Bücher von Ron Böhler

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Politik - Region: Westeuropa, Note: 1.0, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Verkehrspolitik führt in der policy-Forschung ein Schattendasein und findet im Vergleich zu vielen anderen policy-Feldern weitaus weniger Beachtung. Gerade aber in der europäischen Perspektive stellt Verkehrspolitik eines der wichtigsten und einflussreichsten Instrumente dar, um nach Artikel 14 Vertrag zur Gründung der Europäischen Gemeinschaft von 1992 den gemeinsamen Binnenmarkt zu verwirklichen. Transeuropäische Verkehrsnetze (TEN-V) erfüllen dafür den Zweck, Peripheriestaaten der Union an den zentralen Binnenmarkt anzubinden und dadurch ökonomische Divergenzen innerhalb der Gemeinschaft auszugleichen. Von wissenschaftlicher Relevanz ist daher die Fragestellung, ob die nationale Implementierung europäischer Richtlinien im Bereich Verkehrspolitik konvergent oder divergent verläuft. Daraus könnten Rückschlüsse auf nationale infrastrukturelle Fehlentwicklungen geschlossen und entsprechende Lösungsansätze formuliert werden. Interessant ist zudem im Falle von Divergenz zwischen europäischen Maßgaben und nationalstaatlicher Umsetzung die Ursachenforschung. Sie ließe womöglich Rückschlüsse auf innerstaatliche Prozesse, Interessenstrukturen zwischen verschiedenen nationalen Akteuren sowie deren politische Einflussnahme zu. Im Umkehreffekt könnte Compliance in der Verkehrspolitik aber auch eine Art Vorbildfunktion auf die Compliance anderer policy-Bereiche haben, indem beispielsweise Strukturen und Prozesse kopiert und übertragen werden, um in einem Politikfeld erfolgreich Compliance herbeizuführen. Ebenso könnten Nationalstaaten voneinander lernen, wie die Implementierung von EU-Direktiven mit Erfolg vollzogen werden kann.Schließlich tangiert Verkehrspolitik nahezu alle policy-Bereiche und kann nicht aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen werden, wie Vickerman konstatiert. Interessant ist deshalb beispielsweise auch, welche Kettenreaktionen Compliance bzw. non-Compliance in der Verkehrspolitik in anderen Ebenen auslösen könnte ¿ genannt seien nur die Regional- und Infrastrukturpolitik, die Gemeinsame Agrarpolitik, der Gemeinsame Binnenmarkt, Wettbewerbs- und Entwicklungspolitik, Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspolitik und seit einigen Jahren die Umweltpolitik im besonderen Maße.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2010 im Fachbereich Politik - Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Note: 1.0, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: In einem ersten Schritt rekapituliert die Arbeit die Biografie, das Schaffen, aber auch die Strafanfälligkeit Horst Mahlers von der frühen Studentenzeit der 60er Jahre bis heute. Anschließend werden die Denkmuster seiner politischen Agitation sowohl zu Zeiten der RAF als auch der NPD bzw. der Neuen Rechten aufgedeckt, die sich erstaunlich ähnlich sind und in drei überspannenden Konstanten zusammenhängen. Schließlich soll ein Bezug zur Erinnerungskultur im Nachkriegsdeutschland hergestellt werden. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es deshalb auch, anhand eines explorativen Designs einen Erklärungsansatz für die biografische Entwicklung von Horst Mahler zu entwickeln.Der Fall Horst Mahler erfährt seit der Jahrtausendwende enorme mediale Aufmerksamkeit. Der einstige Mitbegründer der Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF), jener linksterroristischen Untergrundorganisation, die sich gegen die Unreflektiertheit ihrer aus der NS-Zeit mit Schuld und Verantwortung belasteten Elterngeneration sowie den daraus resultierenden deutschen Unrechtsstaat auflehnte, trat am 12. August 2000 der rechtsextremistischen Nationaldemokratischen Partei Deutschlands (NPD) bei. Verantwortlich für die öffentliche Zuwendung zur Biografie und Lebenswerk Mahlers ist weniger der Umstand, dass er der letzte verbliebene Mitgründer der RAF ist, sondern vielmehr sein ideologischer Schwenk vom Linksterrorismus der 1960er und 1970er Jahre hin zum Rechtsfaschismus in der so genannten Neuen Rechten. Diese persönliche Entwicklung Mahlers ist auf verschiedenste Art und Weise betitelt worden: als ¿ideological journey¿, als ¿change of heart¿ sowie als ¿political odyssey from left-wing terrorist to spokesman and strategist for latter-day Nazis [which] is unique¿. Nie aber ist der biografische Zusammenhang der Entwicklung Horst Mahlers analytisch untersucht worden. Der Anschein der Inkonsistenz und Unreflektiertheit des Denkens und auch Handelns Mahlers hält diesem Versuch freilich nicht stand.