NCRE: Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
“Can the EU be a credible international security actor without the integration of the Member States’ militaries?”
(University of Canterbury. NCRE, 2015) Comery, James
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Europe emerged from World War Two as something akin to a new creation. Gone were the days of aggressive militarism and war, in its place would be civilian power and democracy; or so Europe hoped. The 20th and 21st Centuries have witnessed some of the most barbaric acts in human history; this barbarity has led Europe on a quest to form a truly integrated European defence force with which to bring peace and justice both within its own borders and also to the world. By utilising Jutta Weldes’ Constructivism framework, this thesis unravels and exposes the way in which the constructed identities of the European Union and its forbears have driven this quest in the post-war years; it also explores the interface between these identities and the EU’s relationship with NATO, the United States, and its own constituent Member States.
Open Access
Policy implementation in a transition economy : two decades of small and medium enterprise (SME) development in Ukraine.
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2015) Fischer-Smith, Ruth
Current theoretical frameworks for assessing policy implementation have been developed almost exclusively in the context of market-based, pluralist democracies. The lack of applicable implementation theory outside this ‘western’ setting inspired this research to investigate policy processes in more diverse contexts. This research thus applied existing implementation theory to the post-Soviet sphere, utilising current frameworks to test conditions in a post-communist context. This policy lens approach was applied through two in-depth case study policies within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, in order to improve practical understanding of the ongoing transitional complexities in the region. The choice of SMEs as policy targets shed particular light on the development of the middle class, which in turn contributed insights regarding post-Soviet nations’ continued transition towards more liberal democracies. This research examined implementation effectiveness through fieldwork conducted in Ukraine (2012), using an amalgamated list of criteria for ‘perfect’ policy implementation as a theoretical framework (Allison & Halperin, 1972; Gunn, 1978; Mazmanian & Sabatier, 1983). Empirical data was collected through both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews (141), surveys (178) and primary source collection. Data was analysed through a combined approach of interview coding, process-tracing and cross-tabulation. Findings confirmed that incorporating certain socio-economic features, specific to a post-Soviet environment, into existing implementation models resulted in a more accurate picture of actual policy processes. Research conclusions thus included a new theoretical model for assessing policy implementation effectiveness in the region (Fischer-Smith Policy Implementation Measurement for Post-Soviet States). For theoreticians, this research may inform structural considerations when conducting policy research outside of a pluralist democracy. For practitioners, it may allow for better identification of implementation obstacles, in order to more effectively target mitigation efforts. Ultimately, the new considerations presented in this thesis may inform the wider field of policy implementation studies, both in transition regions and developing nations, as well as in the western pluralist societies where implementation theory originated.
Open Access
International Student Mobility and Internationalisation of Universities - The role of serendipity, risk and uncertainty in student mobility and the development of cosmopolitan mind-sets through knowledge and intercultural competence. Employability, students’ future mobility aspirations and the EU’s support of international student mobility
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2014) Weibl, Gabriel
The background to this study lies in the discrepancy between the perceptions of international student mobility in the context of the internationalisation of higher education by the EU and universities on one hand and international students themselves in terms of their motivations to study abroad on the other hand. This is a comparative study based on three main case studies, of six universities in New Zealand, Oxford University in the UK and the Charles University in the Czech Republic. It explores the students’ experiences abroad in terms of their intercultural competence, the shaping of identities, the acquisition and transfer of knowledge, the possible forming of cosmopolitan mind-sets and empathy, perceptions of employability and their future mobility aspirations. This thesis also considers the barriers and ‘push and pull’ factors of mobility, perceptions of risk and uncertainty in regards to mobility and the role of serendipity in student mobility, which has been overlooked in the literature on mobility and migration. The theoretical framework of the study builds on social capital theory, Europeanisation and the ‘do-it-yourself biography’ theory. The nature of this topic, however, suggested the employment of the concepts of globalisation, transnationalism and consideration of other forms of capital, such as the total human capital, mobility capital and transnational identity capital. This is predominantly a qualitative, mixed-method and longitudinal research project, which uses surveys, case studies, interviews and the data collecting tool called grounded theory. It triangulates data to support and enhance the analytical validity of the thesis. This research concludes that student experiences abroad as well as the internationalisation efforts of universities and the EU would benefit from the introduction of education for global citizenship, which should focus on the intercultural competencies of students. The thesis suggests sociocultural elements for example the cosmopolitan mind-set can enhance the economic, academic and political rationales of internationalisation, such as employability.
