Suchergebnisse

The totality of cross-border interactions in Europe in scholarly literature on international relations is often defined as "regional international society", i.e. a social system of a smaller scale than global international society. From the sociological standpoint, social systems (or societies) consist of institutionalized pratices. Among these practices there are primary institutions, which define and constitute types of actors and types of actions, and secondary institutions purposefully established by the same actors. Sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, the balance of power, conflict resolution and a few other are the oldest primary institutions of the Westphalian state system in and outside Europe. The newer ones, such as human rights and democracy, incrementally evolved in the 19-20th century and supplement the existing Westphalian system. The aim of this study was to identify the primary international institutions of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) which was created after WWII as well as to evaluate the compatability of the new institutional order with that of the Westphalian model. The author examined the functioning of such primary institutions as supra-nationalism, subsidiarity, harmonization and micro-regionalism and drew the conclusion that the newest EU institutions are in conflict with the Westphalian ones and create new types of international actors, supranational ar well as subnational, that are already recognized as peers among states within the context of diplomacy, international law and international trade. How the latent inter-institutional tensions will be solved in the future will depend not only on EU member states but also on countries outside it forced to coexist with the EU in the Westphalian world.

The totality of cross-border interactions in Europe in scholarly literature on international relations is often defined as "regional international society", i.e. a social system of a smaller scale than global international society. From the sociological standpoint, social systems (or societies) consist of institutionalized pratices. Among these practices there are primary institutions, which define and constitute types of actors and types of actions, and secondary institutions purposefully established by the same actors. Sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, the balance of power, conflict resolution and a few other are the oldest primary institutions of the Westphalian state system in and outside Europe. The newer ones, such as human rights and democracy, incrementally evolved in the 19-20th century and supplement the existing Westphalian system. The aim of this study was to identify the primary international institutions of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) which was created after WWII as well as to evaluate the compatability of the new institutional order with that of the Westphalian model. The author examined the functioning of such primary institutions as supra-nationalism, subsidiarity, harmonization and micro-regionalism and drew the conclusion that the newest EU institutions are in conflict with the Westphalian ones and create new types of international actors, supranational ar well as subnational, that are already recognized as peers among states within the context of diplomacy, international law and international trade. How the latent inter-institutional tensions will be solved in the future will depend not only on EU member states but also on countries outside it forced to coexist with the EU in the Westphalian world.

The totality of cross-border interactions in Europe in scholarly literature on international relations is often defined as "regional international society", i.e. a social system of a smaller scale than global international society. From the sociological standpoint, social systems (or societies) consist of institutionalized pratices. Among these practices there are primary institutions, which define and constitute types of actors and types of actions, and secondary institutions purposefully established by the same actors. Sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, the balance of power, conflict resolution and a few other are the oldest primary institutions of the Westphalian state system in and outside Europe. The newer ones, such as human rights and democracy, incrementally evolved in the 19-20th century and supplement the existing Westphalian system. The aim of this study was to identify the primary international institutions of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) which was created after WWII as well as to evaluate the compatability of the new institutional order with that of the Westphalian model. The author examined the functioning of such primary institutions as supra-nationalism, subsidiarity, harmonization and micro-regionalism and drew the conclusion that the newest EU institutions are in conflict with the Westphalian ones and create new types of international actors, supranational ar well as subnational, that are already recognized as peers among states within the context of diplomacy, international law and international trade. How the latent inter-institutional tensions will be solved in the future will depend not only on EU member states but also on countries outside it forced to coexist with the EU in the Westphalian world.

The totality of cross-border interactions in Europe in scholarly literature on international relations is often defined as "regional international society", i.e. a social system of a smaller scale than global international society. From the sociological standpoint, social systems (or societies) consist of institutionalized pratices. Among these practices there are primary institutions, which define and constitute types of actors and types of actions, and secondary institutions purposefully established by the same actors. Sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, the balance of power, conflict resolution and a few other are the oldest primary institutions of the Westphalian state system in and outside Europe. The newer ones, such as human rights and democracy, incrementally evolved in the 19-20th century and supplement the existing Westphalian system. The aim of this study was to identify the primary international institutions of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) which was created after WWII as well as to evaluate the compatability of the new institutional order with that of the Westphalian model. The author examined the functioning of such primary institutions as supra-nationalism, subsidiarity, harmonization and micro-regionalism and drew the conclusion that the newest EU institutions are in conflict with the Westphalian ones and create new types of international actors, supranational ar well as subnational, that are already recognized as peers among states within the context of diplomacy, international law and international trade. How the latent inter-institutional tensions will be solved in the future will depend not only on EU member states but also on countries outside it forced to coexist with the EU in the Westphalian world.