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2010 im Fachbereich Politik - Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Note: 1.0, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Diese Arbeit will zwar den Hegelschen Suizidbegriff darstellen, soll sich jedoch nicht damit begnügen, dies ausschließlich deskriptiv zu tun. Der Mehrwert ergibt sich erst, und gerade, aus der parallel geführten kritischen Reflexion. Im Folgenden steht die Frage zur Disposition, welchen Stellenwert der Suizid in der Hegelschen Freiheitskonzeption einnahm und wie sich Hegels Einstellung zum Thema theoretisch fundieren lässt."Es gibt nur ein wirklich ernstes philosophisches Problem: den Selbstmord", schrieb Albert Camus in "Der Mythos des Sisyphos". Kaum ein Thema der Philosophie bzw. Soziologie wird von Dichtern und Denkern über Jahrhunderte hinweg so gerne verdrängt und doch latent immer wieder aufgegriffen. Ob Antike oder Neuzeit: das Thema ist ebenso brisant wie aktuell.Einer der bedeutendsten rechts- und naturphilosophischen Denker des 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhunderts war Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Auch Hegel hat den Suizid nie wirklich thematisiert, jedoch das freiheitliche Individuum in den Mittelpunkt seiner Grundlagen der Philosophie des Rechts aus dem Jahre 1821 (hier in der Fassung von 1986) gestellt, sodass sich zwangsläufig die Frage stellt, ob der freie Wille des Subjekts bei Hegel notwendigerweise auch den Suizid legitimiert. Das Lebenswerk Hegels ist im Verlaufe des vergangenen Jahrhunderts umfassend analysiert und interpretiert worden. Einigkeit besteht indes trotzdem nicht. Auch und gerade in Bezug auf den Hegelschen Freiheitsbegriff reichen Studien von einer rein subjekt-zentrierten bis hin zu intersubjektiv-orientierten Interpretationen. Untersuchungen zum Thema Suizid im Zusammenhang mit Hegels Rechts- und Sittenlehre entfielen bis dato gänzlich; hier besteht also durchaus noch Potential in der zeitgenössischen Auseinandersetzung mit Hegel. Es liegt in der Natur der Sache, dass sich die nachfolgenden Betrachtungen mehrheitlich auf Hegels "Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts" als Primärquelle beziehen.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1.3, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: Since climate change and related facets of environmental protection became increasingly global(ised) issues in the early 1970s, the international community attempts to address these questions collectively as well as substantially. Observers and commentators of international environmental negotiations thereby repeatedly hinted at the necessity of a strong leader in global environmental governance as a precondition to urge agreements on common approaches to climate change. Otherwise, the successful and sustainable mitigation of global warming and ecocides on a large scale might fail. The question is still highly controversial, why of all actors on the global scale the European Union (EU), which accounts for approximately 24% of hazardous greenhouse gases, shall be a leader in environmental politics and climate protection?The main argument developed in this paper apprehends the European Union as a leader prima facie in international environmental politics. Whether the European Union fills a pivotal leading role according to, for instance, climate protection and sustainable development is a doubled feature. As will be argued below, the EU has undertaken massive efforts and strategic action to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and mobilised other members of the international climate regime to follow the European ¿leadership by example¿ (Schunz 2011, pp.6-10). This dimension is clearly outward-looking and aims for behavioural change of other affected actors. Leading by example also calls for a certain degree of credibility to offer incentives to other players to pursue environmental goals. In respect of GHGE reduction, the European Union faces delays in implementing targets insistently and thus loses ground in international environmental governance to developing countries it is supposed to guide.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Politik - Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Note: 2.0, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Das Konzept deliberativer Demokratie wurde bewusst in Abgrenzung zu liberalen und republikanischen Demokratietheorien entwickelt. Dem lag die Beobachtung zu Grunde, dass westliche Gesellschaften zunehmend an einem Demokratiedefizit leiden. Dieser Trend ist durch den von Beck und Anderen heraufbeschworenen Wandel moderner Industriegesellschaften ¿ namentlich durch Individualisierung und Globalisierung ¿ nur verstärkt worden. Insbesondere seit den Ausführungen Habermas¿ über die zivilgesellschaftliche Dimension deliberativer Demokratie ist deshalb vielfach versucht worden, Deliberation demokratietheoretisch zu konzeptionalisieren und beispielsweise im Kontext direktdemokratischer Bürgerpartizipation umzusetzen. Direkte Demokratie ist nicht zwangsläufig die qualitativ höherwertigere gegenüber anderen Demokratietheorien wie der liberalen und republikanischen, die den normativen Gehalt politischer Selbstbestimmung weitestgehend übergehen und den technischen Akt der Wahl in das Zentrum ihrer