Open Access
Philosophical foundations for a constructivist and institutionalist relationship between the European Union and Australia.
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2014) Toth, Gyula
The European Union (EU) and Australia share a significant volume of historical connections in languages, cultures, economic and trade relationships, political views and ideas. These associations have had different levels of strength and frequencies in the past, depending on how these two political entities interacted with each other in the framework of international relations. Australia and the EU jointly developed an important political and socio-economic basis for working together, and cooperation between them is deeper and more common than the public might perceive to be the case. The EU is a growing superstructure; meanwhile Australia is a developed and successful nation, a successful democracy and a middle power. Nevertheless, Australia cannot expect to match the power and position of a polity, which comprises 28 different countries. This fact can produce a certain asymmetric relationship in the connection between these two political entities' communities. These asymmetric elements in the collaboration between them are liable to create certain discrepancies and disharmonies in the development of their different agreements in general. This thesis aims to examine the scope and depth of the EU-Australia working relationship, the convergent and the divergent issues within it. This exploration provides an analysis of the philosophical and sociological foundations of international relations in general, with special regard to the framework of sociological constructivism and sociological institutionalism, as possible catalysers in the growth and furtherance of the many-sided EU-Australia collaboration. To reach the most effective and efficient cooperation between the European Union and Australia, which includes the efforts to alleviate the urgent environmental sustainability and related problems regionally, and in a globalising world, will go a long way to create peace, security, and prosperity in Eurasia and in the Pacific. The EU-Australia mutual relationship is facilitated through shared values, norms and normative principles, such as the constitutive norms of liberty, democracy, good governance; the regulative norms of the centrality of peace, human rights, social solidarity, environmental sustainability; and the evaluative norms of the rule of law, transparency, human dignity and anti-discrimination. The willingness of the European Union and Australia to partake in a joint experience of continuous social learning process, provide them the power to achieve their aims together in a changing world.
Open Access
EU and the Asia Pacific: Measuring the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction programming in relation to child protection.
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2014) Thornley, Genevieve Helen Clare
This thesis employs a rights-based approach to evaluate the effectiveness of European Union (EU) external action policy formation and subsequent measures to protect children in a disaster risk context, in the Asia Pacific. Advances in human rights discourse and humanitarian responsibilities have led to a review of the concept of protection, and how it is applied in humanitarian and development assistance. Indeed, a rights-based approach to donorship centres on the obligations of duty bearers to uphold the rights of those at risk when carrying out humanitarian and development assistance, while ensuring implementation practices are accountable and transparent, to maximise donorship effectiveness. The fundamental components of upholding human rights, and reducing vulnerability, are intrinsic to the model of human security. Human security therefore assists in the analysis of protectionism through the embedded methodology of lexis-praxis where humanitarian and development policy formation, or lexis, and subsequent implementation channels, or praxis, contribute towards the measurement of the effectiveness of donor partnerships to implement disaster risk reduction programming (DRR), as a foreign policy objective. The EU is an excellent case study for the analysis of cohesion in policy implementation and an evaluation of the potential need for the harmonisation of lexis in policy formation. Harmonisation of policy lexis and policy formation will lead to coherence in praxis, or the implementation measures of the EU and Member States to enact policy obligations. To explore this notion further, this research employs a rights-based approach to analyse EU and Member State policy and practice, in the goal of upholding child rights, and reducing child risks, as part of donorship responsibilities. In addition, partner roles, responsibilities, and actions in the Asia Pacific, add another layer of analysis to review DRR policy and practice both regionally and in-country.
