance were never contested. In the wake of Donald Trump's assumption of office in January 2017, the alliance seems to have become as strong as before, and economic as well as security-military cooperation has continued. The author's aim is to analyze the Philippines' position in the US-led world order from 1945 to the present, as well as the foundations of the United States–Philippines special relationship. After that the main components of Duterte's "independent" foreign policy and the fundamental changes in the Philippines' foreign relations are presented. The analysis focuses on the causes of the conflict at the end of Barack Obama's presidency, followed by the improving partnership during the Trump era and the main geopolitical challenges the alliance has had to face. According to its conclusion the US–Philippines security cooperation will remain strong under Presidents Duterte and Trump due to strategic considerations, which indicate the military alliance is in the interests of both nations.
Valamennyi tagállamra azonos szabályok vonatkoztak az európai integráció Maastricht előtti unitárius szerkezetében. Többsebességű integráció lehetséges a Gazdasági és Monetáris Unió rendszerében: különféle kormányzási modellek, bonyolult intézményi feltételek állnak fenn. Milyen változásokat hozhatna az "európai gazdasági kormányzás", illetve a "teljes" gazdasági unió kiépítése az EU intézményi szerkezetében? Hogyan alakulna e körülmények között az euróövezetbe tartozó, illetve az abból kimaradó tagállamok helyzete? Milyen eltérések lehetnek az egyes tagállamok között az uniós szabályok alkalmazásában? Milyen szerepet tölthet be a megerősített együttműködés a tagállamok szűkebb csoportjának mélyebb integrációjában? Hogyan alakulhat a mediterrán periféria, illetve a közép- és kelet-európai "új tagállamok" pozíciója? Többek között a fenti kérdésekre is választ kapunk a kötetben. = All member states were subject to the same rules in the pre-Maastricht unitary structure of European integration. Multi-speed integration is possible in the Economic and Monetary Union system: different governance models, complex institutional conditions. What changes could the construction of a "European economic governance" or a " full" economic union bring to the institutional structure of the EU? How would the situation of Member States in and out of the euro area evolve under these circumstances? What differences might there be between Member States in the application of EU rules? What role could enhanced cooperation play in the deeper integration of a narrower group of Member States? How might the position of the Mediterranean periphery and the "new Member States" of Central and Eastern Europe evolve? Among other things, these questions are answered in this volume.
Nowadays, the optimal usage of exhausting natural resources is a serious economic, social and political question. For this reason, in this paper we examine how the optimal sustainable use and allocation of these resources can be achieved in a sustainable way using different game theoretic models. As the proper solution needs the cooperation of national economies, the optimization driven by own interest should be completely changed. In this examination, we use the tools of cooperative game theory to describe ecomomies' strategic behaviour and their interactions. Moreover, we describe different well-known game theoretic solution concepts (e.g. Core, Shaply-value, Nucleolus) with special focus on their required fairness properties. The fairness properties, detailed in this paper, can ensure stable and acceptable allocations for the player at individual and coalitional level as well. Besides the theoretical descriptions, we give some practical example related to games defined on different water supply management problems (e. g. urban water management, irrigation problems, hydro power licensing etc.).
After the transformation to democracy and market economy the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) have rejoined the group of donors providing international development assistance to poor emerging countries. The aim of the paper is to help to better understand the foreign aid policy and practice of the V4 countries and their contribution to the development of the poor emerging countries by providing foreign aid for them. The main research questions focus on the following issues: What is the history and the major motif of the V4 countries for providing foreign aid? Which are the most preferred beneficiary countries and why? How much foreign aid and in what area is provided? How does it relate to other international donors? What does it mean to the recipient countries? Are there similarities or differences between the V4 countries in this respect? What are the major features distinguishing V4 donors from others? What kind of challenges and opportunities can arise? The hypotheses of the research to be tested are as follows: 1. Providing foreign aid by the V4 countries has its roots in the past regime which still has an influence on the present practice. 2. The V4 countries represent a special model for development cooperation with the aid recipient countries. 3. The major motif of the V4 countries for providing foreign aid was to support the geopolitical interest of the ex "Soviet Block", while after the change of the regime the aspiration of the V4 countries shifted towards gaining economic benefits from the cooperation with the aid recipient countries. The method of the research is literature review related to development theory and foreign aid as well as statistical analysis based on data on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Results prove the hypotheses.