Demokratiedefinition stellen.Die Frage ist daher berechtigt, welchen neuen Mehrwert deliberative Demokratie in eine von Individualisierung und Globalisierung geprägte Gesellschaft trägt. Entsprechende Erkenntnisse könnten den Rückschluss zulassen, dass Deliberation auf die Entwicklungen und Veränderungen der reflexiven Moderne mit einem Zuwachs an demokratischer Selbstbestimmung durch den Bürger antwortet. Damit würde die deliberative Demokratie tatsächlich ein potentielles Praxismodell darstellen, welches herkömmliche Demokratietheorien ersetzen oder wenigstens zu deren Modifizierung beitragen könnte. Sollte die Gesamtkonzeption hingegen scheitern, hat damit deliberative Demokratie noch nicht versagt. Schwachstellen und Systemfehler könnten daraufhin erkannt und bearbeitet werden und einzelne Aspekte der deliberativen Theorie dennoch Antworten auf die Frage liefern, wie dem offenkundigen Demokratiedefizit westlicher Gesellschaften zu begegnen ist.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - General and Theories, grade: 2.3, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: ¿A hegemon is a state that is so powerful that it dominates all the other states in the system¿. Under this assumption, who can be considered to be a great power? A world leader? Can there be more than just one? And if yes, what makes them so powerful? The purpose of this essay is to point out that the term of great power states and politics has changed in recent decades from security policy aspects of the Cold War to a more broaden definition including societal, economic and cultural characteristics. Taking these indicators into consideration, the international state system has turned away from a bipolar constellation between the two superpowers USA and Soviet Union to a multipolar world with numerous big players and growing regionalisation. In this world order, the BRIC states contemplate the field of great powers next to the US and Russia.The first section will outline a comprehensive definition of what a great power is and which characteristics distinguish it from less powerful states. The second part gives an overview of how great power politics has changed in recent decades from a bipolar world system with two super powers towards a far more diversified multipolar world with various great powers and no remaining hegemon. This approach will be tested within the third part of this essay through brief inspections of the cases of the US, India and the EU.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1.7, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: This study examines the concept of a general European identity. First, the underlying concept of ¿identity¿ in the European socio-political context will be defined and elaborated in its different levels and peculiarities. Second, the study addresses the various theories of Europeanisation as they mirror the current state of the scientific debate. The essay concludes by extracting the additive of the concept of ¿identity¿ for Europeanisation theories.The European Union (EU) faces a dilemma: While life and politics of the European citizens become more and more Europeanised, the emergence of a European identity seems to fail. People all over Europe cannot identify with the idea of European unification as a whole, although this might spread peace, freedom and welfare. On the other hand, if the EU or its citizens themselves would be able to create European ¿imagined community¿, by whatever means, the split between both concepts would be overcome. But how is the concept of ¿identity¿ then connected to Europeanisation processes?The main argument here is that ¿identity¿ still is an underestimated object of Europeanisation theories, but that the rise of hybrid identities, and with it the manifestation of Europeanised national identities instead of a European identity all over Europe, holds the explicit potency to establish the missing relationship between European citizens and EU politics. This would lead suddenly to a strengthened legitimization of European Union policies as well as people¿s belief in the justification of a supranational polity within a system of multi-level governance.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: 1.7, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: This essay examines deliberative democracy in recent theories and its limitations in reality. It starts by defining the term deliberative democracy along its own normative standards. Furthermore, the societal and political context in which deliberation as a form of governance by the people arose will be broached. The second section then addresses major shortcomings of deliberative thoughts, both theoretically and empirically.There is a huge difference between normative aspirations of deliberation theory on the one hand, and empirical evidence on the other. A prerequisite and similarity among all deliberative forms nevertheless is the existence of a lively public sphere, which guarantees communicative acting as well as the free exchange of information and opinions.The emergence and rise of deliberation brought forth both sympathizers and sceptics. While its proponents regarded deliberation as a solution to de-politicizing societies and people¿s disenchantment with politics, the latter ones remained pessimistic about the adaptability of the concept in practice.In theory, it seemed to be beyond question that deliberation would do better in terms of citizens¿ participation, legitimacy and accountability of the political outcome than its representative counterparts in Western societies. The idea was to give back an active role to the public in the process of policy-making, and as such it was a radical approach.