Open Access
Inter-regionalism of nation-states: Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) as a case-study
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2012) LAI, Suetyi
Writing a thesis is like writing a story book, this book is a story of the 17-year-old Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). It serves as a case-study of inter-regionalism, one of the newest cooperative mechanism in today’s international arena. Among a variety of cooperative frameworks, namely, multilateral global governance, effective multilateralism, regionalism, regionalisation, inter-regionalism is much less explored. This research determines how the rise of inter-regionalism influences the actors in the international arena and vice-versa. The key actors in inter-regionalism and their interaction are explored. Existing studies in the field of inter-regionalism in general and on the ASEM process in particular have been theory-led. There is a significant deficit of empirically-driven research in the field. In order to comprehensively understand inter-regionalism and the ASEM process, this research incorporates a substantial empirical focus. An unprecedented array of primary data is used. A variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods are employed to generate this unique and comprehensive empirical analysis of ASEM. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates the persistent state-centrism and lack of actorness of regions and regional organisations as independent actors in the ASEM process. Nation-state remains the primary actor in inter-regionalism; yet, they turn to bilateralism when more concrete cooperation or affairs have to be handled. The proliferation of sideline meetings, although as by-product, becomes one of ASEM’s key added-value to international relations. The empirical analysis also finds that inter-regional fora like ASEM offer participants regular information and views updates and promote socialisation among government officials in the official track and among the involved individual from civil society in the unofficial track.
Open Access
Caught between 'Dublin' and the deep blue sea: 'small' Member States and European Union 'burden-sharing' responses to the unauthorized entry of seabourne asylum seekers in the Mediterranean from 2005-2010.
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2013) Warner, Frendehl Sipaco
The Dublin Regulation determines the Member State responsible for accepting and making a decision on asylum claims lodged in the European Union (‘EU’), Norway and Iceland. It aims to ensure that each asylum claim is examined by one and only one Member State, to put an end to the practice of ‘asylum shopping’ and to prevent repeated applications, both of which have been costly for the receiving Member States and caused severe inefficiencies in the determination processes in the EU in the past. With the first Member State of entry being the major determinant for the allocation of asylum responsibility under the Dublin Regulation, there has been growing discontent among Member States at the external borders of the EU, particularly the southern Member States in the Mediterranean, over what they see as a system that has unjustly placed disproportionate burdens on them regarding the admission of seaborne asylum seekers and the costs associated with it. As a result of changes in migration rules and consequent adjustments in the entry strategy employed by irregular migrants and people smugglers, the Member States at the EU’s ‘southern frontline’ have unwillingly played the role of reluctant hosts to boatloads of unwelcome asylum seekers. This thesis aims to examine how the EU has attempted to tackle the challenging situation of the unauthorised migration of asylum seekers into its territory by sea, and in particular, how it has responded to demands from affected Member States for a more equitable system of asylum responsibility allocation in spite of and outside the Dublin framework. It would argue that the ‘small’ EU Member States in the Mediterranean themselves have, over the last five years at least, become the unexpected drivers of the EU’s declared commitment to the principles of ‘solidarity’, ‘fair sharing of responsibility’ and ‘effective multilateralism’. ‘ Small’ as they may be in terms of resources, size or influence vis-à-vis the larger Member States, the former have been able to create their own mark in a global regime that has traditionally been resistant to the idea of burden-sharing. The measures taken by the EU’s ‘southern frontline’ have collectively changed the landscape of a global protection regime where not only is asylum ‘burden sharing’ highly elusive – its terms and conditions are also dictated by the more powerful sovereign states. While the theoretical point of departure in this study is the influence wielded by the ‘small’ EU Member States in the burden-sharing debate, the degree or level of ‘influence’ small Mediterranean Member States can exercise in pushing for cooperative arrangements is itself determined by a system that is biased towards large states, increasingly securitised, and is therefore limited in both nature and scope. Nevertheless, the experience of ‘burden-sharing’ in the EU between 2005 and 2010 demonstrates that the Member States at the periphery have proactively taken the responsibility for the operationalisation of the founding values and principles of the EU, and through active norm advocacy and related strategies, have been able to achieve what has eluded the global protection regime so far – a refugee burden sharing scheme.
