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Na twaalf succesvolle internationale edities van het Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) georganiseerd door de universiteit van Illinois viel de eer voor de eerste Europese editie te beurt aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (van 7 tot 10 februari 2017). De oudste universiteit van de Lage Landen (1425) en de nog oudere stad Leuven met zijn tot twee maal toe in ere herstelde universiteitsbibliotheek, pas gerenoveerde stadhuis, het Groot Begijnhof en de Oude Markt vormden het prachtige decor voor drie dagen presentaties, posters, symposia, workshops en paneldiscussies over kwalitatief onderzoek. Het straatbeeld van Leuven, dat doorgaans door studenten wordt gedomineerd, was opvallend leeg. Na enige navraag bleek de 'tentamenweek' de oorzaak te zijn voor het massaal op kot jagen van een derde van de stadspopulatie.

The political map of Europe was transformed by the collapse of the Soviet Union & the reunification of Germany, ending four decades of stability & leading to new political configurations: the emergence of the independent Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania -- with regional links not only to neighboring Russia but to Western Europe as well. The recent political history of the Baltic states is summarized, from their interwar independence to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact & their renewed independence in the early 1990s. Also discussed are postindependence demographic & social problems & prospects in the Baltics: the presence of large Russian minorities, language tests for citizenship, & the states' aspirations for European Union membership. The European Union has tried to serve as go-between for the region, & there are especially close & positive ties between the Baltic states & the Nordic countries. A. Siegel

The author introduces the article by describing why the term Jihad-terrorism shouldn't be used (it's not an ideology, but a method; the term hammers on an intrinsic link between Islam and violence). The Belgian international attitude stresses that a wrong perception within European policy will actually lead to an anti-Western radicalization, and that terminology is part of that. The article continues with four EU anti-terror strategies: proactive: prevention and protection; reactive: prosecution and response. Regarding suppression of radicalization and recruitment, three factors are mentioned: facilitating factors within a globalized world (travel and communication, money operations, internet availability); an anti-western enemy perception; structural environmental factors, the so-called root causes (social circumstances, democratic imperfection, modernization badly directed, economic and political perspectives, unsolved conflicts, lack of education). Two additional principles for Belgium: 1) fundamental rights and freedoms; 2) suppression of Jihad-terrorism in cooperation with Muslim countries. References. O. van Zijl

In Europe and especially in the euro existed between mid 2007 to late 2009 preserve vote on how the institutions of a sometimes fragile EU and the single currency managed to the global financial crisis defy. The crisis hit over from the United States, where the dangers of applied liberal and deregulated model of financial markets and inadequate governance were insufficiently recognized. European banks, but a few, behaved more than their American peers. Also banking supervision was generally effective, especially in countries like Italy, Spain and the small Cyprus. Through an innovative and fast answer to the European Central Bank had a leading role in tackling the crisis: the European legal framework for emergency loans was modified and cross-border coordination was performed. Crucial factor was that, in countries such as Belgium, Greece and Italy after, most EU and eurozone countries thanks to the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and the Treaty of Maastricht had their debt under control. The result was that most European countries have not been hit as hard by the recession and the United States. The Anglo-American capitalism performed moderately, while the European system had shown its resilience (for the first time). Adapted from the source document.