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 1.0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: This essay tries to outline incipient geopolitical conflicts in and beyond contemporary Europe, which might change its security perceptions, strategies and aspirations permanently. The attention of this essay is focused on two territorial challenges beyond European borders with direct effect upon its security. The first one deals with the Arctic Zone and the geopolitical disputes between its neighbouring states. The second one concerns the deepening securitization of outer space and its impact on the European sphere.Contemporary Europe faces new emerging territorial challenges, which are not located inside Europe but in its geographical periphery and beyond. Various territorial conflicts, in particular those between successor states of the former Soviet Union (SU) or former Yugoslavia, were present throughout the 1990s and sometimes even resolved only recently, such as the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia in summer 2010. Nevertheless, these are not the only territorial conflicts affecting the European security structure.Territory is an important security issue encased in geostrategic politics in Europe as well as in world affairs and has been broadly examined and assessed by scholars. In modern geopolitical analyses the emphasis is not ¿classical understanding of spatial borders and territory of a nation-state, but more about transcending these borders. The driving force of this school of thought is to understand why and how states in world politics aim to secure territory beyond their own borders. This recent development matters to Europe as much as it does to the US, Russia and other nations in international relations. And by far, this is an issue related to individual, regional and collective security identity.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Western Europe, grade: 1.7, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: Building upon the multi-level governance (MLG) approach, this paper seeks to analyze the impact of Scottish devolution on the British government¿s strategic position in relation with Europe.The first section will therefore detail the concept of multi-level governance and the domestic impact of EU politics. This perspective is supplemented by theoretical considerations about devolution and its implications for the British Westminster system. Afterwards, an analysis of Scottish rights and obligations as a devolved polity shall shed light on de facto alterations that came along with the 1998 Scotland Act. The paper restricts itself to the purely structural adaptations. A discussion, why devolution towards Edinburgh has led to a win-win-outcome for Whitehall, will complete the argumentation.Indeed, the Scotland Act of 1998, for instance, meant serious changes in the British political system and the bureaucratic state whilst political competencies over various policy areas were shifted from central government to subnational authorities. This kind of decentralization away from the British executive in Whitehall was the most radical constitutional change this country has seen since the Great Reform Act of 1832. The United Kingdom (UK) is therewith much influenced by a new European paradigm, referred to as MLG. In this post-national polity, the nation state does not any longer appear as the epicenter of domestic decision-making and foreign policy representation. The old Westminster model (WM) had served its time and was henceforth replaced by a quasi-federal state, rather than a unitary state. New actors, above all the regional governments, gain power and may bypass London as the gatekeeper of UK European policy formulation.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2010 im Fachbereich Politik - Region: Westeuropa, Note: 1.3, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the change and adaptation that occurred in the French ¿Parti Socialiste¿ (PS) and the German ¿Social Democratic Party¿ (SPD) during their common time of representation in government. The research question ¿ ¿Does the Europeanization of national political parties in government do inevitably lead to similar adaptation processes?