Open Access
External Images of the EU: Comparative Analysis of EU Representations in Three Major South Korean Newspapers and Their Internet Editions
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2013) Chung, Sae Won
This thesis explores textual and visual images of the EU in South Korea's three prestigious popular newspapers - Chosun Ilbo, Dong A Ilbo and Joong Ang Ilbo - and compares them to the imagery created by the internet versions of these newspapers. In recent years, much scholarly work has been done on the topics of EU imagery in print media, but no systemic attempt has yet been made to EU imagery in internet media. The thesis analyses EU news monitored daily in 12 months of 2008 (a year of the first G20 Summit in Washington and the 6th and 7th rounds of EU-Korea FTA negotiations). This study is interdisciplinary. The thesis draws on several significant theories and concepts from the media studies and linguistics. On top of this, a wide range of approaches of content and visual analysis were reviewed. The study then considers and adopts a multimethodological approach of content analysis (studies by Chaban and Holland) and of visual analysis (by Bain) based on visual semiotics. However, to cope with internet media it also adds several categories which add the notion of interactivity to the original content analysis. It incorporates categories originating from a social semiotic approach (elements of interactive and compositional meta-functions) into the original visual analysis. The results of this study are presented in three case studies. In the first section of each case study the thesis provides a comprehensive overview featuring the latest information and various perspectives (political, economic, social, environmental and developmental). The second section presents formal characteristics of EU images in print newspapers and their internet versions. The third section covers substantive characteristics in both versions. The last section suggests the results of visual analysis. The results of this thesis contribute to two areas of studies: EU external perception studies and internet communication studies: as well as enhancing a deeper understanding of EU-Korea relations.
Open Access
Wheying up the Options: How do Geographical Indications used in the European Union Influence New Zealand Speciality Cheese?
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2012) Schmutsch, Kirsty R
Global food production, supply chains, and food quality are coming under increasing scrutiny by consumers, environmentalists and governments. Particularly in developed countries, there is growing awareness among consumers about food origins and environmental practices. There are increasing concerns over animal welfare and protection and due to food scares in the late 1990’s, and more recently contamination issues from additives within supply chains and food borne illness outbreaks in Europe. It is no surprise then that food safety and traceability matters have become an issue of public and governmental concern. There is much debate currently about globalisation of the international trade of food commodities. There is also a growing awareness about and changing attitudes towards the provenance of consumers’ food sources. This dichotomy provides the background argument to this thesis. Europe has long been considered the home of finely crafted cheeses and this thesis aims to examine how the use of Geographical Indications (GI’s) by the European Union (EU) can influence New Zealand made speciality cheeses. The EU system of GI’s and the protection of specialised food and agricultural products has enabled companies to build strong reputations in the global marketplace and also within the internal market in order to charge premium prices for these protected products. The vast majority of the world’s GI foods are located in Europe. This thesis aims to argue that while there is not an official system for the control of labels of origin for the names of speciality cheeses in New Zealand, they are used nonetheless. These labels of location are used to denote certain qualities, production methods or guarantee and differ from standardised, commoditised cheeses. This thesis discusses the use of GI’s in the cheese industry as a way for New Zealand cheese producers to create product differentiation and as a means of communicating product quality through provenance branding. This thesis uses qualitative research methods to gauge industry opinion regarding the nature of the speciality cheese industry in New Zealand in order to better understand the reasons for naming speciality cheese products and how European cheeses have influenced them. Findings indicate that naming and influences for these products are varied and complex, but have been ultimately influenced by European cheeses. For New Zealand cheese companies GI’s are used as a means to differentiate products from competitors.
Open Access
Gateway Antarctica: A Route for the EU's Global Political Agenda
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2012) Idiens, Melissa Clare
This thesis endeavours to address an identified gap in literature on the European Union’s (EU) scientific and political engagement in the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The examination of this engagement begins from the initiation of the EU’s formal participation in the ATS in 1983 as a Party to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) mechanism, through to the EU’s contemporary role in 2011, for the facilitation of European collaborative scientific research on the Antarctic continent that remains under negotiation pending decisions on funding allocations for polar research under the EU Commission’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020). Particular focus is placed on analysis into the EU’s role in global environmental discourse, for contextualised examination on the hypothesis of this research, which posits that the EU could upgrade its role in the Antarctic to further legitimise a strategic agenda for recognition as a global political actor in international relations. As most of the EU’s participation in the process of Antarctic political deliberation was afforded as an observer to the series of Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (SATCM XI-1 to XI-IV) which developed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991), a significant amount of analysis will focus on EU and Member State involvement in the development of this Protocol. There is also a supplementary exploration of Europeanisation of French foreign policy over this period. In addition to contributing to the academic literature, recommendations concerning the future of the EU’s scientific and political Antarctic engagement could be used as informative and topical research for a mixed audience of European Union (EU) strategists, policy-makers and officials who are tasked with furthering the development of the EU into a global political actor. It could also be of interest to those people in the Antarctic community who might opportunistically seek to maximise the benefits of an increase in direct and indirect EU participation in the Antarctic, particularly the availability of EU funding for Antarctic scientific research.
