Suchergebnisse

This study examines conflicts arising from the dual processes of Europeanization and post-socialist transformations, from gaining independence in 1991 to facing the current economic crisis. Through an in-depth comparison of Estonia and Slovenia over time, it shows how elite actors within these two very different welfare capitalist states resisted EU pressures to change their cohesive and successful national models

This paper examines how the EU seeks to export its 'market-governance' approach to energy policy to the Western Balkans: developing open markets and regulatory institutions to promote efficient, secure and sustainable energy. The paper argues domestic change is limited to date due to normative inconsistencies within EU policy. In particular, EU pressure to open energy markets are resisted by state owners and the domestic energy-intensive industries they subsidize, while environmental groups argue the EU has privileged market liberalization over environmental goals. The result is simple 'adoption' of EU rules with little evidence of transformation of the status quo.

AbstractConcerns that eastward enlargement will spur a race to the bottom in wages and social protection figured prominently in two cases before the ECJ: Laval and Viking. Each case considered whether industrial action to uphold collective bargaining agreements violate single market laws. Government observations divided between old and new Member States, with the former supporting the unions' position and the latter the employers'. With the ECJ ultimately ruling with the employers and against the expressed preferences of most old Member States and unions, the rulings furthered the cause of liberalization in the enlarged EU, but also mobilized political opposition.

Drawing on Svetlana Boym's distinction between "restorative" and "reflective" nostalgia, the essay maps two broad, and often overlapping, ideal types of Yugonostalgia expressed in and through contemporary former Yugoslav film, popular music, and multi-media. The first expresses reeonstructive longing for an essential Yugoslav past; the second offers self-consciously ambivalent and critical frames in indulging fantasies of this past. What different forms of Yugonostalgia share in common is challenging symbolic geographies of disunity that have dominated political discourse in former Yugoslavia for the last two decades. The two types can be differenciated by their stance toward the presentpast and the future: while both of them are based on fantasies of the past, thc "restorative" Yugonostalgic looks backward towards a seemingly fixed time and space while "reflective" nostalgic restlessly grapples with the dislocation so palpable in the former Yugoslavia to imagine alternative futures.

Abstract: Drawing on Svetlana Boym's distinction between "restorative" and "reflective" nostalgia, the essay maps two broad, and often overlapping, ideal types of Yugonostalgia expressed in and through contemporary former Yugoslav film, popular music, and multi-media. The first expresses reconstructive longing for an essential Yugoslav past; the second offers self-consciously ambivalent and critical frames in indulging fantasies of this past. What different forms of Yugonostalgia share in common is challenging symbolic geographies of disunity that have dominated political discourse in former Yugoslavia for the last two decades. The two types can be differentiated by their stance toward the presentpast and the future: while both of them are based on fantasies of the past, the "restorative" Yugonostalgic looks backward towards a seemingly fixed time and space while "reflective" nostalgic restlessly grapples with the dislocation so palpable in the former Yugoslavia to imagine alternative futures.

An examination of sex trafficking in the Balkans reveals how three interrelated social groups -- traffickers, trafficked women, & opponents of trafficking -- are all involved in the regional economy of the sex trade. The importance of the Balkans as a center of illegal trading networks is discussed. Data drawn from reports of the International Organization for Migration & the Southeastern European Cooperative Initiative are used to determine the volume, scope, & patterns of Balkan sex trafficking. The most common routes begin in Ukraine, Moldova, & Romania & move through Serbia to West European markets. Since 2000, Albania has been providing the greatest number of trafficked women. Migration, law enforcement, human rights, & structural approaches to conceptualizing the trafficking problem are explored, along with trafficking networks in nearby European Union (EU) states; EU efforts to combat sex trafficking; & the link between anti-trafficking efforts & security interests. It is contended that trafficking must be understood as a function of economic dependency & human rights rather than an illegal migration/law enforcement issue. 2 Tables. J. Lindroth

Examines challenges that Slovenia and other newly-independent Central and Eastern European states that are applicants for EU membership face in balancing constituents' demands for preservation of national sovereignty and negative public opinion regarding membership with demands of EU accession mandates. Compares public support for and opinions towards EU membership in Slovenia and 9 other applicant countries in Central and Eastern Europe; based on data from the Central and Eastern European Eurobarometer surveys, 1996-97.