¿ ¿ is thus targeted on the internal party processes caused by the external effects of European integration. The variables that explain these modifying processes are further elaborated under point 4 of this paper.By the end of the 20th century thirteen out of fifteen European governments were led by Social Democrats or coalitions with social democratic participation. These parties do not longer operate only in their familiar domestic environment ¿ they are affected by European Union politics and thus growing adaptational pressures and shifting opportunity structures. The impact might be the same, but the outcome of respective modifications varies as this comparative study of the Europeanization of the German SPD and the French Parti Socialiste in the period of their participation in government between 1997 and 2001 shows.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, grade: 2.0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: ¿[T]he long history of failed regional agreements in South America and some developments in the integration process have raised some doubts about the capacity of bloc members to accomplish their ambitious intentions¿. The hesitant progress in Latin American regional integration (Mercosur) caused increasing distrust if the uneven distribution of power resources and abilities within the region can lead to successful and steady integration processes. Is the regional hegemon Brazil perhaps too powerful in order to let this demanding project succeed?Power configurations in regional orders are, so will be argued, a double-edged sword: While asymmetric power structures are possibly a prerequisite for deepening integration processes, but they can also cause conflict between less powerful states on the one hand and leading ones on the other. According to power transition theory, satisfaction about the prevalent power structures among actors can be assumed to be the second precondition for effective integration. Conflict is then guaranteed when power parity between two or more dissatisfied actors is established. Both perspectives will be discussed and assessed in the subsequent sections, after the concept of power in multilateral relations is defined and asymmetries detected. Two examples, the European Union and Mercosur, shall exemplify the efficacies and tensions behind imbalanced power structures among regional powers and their will and ability to integrate further.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1.0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: ¿Many international organizations [IO] have clearly succeeded in formulating, and sometimes implementing, policies that cannot be described as the simple product of interstate bargaining¿ (Reinalda and Verbeek 1998, p.5). A closer look at international relations (IR) theories will quickly give indication that this statement is at odds with both neorealism and neoliberalism. In fact, these theories have for a long time neglected IO policy-making as well as the potential that IOs take purposive action as autonomous actors. Barnett and Finnemore hold that view and suggest a sociological perspective to treat IOs first and foremost as bureaucracies with independent agency.The International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO), better known as INTERPOL, is such a case. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, so will be argued below, INTERPOL remarkably improved institutional structures and strengthened its political scope of duties towards international terrorism. Its counter-terrorism strategies comprised technological innovation and bureaucratic efficiency with the objective of accelerating efficient crime fighting, on the one hand, as well as tightened cooperation with other (inter)national partner organisations with the aim of fostering a world-spanning anti-terrorist network, on the other. Both means go for the overall idea- and knowledge-based realignment that INTERPOL underwent in recent years under Secretary General Ronald K. Noble since his inauguration in 2000.The essay is structured as follows: Throughout the first section, the sociological institutionalist approach of Barnett and Finnemore will be presented in comparative perspective to major IR theories. The approach suggests a number of assumptions and implications to the behavioural study of international organizations that will be elaborated further. The shortcomings, which are inherent in neorealist and neoliberalist concepts, will be seen as the starting point for the theoretical and empirical gains that the international bureaucracy approach provide. Subsequently, the concept will be applied to INTERPOL as an important international security organization in the field of counter-terrorism. Structural, political and technological adaptations that the organisation deployed in the aftermath of the 9/11 events make it a remarkable example of the accuracy and applicability of Barnett¿s and Finnemore¿s approach.