Open Access
NZ and the EU in the Pacific: Renewable Energy as a Mechanism for Development
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2013) Roper, Timothy David Rendall
This thesis aims to undertake an evaluation of the potential for renewable energy to be used as a mechanism for the development of the Pacific region. Further to this, it examines whether NZ and the EU are well placed to contribute to any renewable energy transition in these countries by analysing their internal energy policy documents, policy ties to the Pacific region and previous actions in the renewable energy arena. The Tonga Energy Road Map, a progressive plan for renewable energy implementation, is then investigated in depth to determine its effectiveness thus far and its potential as a model for other Pacific island nations.
Open Access
Applying the analytical framework of cosmopolitanism as a model of democracy; how can civil society help further the democratic quality of European Union governance (the case of Spain 2012)?
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2013) Mander, Kirsten Jane
As the European Year of Citizens (2013) dawns, the European Union (EU) finds itself at a crossroads. One of the largest international organisations in the world, it has built a reputation as an international community model and democratic figure judged in the context of a multi-level system. However, the EU has recently departed from both roles, as its economic practices suffer dramatically from a lack of political pressure and regulation. The EU now faces an uncertain future: should it break apart or move forward with deeper integration and a “more Europe” attitude? In contrast to public and scholarly concern, this thesis does not treat the crisis as abstract evidence of a structural democracy deficit. This thesis instead attempts to draw attention to the point of departure, the European citizen, and a social cleavage that can be easily addressed despite ongoing economic insecurity. In this sense, this thesis differs from current academic thought in that it focuses less on understanding how democracy can be achieved and more on understanding how democracy, which already exists, can be enhanced. This paper looks at how two discourses identified in the literature (civil society and cosmopolitanism) could be combined in a governance framework that would support the EU to become a civilian power. It will complete this investigation through the use of case studies on two civil society organisations based in Spain and primary data collected from within the European Parliament (EP). The case studies will be used to understand how local civil society can improve the democratic quality of EU governance whilst meeting individuals’ needs and rights. This paper will conclude that, in the case of Spain 2012, local civil society creates three core conditions for active citizen participation that the EU can benefit from, despite the challenging environment surrounding it.
Open Access
Transparency, Accountability, Aid and the European Union
(University of Canterbury. National Centre of Research on Europe, 2013) Makwana, Shivani Bhupendra
In the midst of the international development agenda, two concepts have recently emerged, transparency and accountability. These concepts represent ideas, which have shaped the current direction in which development has been managed. Recent international agreements and partnerships, including the Paris Declaration for Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, have mentioned transparency and accountability as principles that may create greater aid effectiveness. In a time of austerity, development aid has come under pressure to create results. Transparency and accountability are concepts that may allow for an efficient use of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). Large donors of ODA shape the development agenda. Yet, many developed nations face questions from citizens regarding finances. The European Union (EU) has provided an example of integration and coherence within development policies. EU Member States and the EU are large donors of ODA. However, the austerity measures have caused a need to re-examine the way in which development aid is spent. Transparent and accountable policies may create effectiveness and efficiency within the deliverance of ODA. By examining the EU and EU Member States, the relevance of transparency and accountability may be understood. This thesis attempts to divulge the complex relationships between transparency, accountability, co-operation and the EU. Furthermore, primary data has been collected on the levels of transparency and accountability within the EU and EU Member States. The role of co-operation and partnership for these actors provides a greater understanding of the perspectives towards development aid. Transparency and accountability may allow for responsibility and trust to occur within co-operative efforts in implementing development aid. The relevance, purpose, and operationalisation of the concepts are central to this research.