The concept of competitiveness has always been a subject of a great interest for researches, politicians and people, involved in practical business. Initially, the notion of competitiveness was related to firm, i.e., micro-economic level. The competitiveness at macro-economic level was analyzed for the first time by M. Porter, who in 1990 has extended and applied his model of the competitive advantage of firms to the competitive advantage of nations, regions and places or "locations" generally. Due to the process of globalization, the concept of national and regional competitiveness has attracted a lot of attention and increasingly been adopted as a policy tool. The necessity of proper analysis of the regional competitiveness concept brings the recognition, that the drivers of national competitiveness have become more local and the regions increasingly become the engines of the global economy, as the globalization blurs national borders. The regionalization of public policies moves the economic coordination and steering functions from the national state up to the international and down to regional level. The compelling reason for focusing on the competitiveness of regions lies also in the changing patterns of private investment flows. Privatized companies, institutional investors and various investment funds are being forced to diversity their portfolios and to put substantial amounts of money in property – geographically dispersed over unfamiliar territories. As researches. [to full text]

The concept of competitiveness has always been a subject of a great interest for researches, politicians and people, involved in practical business. Initially, the notion of competitiveness was related to firm, i.e., micro-economic level. The competitiveness at macro-economic level was analyzed for the first time by M. Porter, who in 1990 has extended and applied his model of the competitive advantage of firms to the competitive advantage of nations, regions and places or "locations" generally. Due to the process of globalization, the concept of national and regional competitiveness has attracted a lot of attention and increasingly been adopted as a policy tool. The necessity of proper analysis of the regional competitiveness concept brings the recognition, that the drivers of national competitiveness have become more local and the regions increasingly become the engines of the global economy, as the globalization blurs national borders. The regionalization of public policies moves the economic coordination and steering functions from the national state up to the international and down to regional level. The compelling reason for focusing on the competitiveness of regions lies also in the changing patterns of private investment flows. Privatized companies, institutional investors and various investment funds are being forced to diversity their portfolios and to put substantial amounts of money in property – geographically dispersed over unfamiliar territories. As researches. [to full text]

The concept of competitiveness has always been a subject of a great interest for researches, politicians and people, involved in practical business. Initially, the notion of competitiveness was related to firm, i.e., micro-economic level. The competitiveness at macro-economic level was analyzed for the first time by M. Porter, who in 1990 has extended and applied his model of the competitive advantage of firms to the competitive advantage of nations, regions and places or "locations" generally. Due to the process of globalization, the concept of national and regional competitiveness has attracted a lot of attention and increasingly been adopted as a policy tool. The necessity of proper analysis of the regional competitiveness concept brings the recognition, that the drivers of national competitiveness have become more local and the regions increasingly become the engines of the global economy, as the globalization blurs national borders. The regionalization of public policies moves the economic coordination and steering functions from the national state up to the international and down to regional level. The compelling reason for focusing on the competitiveness of regions lies also in the changing patterns of private investment flows. Privatized companies, institutional investors and various investment funds are being forced to diversity their portfolios and to put substantial amounts of money in property – geographically dispersed over unfamiliar territories. As researches. [to full text]

The concept of competitiveness has always been a subject of a great interest for researches, politicians and people, involved in practical business. Initially, the notion of competitiveness was related to firm, i.e., micro-economic level. The competitiveness at macro-economic level was analyzed for the first time by M. Porter, who in 1990 has extended and applied his model of the competitive advantage of firms to the competitive advantage of nations, regions and places or "locations" generally. Due to the process of globalization, the concept of national and regional competitiveness has attracted a lot of attention and increasingly been adopted as a policy tool. The necessity of proper analysis of the regional competitiveness concept brings the recognition, that the drivers of national competitiveness have become more local and the regions increasingly become the engines of the global economy, as the globalization blurs national borders. The regionalization of public policies moves the economic coordination and steering functions from the national state up to the international and down to regional level. The compelling reason for focusing on the competitiveness of regions lies also in the changing patterns of private investment flows. Privatized companies, institutional investors and various investment funds are being forced to diversity their portfolios and to put substantial amounts of money in property – geographically dispersed over unfamiliar territories. As researches. [to full text]

The concept of competitiveness has always been a subject of a great interest for researches, politicians and people, involved in practical business. Initially, the notion of competitiveness was related to firm, i.e., micro-economic level. The competitiveness at macro-economic level was analyzed for the first time by M. Porter, who in 1990 has extended and applied his model of the competitive advantage of firms to the competitive advantage of nations, regions and places or "locations" generally. Due to the process of globalization, the concept of national and regional competitiveness has attracted a lot of attention and increasingly been adopted as a policy tool. The necessity of proper analysis of the regional competitiveness concept brings the recognition, that the drivers of national competitiveness have become more local and the regions increasingly become the engines of the global economy, as the globalization blurs national borders. The regionalization of public policies moves the economic coordination and steering functions from the national state up to the international and down to regional level. The compelling reason for focusing on the competitiveness of regions lies also in the changing patterns of private investment flows. Privatized companies, institutional investors and various investment funds are being forced to diversity their portfolios and to put substantial amounts of money in property – geographically dispersed over unfamiliar territories. As researches. [to full text]