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1.7, Humboldt-University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: This essay is a comparative study of transposition records of EU directives in the case of Bulgaria and Romania in the years following EU accession in 2007. It will also consider the role the respective national parliament has played. It thereby closes an empirical gap in contemporary researches on the topic.First, this study will review the academic literature on the roles that national parliaments in CEE countries have played after the collapse of the Soviet Union with special reference to transition efforts of these countries. Bulgariäs and Romaniäs cases will be further sketched out. Afterwards, the methodology for evaluating national parliament¿s involvement in the transposition of EU directives will be outlined, before turning the attention to the comparative analysis of the two case studies.The transposition of EU regulations into national legislation is at the heart of the European integration project as this step of the policy process provides for the congruence and non-discrimination of domestic policies among European Union (EU) member states. Compliance with supranational law shall guarantee state practice to common standards within a Union marked by economic disequilibria and political idiosyncracies of each country.Indeed, empirical studies have revealed that timely transposition of EU directives vary across member countries as well as policy areas. More generally, the transposition of EU law within a fixed deadline is positively correlated to central national preferences and run rather smoothly in issue areas of secondary importance to relevant state actors. In countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) however it has been argued that EU accession would lead to some kind of ¿compliance fatigue¿ once the intended goal of EU membership has been reached.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2007 im Fachbereich Politik - Internationale Politik - Thema: Frieden und Konflikte, Sicherheit, Note: 1.3, Freie Universität Berlin, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Die Europäische Union ist seit dem Vertrag von Maastricht 1992 auf dem besten Weg, sich mit einer autonomen Gemeinsamen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (GASP) wenn schon nicht von der US-geführten North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) zu lösen, so doch zu emanzipieren. Dabei baut die Europäische Union keineswegs stringent eigene Planungs- und Kommandostrukturen auf oder erweitert das militärische Ressourcenkontingent, sondern bewegt sich durch ausdrückliche Einbeziehung der transatlantischen Partner stets zwischen abgeschotteter Souveränität und einer Art selbst geschaffener privilegierter Partnerschaft als Gegengewicht zur NATO.Das Verhältnis von NATO und der EU-geführten GASP ist bis heute formell nicht eindeutig geregelt. Insofern ist es von großem wissenschaftlichem Interesse, ob es sich bei den beiden globalen Akteuren NATO und EU um kooperative Partner oder um rivalisierende Konkurrenten handelt, die ¿ je nach eigener Wertvorstellung und Zielsetzung ¿ unnötig Ressourcen und Strukturen duplizieren und sich gegenseitig behindern. Es soll deshalb untersucht werden, welchen Mehrwert die europäische GASP gegenüber der NATO, die hier nicht in Frage gestellt werden soll, hat und wie sie diesen Mehrwert zur Sicherung des europäischen und transatlantischen Raumes sowie zum Frieden für die internationale Gemeinschaft einsetzen kann. Darüber hinaus bedarf die Stellung der EU als globaler Akteur einer Erörterung, weil dies Rückschlüsse auf eine mögliche Verschiebung der transatlantischen Machtverhältnisse hin zum europäischen Raum bedeuten könnte.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - General and Theories of International Politics, grade: 1.7, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: The variety of renewable energy sources range from wind, sunlight, biomass and geothermal heat to rain, tides and waves (hydropower). Notwithstanding their massive importance for EU energy consumption, some energy carriers such as biomass and hydro are seen to be ¿deadlocked¿ (Del Río Gonzaléz 2008, p.2917), while the promotion of wind power among EU member states is well researched. Hence, the case here shall be made for solar energy, with special reference to the promotion of photovoltaic (PV) power systems due to their suspected potential for further energy transitions in Europe. Being the ¿fastest growing power-generation technology in the world¿ (REN21 2010, p.19), corresponding policy outcomes on the Iberian Peninsula will be illustrated and assessed.Rational policy-making aims at effective problem-solving strategies based on cost-benefit-calculations. Decisive is not which particular policy may in total terms maximize the outcome, but which one is optimal in relation to costs that accrue from this policy. The underlying question of rational choice theory thus is, why political decision-makers should prioritise a certain ¿path¿ of policy-making over others. A rationale has thus always been assessed with regard to the effectiveness and efficiency towards a desired or intended political outcome. The Spanish and Portuguese National Renewable Energy Action Plans portray an adequate guideline for further analysis.