Suchergebnisse

This is a multi-method study of the European Union's decision-making on enlargement over seven decades, showing how membership norms shape decision-making on which states are considered eligible to join the EU and which are not.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: The International Politics of Human Rights -- THE EVOLUTION OF NORMS -- Chapter One: The Emergence of Human Rights Norms in East-West Relations -- Chapter Two: Negotiating Human Rights in the Helsinki Final Act -- THE FRAMING OF NORMS -- Chapter Three: Framing "Helsinki" at Home: Social Movements against the Communist Party-State -- Chapter Four: Framing "Helsinki" Abroad: Transnational Networks and U.S. Policy -- THE EFFECTS OF NORMS -- Chapter Five: Mobilization: The Expansion of Human Rights Movements -- Chapter Six: Backlash: Communism's Response to Human Rights -- Chapter Seven: Socialization: Human Rights and the Dismantling of Communist Rule -- Conclusions: The Helsinki Effect -- Appendix: Interviews -- Index

"A novel explanation of how EU member states overcome their divergent preferences to reach agreement on common foreign policies, with fourteen in-depth case studies covering diplomatic and security issues, enlargement, trade, development and environmental protection"--

What is a region and how can we best understand a state's eligibility for membership in a regional political community? Scholars have sought to answer these questions in terms of geographic proximity and social-psychological identity, but neither concept can accommodate the contestation and change that characterize the social construction of regions. Instead, this article argues that the limits of regions are defined within regional organizations by member states' governments plus supranational actors deliberating over a common definition of the characteristics that members and potential members are expected to share. The concept of membership norms thus offers powerful insights into how regional communities define who is eligible for membership, how these definitions change over time and the incentives they create for those seeking to promote or block an applicant state. The evolution of the European Union's membership norms since the 1950s illustrates this argument.

AbstractAlthough scholars and practitioners have long argued that greater political coherence will make the European Union a more effective international actor, the relationship between coherence and effectiveness has not been well defined or tested. This article defines the two concepts, proposes three hypotheses regarding the relationship between them, and examines the extent and consequences of EU coherence on an issue that the EU has highlighted as essential to its foreign policy mission: the good functioning of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It finds that the EU exhibited considerable coherence in its response to the United States' campaign for ICC 'non‐surrender agreements', yet failed in its effort to shape the behaviour of other states. Coherence may be necessary for the EU to exert its influence abroad, but it is not sufficient in a multi‐centric world order where many others do not share the EU's collective policy preferences and are ready to deploy vast resources in pursuit of their goals. The article also considers the implications of this study for future research on EU foreign policy actorness, coherence and effectiveness.