After the restoration of independence, Lithuania faced a rather difficult task: in a period of several years it had to catch up with the democratically, economically and socially developed countries of the western world that had succeeded to achieve their present level over many decades. The ambition to produce fast results preconditioned different problems in a number of political spheres. The creation of the regional policy was not an exception either. Despite the fact that quite a speedy improvement of the regions shows a positive progress in this sphere, problems could not be avoided in the process of formation and implementation of the regional policy. Hesitation in solving these problems may bring the situation under threat. The article analyses factors that have contributed to the problems in the sphere of regional policy, and stresses the significance of regionalism on the regional development. ; Po nepriklausomybės atkūrimo Lietuvai teko gana sunki užduotis – per keliolika metų pasivyti demokratiškai, ekonomiškai bei socialiai išsivysčiusias Vakarų pasaulio valstybes, kurios dabartinį lygį pasiekė per daugelį dešimtmečių. Todėl noras pasiekti greitų rezultatų lėmė įvairiausių problemų daugelyje politikos sričių atsiradimą. Regioninės politikos kūrimas taip pat nebuvo išimtis, nors gana spartus regionų būklės gerėjimas rodo teigiamą postūmį šioje srityje, tačiau formuojant bei įgyvendinant regioninę politiką nebuvo išvengta problemų, kurios, laiku nesprendžiamos, gali sukelti pavojingų grėsmių. Straipsnyje nagrinėjami veiksniai, turėję įtakos problemų atsiradimui regioninės politikos srityje, bei pabrėžiama regionalizacijos reikšmė regioninei plėtrai.

Conflicts, internal or international, are generated by many various causes and factors. When regionalization processes start (neighbor states are involved into a conflict), the conflict becomes a problem of the whole region. In this article it was tried to show and explain the main aspects of regional conflicts formation, causes of conflicts, and the process of regionalization. These issues are analyzed from the standpoint of security complex; this composes theoretical background of the study. The article asserts that the concept of security complex enables us to envisage the causes of conflicts formation and escalation, as well as also explain their regionalization and the impact on neighboring states. This article presents a theoretical model of regional conflict formation. It argues that research of relations within security complex helps actors to identify security threats more clearly, and this influences the formation of disputes. The sum of causal factors constitutes the core of the conflict, thus it is very important to notice and understand these factors while analyzing regional conflicts. Meanwhile, security complex influences the process of conflict regionalization. Consequences, the presented theoretical model of conflict formation can be useful a better understanding of the processes of conflict formation, and for identification and research of such phenomenon. Otherwise, it is a rather new look at conflicts from regional level, trying evaluate their significance in the context of regional relations.

Conflicts, internal or international, are generated by many various causes and factors. When regionalization processes start (neighbor states are involved into a conflict), the conflict becomes a problem of the whole region. In this article it was tried to show and explain the main aspects of regional conflicts formation, causes of conflicts, and the process of regionalization. These issues are analyzed from the standpoint of security complex; this composes theoretical background of the study. The article asserts that the concept of security complex enables us to envisage the causes of conflicts formation and escalation, as well as also explain their regionalization and the impact on neighboring states. This article presents a theoretical model of regional conflict formation. It argues that research of relations within security complex helps actors to identify security threats more clearly, and this influences the formation of disputes. The sum of causal factors constitutes the core of the conflict, thus it is very important to notice and understand these factors while analyzing regional conflicts. Meanwhile, security complex influences the process of conflict regionalization. Consequences, the presented theoretical model of conflict formation can be useful a better understanding of the processes of conflict formation, and for identification and research of such phenomenon. Otherwise, it is a rather new look at conflicts from regional level, trying evaluate their significance in the context of regional relations.