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2.3, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: This essay examines how centre-right parties in Central and Eastern Europe change in their ambitions to become a member of the European Union. The study will briefly categorize centre-right parties in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in order to identify relevant case studies. It is then assumed that ongoing European integration processes have an apparent impact on the domestic level, and in particular on parties¿ opportunity structures within the national political arena. In the end, they inevitably adapt to these external pressures by either reacting receptive or by criticizing or rejecting the European project. Based on this assumption, the second part addresses the programmatic development and stance on Europe of major centre-right parties in Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2006.In the same way that the European Union (EU) generally has deepened its policies and widened its geographic silhouette for decades, centre-right parties would be expected to become more ¿pro-European¿. In contrast, the aim of this essay is too prove this assumption wrong.While some comprehensive studies indicate such an interrelation for Western European centre-right parties, this does not bear in cases of centre-right parties in Central Eastern European (CEE) countries. These parties were all too enthusiastic about the break-down of the communist Soviet Union and the incipient era of democratic and economic transition and proclaimed accession to the European Union as an immediate necessity in their foreign policy agendas.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1.0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: ¿For the last thirty years, Spanish foreign policy has had a single (though double-barrelled) objective: first, integration in Europe; secondly, integration of Europe.¿ (Torreblanca 2010, p.10).Not quite a decade after twelve European countries agreed on a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), national foreign policies among the EU have ¿significantly been changed, if not transformed, by participation over time in foreign policy making at the European level¿ (White 2001, p.6). This, indeed, says little about the nature and direction of the changes that occurred and whether these conduced to general foreign policy convergence among EU member states or perhaps even fostered greater divergence.In recent years, Europeanisation processes of national foreign policies have attracted more and more scholarly attention. While some case studies focus on the European impact on Central and Northern European states, for instance the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland (Tonra 2001), others evaluate the distinctive features of the ¿Big Three¿ ¿ France, the United Kingdom and Germany ¿ in EU foreign policy-making (Wong 2006; Gross 2009; Aggestam 2011 Forthcoming). In contrast, EU states in the Southern periphery have substantially been described as adaptive laggards that ¿displayed remarkably resilient and distinctive features of state tradition and political culture despite the pressures of the EU¿ (Featherstone and Kazamias 2001, p.2). One of these countries, Spain, joined the European Union at a time when joint efforts to encourage a common foreign and security policy framework were still in the early stages of development. It will be argued below that Spain, at first assumed to be an enfant terrible within the European foreign policy framework, turned out to be an enfant sage with greater ambitions. From the viewpoint of social constructivism, the changing behaviour as well as the active role that Spain took very early in European foreign policy will be portrayed.

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1.3, Humboldt-University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: The aim of this essay is it to move beyond pure evaluations of the EUSF¿s efficiency and viability and to target its social dimension. The argument elaborated here is that natural hazard insurance mechanisms on the European level effectively complement national ones and that this cannot be fully explained with rational behaviour. The EUSF might be a test case for inter-European solidarity transfer payments irrespective of rational cost-benefit calculations, though it seems to share most attributes with the EU Cohesion and Regional Policy.For decades, European unification has been illustrated ordinarily as a mere economic integration process that lacks a complementary political dimension, let alone a social one. Even more in times of the current sovereign debt crisis that continuingly bears the potential to threaten both the stability and competitiveness of a series of market economies, the European Union (EU) is expected to succeed or fail with its common Eurozone currency, the Euro. It¿s the economy, stupid!, one might say. Yet, while national governments and European policy-makers incessantly discuss about adequate ways of political steering of shattered European financial regulations, the EU has over the years installed institutions and mechanisms that shall strengthen and deepen the European project, but have only reluctantly gained academic and public attention. Much has been already written about the EU regional policy and structural funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) as attempts to improve social cohesion within Europe.Another institutionalised form of intra-European solidarity, in contrast, remains overall a blind spot in academic literature although its name is a clear avowal to European solidarity: the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF). It will be addressed here and tested a long a variety of variables to evaluate whether we can speak of a Europeanisation of solidarity mechanisms within the Community. The following subquestions will be raised: Which calculus does the European Union Solidarity Fund follow? Is it purely rationally or rather normatively motivated? Can the EUSF be considered an institution of inter-European solidarity? And if yes, who demonstrates solidarity with whom?