Suchergebnisse

'Why Europe Intervenes in Africa' analyzes the underlying causes of all European decisions for and against military interventions in conflicts in African states since the late 1980s. It focuses on the main European actors who have deployed troops in Africa: France, the United Kingdom and the European Union

The European Union's (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) stipulates that all member states must unanimously ratify policy proposals through their representatives on the EU Council. Intergovernmentalism, or the need for equal agreement from all member nations, is used by many political scientists and policy analysts to study how the EU achieves its CFSP. However, in European Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Gegout modifies this theory, arguing instead for analyses based on what she terms 'constrained intergovernmentalism.'Gegout's theory of constrained intergovernmentalism allows for member states, in particular France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to bargain with one another and to make rational decisions but also takes into account the constraints imposed by the United States, the European Commission, and the precedents set by past decisions. Three in-depth case studies of CFSP decision-making support her argument, as she examines the EU position on China's human rights record, EU sanctions against Serbia, and EU relations with NATO.

AbstractThis article highlights the need to bring education to the forefront of EU policies to promote sustainable development in Vietnam. The EU is increasingly concerned with promoting sustainable development worldwide. It does this in its aid policies, and since 2010, it has included in its trade agreements provisions on labour, environmental and gender rights. But what about education rights? This article analyses the role of the EU and the Vietnamese government in the field of education. It argues that both actors could pay more attention to education, and in particular to the problem of unequal access to education for poor and minority children in Vietnam. To improve educational opportunity, both direct funding for the system and contextual support for students are needed. In remote and poor areas, Vietnam and the EU should provide increased salaries for teachers to reduce corruption, funding to support families, local social enterprises and improved local infrastructure. The article 'double‐decenters' the study of European foreign policy by (1) focusing first on education policy issues in the targeted state and then on EU policy and (2) listening not only to the government but also the citizens of Vietnam.

This article analyses the impact of European Union (EU) policies in the field of fisheries on development in Africa. It contests the premise that the EU promotes local economies, and argues that it often contributes to depleting fish stocks, distorting African economic policies and harming fishers' communities. In so doing, the EU is violating its basic duty to avoid harm to other states. However, it is now committed to sustainable development. This article offers suggestions on policies which would enable the EU to take on both its negative and positive duties.

La Chine et l'Europe (au sens de l'Union européenne et de ses États membres)sont toutes deux des acteurs politiques et économiques en Afrique. Le commerce entre la Chine et l'Afrique a pris de l'importance au tournant du XXI e siècle. Dans le domaine de la sécurité, la Chine a pris part aux missions de maintien de la paix de l'ONU à la fin des années 1980, et en plus de la présence militaire de certains États européens, l'UE a également déployé des troupes en Afrique pour la première fois en 2003. Malgré des intérêts similaires sur ce continent, la coopération entre l'Europe et la Chine reste, comme nous l'expliquerons, quasi inexistante. Néanmoins, cet article montre aussi que même si les acteurs européens et chinois ont des approches et donc des politiques différentes dans les domaines sécuritaires et politiques, il est possible d'observer une certaine convergence dans le domaine économique. Les approches réalistes et libérales s'avéreront plus utiles que l'approche constructiviste afin de comprendre les politiques étrangères de l'Europe et de la Chine sur le continent africain.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) aims to promote not only justice, but also peace. It has been widely criticised for doing neither, yet it has to contend with some severe structural and political difficulties: it has limited resources, it faces institutional restrictions, it is manipulated by states, and it is criticised for an alleged selectivity in the way it dispenses justice. However, the icc could contribute significantly to the promotion of international justice and peace, and have a major impact on the prevention of crime, since its prosecutions represent a clear threat to highly placed individuals who commit serious crimes. While this article concentrates on the work of the icc in Africa, the only continent where it has issued indictments against suspected criminals, it also looks at its efforts on other continents. It argues that, in the larger international context, the contribution of the icc to international justice and peace depends on its institutional power and the support it receives from states, on its own impartial work, and on the way it is perceived by potential criminals and victims in the world.

The EU's conflict management policy towards Africa in the period 2003-2009 can best be understood within a realist framework. In terms of actors, the most powerful member states, and especially France, have set the agenda. In terms of motives, EU foreign policy in security issues appears to be driven by an aspiration to enhance the prestige of Europe in the world, and its independence from the USA. This article argues that member state leaders want to be perceived as ethical actors, and they use the EU as an instrument in order to share the responsibility of intervention. In practice, EU leverage on African conflicts, for example through aid conditionality and trade policies, is weak, and EU engagement is shaped largely by previous patterns of relations between former colonial powers and former colonies. While EU military missions are a new instrument in EU policy towards Africa, these are small in number, and limited in duration and territorial coverage. For these reasons, the article concludes that the EU's conflict management policy is generally not credible in African states. (Ethnopolitics)