In his study the author deals with the question of the corporative organization of the young Slovenian state. In the first part of his writing the author presents the theory and development of corporative ideas after WWII. He sums up the main theories of Philippe C. Schmitter and Gerhard Lehmbruch, the two main thinkers of modern corporatism and shows how these theories influenced the development of societal/liberal corporatism. The author introduces the concept of concertation, the new decision-making process of the modern corporative state and differentiates it from the classic pressure politics of liberalism. After the theoretical background in the second part of his study the author gives an introspection into the forms of Slovenian corporative cooperation. First of all, he describes the main organizations of the tripartite political processes: the employers' chambers and associations (e.g. Gospodarska zbornica Slovenije, Trgovinska zbornica Slovenije, Združenje delodajalcev Slovenije) and the employees' unions (e.g. Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, Konfedearcija sindikatov Slovenije Pergam, Konfederacija sindikatov 90 Slovenije). At the end of his work he shows the function of the classical corporative forums in Slovenia: the Economic and Social Council (Ekonomsko-socialni svet Slovenije, ESSS) and the National Council (Državni Svet). The author's conclusions are unambiguous: after the successful achievement of independence and freedom, Slovenia managed to create one of the most effective organizational models of modern (societal/liberal) corporatism and uses the process of concertation fruitful for his economic stability and social welfare.
The presentation is a summary of the experiences of régiónál development over a quarter of a century, from the aspect of Hungárián bordér researches. European integration and the unfurling Schengen process changed the relationship of Hungárián régiónál Science and bordér researches in the interpretation of territorial processes. There was a gradual shift of focus by régiónál policies: the so-called "Trianon-syndrome", the analysis of the traditional controlling and restricting functions of State borders was gradually replaced by the analysis of the character of cross-border cooperations. From the point of view of development policy, the tight relationship of régiónál Science and bordér research was founded by the need fór the utilisation of internál and extemal resources, which is the prime motivation of cross-border relations. It is beyond doubt that the use of Hungárián and even more so the EU régiónál supports can effectively serve the moderation of the development disparities of bordér regions, the catching up of the extemal (bordér) peripheries, the "unification" of the spatial structural functions disintegrated by the Peace Treaty of Trianon, the creation and cohesion of a functioning macro-regional economic space in the Carpathian Basin - and all in all the issue of European integration, the improvement of neighbourhood relations.
A régiók nem csak a közelmúltban jelentek meg az európai politika színpadán, mint önálló szereplők, tevékenységüket már évtizedek óta jegyzik. Ennek középpontjában mindenekelőtt a régiók határokon átnyúló együttműködése áll, ezt egészítették ki a régiók transznacionális megállapodásaival, amelyek arra szolgáltak, hogy a nemzetállamok kormányaival valamint a nemzetközi szervezetekkel, különösképpen az Európa Tanáccsal és az Európai Közösséggel szemben érdekképviseletüket gyakorolják. Az utóbbi időben a régiók egyre energikusabban és követelőbben hívták fel magukra a figyelmet. Tevékenységük súlypontja jelenleg nyilvánvalóan az EU és az integrációs folyamatokon belül helyezkedik el. A régiók mint az EU-kontextus politikai tényezői igen sokrétű tevékenységet mutatnak fel, amelyek az "Európa régiói" megjelölésben foglalhatók össze. Az elnevezésből, mint sokszor használatos szlogenből azonban hiányzik egy egyértelmű és ugyanakkor közös megegyezéssel alapuló, elfogadott tartalom. Regions appeared as autonomous entities on the European political stage not only in recent years. The activity of regions has been recorded for decades. It focuses above all on the cross-border cooperation of regions, and was supplemented by the trans-national agreements of regions, which served to practice their representation against the governments of nation states as well as international organisations, in particular, the European Council and the European Community. Most recently, regions have drawn attention to their presence more and more and when doing so have found increasing attention. Their centre of activity is now obviously located within the EU and the integration processes. Regions as the political factors of the EU context show a wide range of activities that can be summarized under the label of 'the regions of Europe'. The name, as a frequently used slogan, is lacking a clear and at the same time jointly agreed, accepted content. Regions and regionalism are rather flourishing in Europe. But what do regionalism and the expression Europe of regions exactly mean? There are many approaches to the question, the concept of cross-border interregionality between the Member States of the European Union, or the effort to make regions the basic building blocks of European integration instead of states, and the objective to introduce a three-tier structure to the European Union which would extend the already existing tiers of the European Union and the Member States with a third one, the territorial units within nation states. The first approach has long been adopted, the second approach is rather utopian. The third one is subject to fierce debates: a three-tier European Union with European, nation state and regional levels.