Open Access
EU Actorness with and within Southeast Asia in light of Non-traditional Security Challenges
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2013) Maier-Knapp, Naila
Nearly four decades of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union (EU) relationship have witnessed the importance of ideas and identity alongside the economic interests in shaping the behaviour of the two sides. The study takes interest in understanding the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor with and within Southeast Asia through a reflectivist lens. The thesis is an attempt to provide a new perspective on a relationship commonly assessed from an economic angle. It outlines the opportunity of non-traditional security (NTS) challenges to enhance EU actorness and normative influence in Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the study explores the dialogue and cooperative initiatives of two regions, which attach relatively little salience to each other. The study employs a NTS lens and draws upon the case of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the haze in relation to forest governance, the Bali bombings of 2002 and the political conflict in Aceh. The study assumes that these NTS issues can stimulate processes of threat convergence as well as threat ‘othering’. It argues that these processes enhance European engagement in Southeast Asia and contribute to shaping regional stability in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, NTS crises present situations, where norms can become unstable, contested and substituted. This allows us to better examine the EU as a normative actor. To establish an understanding of the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor, the empirical evidence will focus on the threat perceptions, motivations of action and activities of the EU and its member states. For the purpose of differentiating the EU as a normative actor, the study will also include the discussion of the normative objectives and behaviours of the EU and its member states and apply a reflectivist theoretical framework. Hypothetically, NTS crises trigger external assistance and normative influence and thus, they offer an opportunity to establish a more nuanced picture of the EU in the region. At the same time, the study acknowledges that there are a variety of constraints and variables that complicate the EU’s actorness. The thesis seeks to identify and discuss these. So far, scholarly publications have failed to apply the NTS perspective systematically. This thesis provides the first monograph-length treatment of the EU in Southeast Asia through a NTS and reflectivist lens.
Open Access
Prospect of the European Union to become a Defence Union: Analysis of the major nation-state actors’ perspectives on the European Security and Defence Policy
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2007) Maier-Knapp, Naila Nijra
The European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is a very young and innovative structure of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Since its launch in 1999 at the Summit of Cologne it has developed at such an incredible pace that even Javier Solana rhapsodised about the ESDP evolving in the speed of light. Seven years later, this dynamic of integration has decelerated to normal speed and the coherency issues connected with the integration process of the European Union (EU) have also begun to affect the ESDP which is intergovernmentally organised and hence vulnerable to coherency cracks on certain topics. The Iraq crisis in 2003 was the exemplar of this fragility. The ESDP’s decisionmaking process is based on the lowest common denominator among the EU member states. If these countries cannot agree, which was the case on the Iraq problem, the ESDP becomes less important as an EU forum of CFSP on defence issues. In consideration of the intergovernmental nature of the ESDP and its unanimous decisionmaking procedure it appears that the future of the ESDP is to a large extent dependent on the co-operation and political orientation of the ESDP member countries. In particular, the big three ESDP members of the United Kingdom, France and Germany are very influential political actors within the EU framework. In the context of the ESDP these three nations lead in the possession of military and civilian capabilities and dictate the main political streams of Europeanism versus Atlanticism as well as Intergovernmentalism versus Supranationalism within ESDP. However, despite their similarities in terms of their degree of political influence, derived from their capabilities in the ESDP, they differ in their political orientation of the main political streams. For instance, the diverging views on the transatlantic relationship appeared to be the bone of contention leading to the aforementioned Iraq crisis. In view of the conflicting positions one can ask where the ESDP is to go. Will it ever become a Defence Union? Referring to the influential role of the big three and the centrality of nation-state action in ESDP this thesis attempts to give an answer to these two questions with a credible prospect of the ESDP from a nation-centred structural realist approach. Since the structural realist concept emphasises the importance of national sovereignty in high politics this thesis concludes that the notion of the ESDP to become a Defence Union is very unlikely to occur. In addition to the pessimistic neorealist/structural realist scenario, alternative scenarios, based on the holistic current situation of the ESDP, which predict a more optimistic and probably more relevant future of the ESDP are also presented.
