Suchergebnisse

Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of Contributors -- Introduction -- PART I THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS -- 1 European Union Enlargement to the Western Balkans: Political Conditionality and Problems of Democratic Consolidation -- 2 Threats to Human Security in the Western Balkans -- PART II THE EUROPEAN UNION IN ITS EASTERN AND SOUTHERN NEIGHBOURHOOD -- 3 The Many Patterns of Europeanization: European Union Relations with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus -- 4 European Union Policy towards Belarus and Libya: Old and New Double Standards? -- 5 Coming of Age: Dilemmas for the European Union's Foreign Policy in the Wider Europe -- PART III THE EUROPEAN UNION AND RUSSIA -- 6 The European Union and Russia: Partners by Default? -- 7 The European Union Institutional Balance: Assessment of its Impact on the Relationship with Russia -- 8 The European Union, Russia, and the 'In-between Europe': Managing Interdependence -- 9 Challenges and Opportunities at the European Union's Vicinity: Assessing Policies and Practices -- Conclusion: The European Union in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

This article explores the role of the European Union (EU) in the implementation and promotion of good governance principles in Serbia. It is clear that the EU demands on democratisation in the Western Balkan region are crucial in achieving the respect for good governance principles. Even though the membership perspective might be a promising instrument to promote good governance in external countries, the main causal mechanisms have to be identified in order to provide facts for this assumed causality. Conditionality serves in this context both as a EU promising tool to promote good governance and as a theoretical framework to explain causalities between the EU membership perspective and the implementation of good governance principles in Serbia. However, progress in the area can hardly respond to the integration that Serbia aspires to in its relation with the EU. Looking to the European Commissions latest report on the countrys progress, there are several internal constraints to the implementation of good governance principles, such as corruption and organized crime. The article aims to uncover Serbias progress towards good governance principles. The main question is to find out if conditionality is working in this case, and if not, what are the main reasons why not.

Abstract
Security sector reform (SSR) aims to create a secure environment that is conducive to development, poverty reduction, good governance, and in particular the growth of democratic states and institutions based on the rule of law. This relies on the ability of the state to mitigate its people's vulnerabilities through development and to use a range of policy instruments to prevent or address security threats that affect society's wellbeing. Timor-Leste is currently relatively stable compared to the 2006–08 crisis period, but it is still seen as a fragile state. In the security sector, this fragility highlights the conflictual relationship between the armed forces (FALINTIL – Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste, F-FDTL) and the police (Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste, PNTL) as the most significant threat to national stability. This article examines the United Nations' efforts in Timor-Leste as an important case for the study of SSR in post-conflict countries and tries to answer the following questions: how has SSR evolved in Timor-Leste? What has the role of the military and police forces been in the country's stabilization and reconstruction? Are they contributing to peace or are they a source of potential conflict?

This article has been retracted. This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The article carelessly uses parts of diverse sources (13 in total; list is available upon request) without appropriate citation methods, though without any apparent malicious intent. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a misuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

O Impacto da Europeização no Caminho da Croácia para a Democracia. A futura perspectiva de integração na União Europeia (UE) colocou os países dos Balcãs num caminho claro para a democracia. Este artigo incide na europeização, dinâmica própria da UE enquanto actor global, aplicada ao processo de transição pós comunista da Croácia. Procuram-se respostas sobre a forma como a europeização tem vindo a afectar o processo de transição na Croácia. Analisa-se o processo de democratização na Croácia, tendo em conta aspectos políticos, institucionais, sociais e económicos. Apesar de elementos de complementaridade e resistência na relação entre a europeização e as políticas governamentais, verifica-se que esta tem vindo a ter um grande impacto no processo de decisão política na Croácia.

The Western Balkan countries have made important steps in the advancement of democracy. However, public administration remains a field where reforms progress very slowly, due to a combination of reasons, ranging from economic and political to cultural ones. Macedonia is not an exception. This paper analyzes the main reasons for the slow pace of reforms in Macedonia's public administration sector. The focus on public administration and the state contributes to understanding the priority of establishing a professional, efficient and transparent public administration system in a country in the process of European accession. The main research question is why reforms in Macedonia's public administration sector have been so difficult to implement. [Copyright The Regents of the University of California; published by Elsevier Ltd.]