Suchergebnisse

The aim of this paper is to highlight the main aspects regarding the rational choice theory in neo-institutionalism, and the role the EU Neighbourhood Policy has nowadays. The protagonist of the rational choice theory in the new institutionalism remains homo-economicus. The theory of rational choice institutionalism challenges the perfect rationality of the individual, rather than the principle of rational choice itself. ENP is a framework for consolidating the Union's relations with neighbouring countries and aims therefore intensifying cooperation with them in order to establish a zone of prosperity, good neighbourliness, stability and security.

"The Routledge Handbook on the European Neighbourhood Policy provides a comprehensive overview of the EU's most important foreign policy instrument, provided by leading experts in the field. Coherently structured and adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this handbook covers the most important themes, developments and dynamics in the EU's neighbourhood policy framework through a series of cutting-edge contributions. With chapters from a substantial number of scholars who have been influential in shaping the study of the ENP, this handbook serves to encourage debates which will hopefully produce more conceptual as well as neighbourhood-specific perspectives leading to enriching future studies on the EU's policies towards its neighbourhood. It will be a key reference point both for advanced-level students, scholars and professionals developing knowledge in the fields of EU/European Studies, European Foreign Policy Analysis, Area studies, EU law, and more broadly in political economy, political science, comparative politics, and international relations"

In the past, the European Union (EU) has established partnership agreements to strengthen co-operation with its neighbouring countries. In 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was put in place with the objectives of avoiding the emergence of new frontier divisions between the enlarged EU and its immediate neighbours, and at the same time creating the conditions to strengthen peace, prosperity and stability to all countries involved. The ENP has turned into a unified policy framework for the EU's neighbours, offering preferential economic and political relations in exchange for the recipient countries' adherence to the Union's principles. The ultimate aim of the ENP is to strengthen the prosperity, stability and security of the EU by creating a 'ring of friends' around the EU's political border.

Under what conditions can the European Neighbourhood Policy achieve one of its main objectives: to resolve conflicts in the European Union's neighbourhood? In the spirit of Montesquieu and Monnet, the basic hypothesis of the EU is that closer economic integration encourages governments to take steps to resolve conflicts and vice versa, creating a virtuous circle of prosperity and detente. The EU has a strong motive in this, since conflicts in its neighbourhood spill-over into the EU itself. The paper identifies some factors important for success, including the existence of active facilitators of compromise, strong intraregional trade, and the prospect of accession to the EU. It concludes that the EU's Member States must give conflict resolution greater priority in the European Neighbourhood Policy and provide stronger means, larger resources and better incentives if this goal is to be realised.

Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1: Introduction -- The EU and Its Neighbors -- Extra-territorial Engagement as a Common Denominator -- Integration and Security -- Inclusion and Exclusion -- Focus on the Neighbors -- References -- 2: Scale Up, Harry! Discursive Transition (and Continuity) in the EU's 'Area of Freedom, Security and Justice' between 1995 and 2014 -- Introduction: Transition(s) of European Values and European Identities -- The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice -- Methodology