Tanulmányunk a nemzetközi rendszer átalakulásával foglalkozik, azt Polányi kettős mozgásának a nemzetközi politikai gazdaságtan három vizsgálati szintjére (rendszer szintje, nemzetállam szintje, ideák szintje) való kiterjesztésével mutatja be. A cél annak az ingamozgásnak a bemutatása, mely az önszabályozó piac és a Bretton Woodsi "beágyazott liberalizmus" között írható le. Bemutatjuk azt is, hogy a populista pártok napjainkban megfigyelhető növekvő népszerűsége a piacosító folyamatokkal szembeni ellenmozgásként értelmezhető. = Our paper examines the transformation of the international economic system. We examine the process of Polanyi's double movement on the three levels of analysis of the international political economy: systemic, domestic and cognitive. Our aim is to show that during the development of the international system a certain pendulum is present which swings between the idea of the self-regulating market and 'the embedded liberalism' of the Bretton Woods System. We will also show, that the increasing popularity of populist political parties might be also understood as a countermovement against forces of marketization.
Míg a populizmus korábban csak a szélsőséges pártokra volt jellemző, addigra mostanra általánossá vált, hogy számos ország belpolitikájának alkotják meghatározó elemét. A szakirodalomból azonban nem egyértelmű, hogy mely tényezők vezettek el ezeknek a pártoknak a megerősödéséhez, részben az eltérő minták és eltérő becslési eljárások miatt. A tanulmány három csoportra bontja azokat a változókat, amelyek befolyással vannak a populista pártok térnyerésére: gazdasági okok; bizalmon alapuló változók; kulturális tényezők. A tanulmány arra a következtetésre jut, hogy a regionális és választói heterogenitás miatt nehezen hasonlíthatók össze az adatok, emiatt kontinenseken átívelő panel adatokra lenne szükség, hogy általános ok-okozati kapcsolatot lehessen alkotni a populizmus térnyerésének okairól. = While populism in the past was associated mainly with radical parties, by today they have become a part of the political mainstream in many countries. However, looking at the literature it is unclear what factors have led the rise in populist demand. A problem when trying to understand the causal relationship is, that large econometric analyses which were conducted over the past 5 years use different samples and measurement methods. This article will investigate three groups of reasons which may have led to the increase in populist demand: economic reasons; trust reasons and cultural factors. The article finds that because of regional and electoral heterogeneity it is not really possible to compare data from Europe with that of the USA, therefore before any general conclusions can be drawn it would be useful to have panel data across continents.
The adoption of the new multiannual financial framework for the period 2021-2027 is one of the most important questions in the EU nowadays. It always belongs to the most difficult and time-consuming decisions the member states have to make. Such a decision should represent several interest like the net contributor and net beneficiary states' aims, the willingness of the European Commission and the European Parliament to make the cooperation among the countries deeper and to extend the cooperation to new policy areas too. The EU's long term multiannual financial framework (MFF) influences and somehow defines the next years' yearly budget and the benefits the member states can receive from the common budget of the EU as well. The main spending numbers represents the importance of the different policy areas as the EU provides resources for the topics which will be in focus in the next seven years. The decision about the new MMF is more complicated than the earlier ones. As a result of the Brexit there will be a gap in the common budget. As at the beginning of the MFF negotiations the way and the exact date of the Brexit was not clear the whole process became less transparent and predictable. On the other hand, the EU planes to provide significantly more money to new priorities and goals like border security, competitiveness or foreign policy. It means that the two traditional beneficiary policy areas' (the CAP and the Cohesion spending) share should decrease within the common budget. This study examines the effects of this decrease on the CAP 2nd pillar, rural development.