Relatively weak interdependence of the states and unwillingness to limit one's sovereignty determines inefficiency of global environmental regimes. This fact forms the main problem of the MA thesis. The MA thesis is based on the presumption that regional cooperation which is determined by the interdependence of the states allows to resolve current issues easier. Certain regions which have intentions to cope with common environmental threats may be especially interested in cooperation and establishment of environmental security complexes. Therefore, cooperation may encourage the further integration. The key question of the MA thesis is when and in what circumstances the environmental threats encourage regional integration? The additional question is what factors restrict the processes of regional cooperation on the basis of the environmental threats? The analytical parts encompass the analysis of cases of Nile and Mekong regions. The object of the research is the regional cooperation and its institutionalized forms, as a consequence of the environmental threats. The aim of the analytical parts of the thesis is to examine whether the environmental threats encourage the regional cooperation on three main conditions: - the environmental threats are regarded as existential issues by the states of the certain region; - cooperation in the environmental field creates an opportunity for the economic development of states; - the regions are influenced by the external actors, which provide a stimulus for environmental cooperation. The answer of the additional question is given a presumption that the national interests and unilateral policy of the states are the key subjects which restrict the processes of environmental cooperation. In order to answer the questions arose and to achieve the purpose of the thesis, the following tasks were set: - to discuss the concept and relevance of the environmental threats, the development of global environmental politics, the efficiency problems of the environmental regimes and the key aspects of the environmental security; - to review the causes of the international conflicts and environmental cooperation as well as integration in the international river basins; - to present the aspects of the regional security complexes' theory which are relevant to the MA thesis; - to distinguish the criteria for the selection of the cases; - to review the historical context of the regions selected for the analysis indicating the cases of dispute between the states of region and estimating the potential of the regional integration; - to discuss and estimate the environmental threats related to the water scarcity in the selected regions; - to analyse the forms of cooperation concerning water scarcity in the selected regions. The research confirms the presumption that regional cooperation is encouraged by the relevance of the environmental threats, the expectations of the economic development of the states and the influence of external actors. The results of the analysis demonstrates that the main factor which restrains the processes of the environmental cooperation is the policy of the most powerful actors related to the national interests in the field of transboundary water management. MA thesis can be significant in grounding, verifying and elaborating the theory of regional security complexes and applying it to the research of the environmental cooperation. The thesis also provides with new insights which specify and complement the academic studies of environmental cooperation. MA thesis is intended to accentuate the whole of essential factors which is necessary for the proceeding of cooperation in anarchical atmosphere. On the other hand, academic literature lack research involving prognostic element which is related to the evaluation of the regional integration's potential. Therefore, the MA thesis is intended to evaluate the perspectives of regional integration in the selected cases.

Relatively weak interdependence of the states and unwillingness to limit one's sovereignty determines inefficiency of global environmental regimes. This fact forms the main problem of the MA thesis. The MA thesis is based on the presumption that regional cooperation which is determined by the interdependence of the states allows to resolve current issues easier. Certain regions which have intentions to cope with common environmental threats may be especially interested in cooperation and establishment of environmental security complexes. Therefore, cooperation may encourage the further integration. The key question of the MA thesis is when and in what circumstances the environmental threats encourage regional integration? The additional question is what factors restrict the processes of regional cooperation on the basis of the environmental threats? The analytical parts encompass the analysis of cases of Nile and Mekong regions. The object of the research is the regional cooperation and its institutionalized forms, as a consequence of the environmental threats. The aim of the analytical parts of the thesis is to examine whether the environmental threats encourage the regional cooperation on three main conditions: - the environmental threats are regarded as existential issues by the states of the certain region; - cooperation in the environmental field creates an opportunity for the economic development of states; - the regions are influenced by the external actors, which provide a stimulus for environmental cooperation. The answer of the additional question is given a presumption that the national interests and unilateral policy of the states are the key subjects which restrict the processes of environmental cooperation. In order to answer the questions arose and to achieve the purpose of the thesis, the following tasks were set: - to discuss the concept and relevance of the environmental threats, the development of global environmental politics, the efficiency problems of the environmental regimes and the key aspects of the environmental security; - to review the causes of the international conflicts and environmental cooperation as well as integration in the international river basins; - to present the aspects of the regional security complexes' theory which are relevant to the MA thesis; - to distinguish the criteria for the selection of the cases; - to review the historical context of the regions selected for the analysis indicating the cases of dispute between the states of region and estimating the potential of the regional integration; - to discuss and estimate the environmental threats related to the water scarcity in the selected regions; - to analyse the forms of cooperation concerning water scarcity in the selected regions. The research confirms the presumption that regional cooperation is encouraged by the relevance of the environmental threats, the expectations of the economic development of the states and the influence of external actors. The results of the analysis demonstrates that the main factor which restrains the processes of the environmental cooperation is the policy of the most powerful actors related to the national interests in the field of transboundary water management. MA thesis can be significant in grounding, verifying and elaborating the theory of regional security complexes and applying it to the research of the environmental cooperation. The thesis also provides with new insights which specify and complement the academic studies of environmental cooperation. MA thesis is intended to accentuate the whole of essential factors which is necessary for the proceeding of cooperation in anarchical atmosphere. On the other hand, academic literature lack research involving prognostic element which is related to the evaluation of the regional integration's potential. Therefore, the MA thesis is intended to evaluate the perspectives of regional integration in the selected cases.