Open Access
The European Union, Poland and the transmission of values and norms to eastern neighbours
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2011) Brennan, Desmond William
This thesis argues that the transmission of the European Union’s norms and values to Poland, and then to Lithuania and Ukraine, has helped those countries to better manage their relations. As a result of their integration into the EU and other western structures, relations between Poland and Lithuania have become more “normal”. The introduction of EU-mandated border controls has complicated relations between Poland and both Ukraine and Belarus. Poland has deep historic ties with Ukraine and is determined to ensure that Ukraine is offered a pathway that will lead to its eventual integration with Europe. However, relations between Poland and Belarus have worsened. Included in this thesis are the results and analysis of interviews and surveys carried out in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine in 2008.
Open Access
Saving State-Building: EU Contributions to Security Sector Reform in Afghanistan
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2011) Collins, Andrew Elliott Egerton
State failure represents one of the most pressing concerns for international security in the 21st century, and Afghanistan represents one of the most concerted efforts ever witnessed to address this phenomenon in a lasting and sustainable way. This thesis takes the position that part of the difficulty in finding a remedy for state failure relates to the contradictions and dilemmas inherent within the state-building enterprise itself. The trade-offs required by certain fundamental aspects of state-building must be better understood if they are to be effectively managed, and these trade-offs cannot be understood without critically analysing the basic assumptions of state-building. To come to grips with these assumptions in concrete terms, this paper examines the European Union’s involvement in Afghanistan as a case study to apply and develop the analytical framework of “dilemma analysis.” The first major goal of this research will be to outline the tensions within state-building, and to assess their usefulness for explaining some of the difficulties facing state-builders in general terms. The second goal will be to analyse the significance of the specific combination of dilemmas relevant to the case of Afghanistan, in order to show how those dilemmas interact with each other to constrain the EU’s options for effective state-building. The third goal is to identify ways in which the EU and the international community in general can benefit from dilemma analysis when conducting state-building interventions in the future.
Open Access
EU Normative Socialisation in its Eastern Neighbourhood: Democratisation in Armenia through the European Neighbourhood Policy
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2011) Smith, Nicholas Ross
The EU, over time, has garnered international recognition and acclaim as a successful agent of democratisation in third countries. The transitions of Greece, Spain and Portugal in the 1980s coupled with the recent Eastern enlargements of the EU into erstwhile communist space attest to the success of the EU in fostering tangible democratisation. However, as the EU rapidly approaches its institutional capacity, questions remain as to its viability as an agent of democratisation in the post-enlargement setting where the EU can no longer offer full membership as an incentive for political and economic reform. This thesis attempts to examine the viability of the EU as a democratic facilitator in the post-enlargement setting, through examination of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), a policy described by the EU as ‘everything but institutions’. Two mechanisms of normative transfer relative to the ENP were identified in the literature: conditionality, where the EU attaches incentives for successful political and economic reform, and socialisation, a newer notion whereby norms are transferred via interaction through generating close links with domestic actors. It was ascertained that in the context of the ENP, socialisation represented the dominant mechanism for normative change; conditionality was still utilised as a mechanism, however its scope had reduced greatly. To illuminate the phenomenon of EU democratic promotion, the case study of Armenia was chosen, a small but politically intriguing state in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood which had experienced (as is the case with the majority of post-Soviet states) stagnation and regression of the democratisation process since independence. Two facets of the EU’s democratisation strategy inherent in the ENP were chosen as empirical research areas: free and fair elections and interaction with domestic civil society organisations (CSOs). Free and fair elections offered evaluation of the conditionality aspects of the ENP through examining the 2008 Armenian presidential election. Interaction with domestic Armenian CSOs presented a rich phenomenon to examine the impact of socialisation in the ENP through utilising a case study examining four democratically minded NGOs. Ultimately, this thesis contends that through the ENP, the EU can no longer effectively wield conditionality as a viable mechanism of normative change and currently lacks the tools or a suitable environment to initialise normative transfers through socialisation. Consequently, it is argued that the EU has had little effect in facilitating democratisation in Armenia since the advent of the ENP.
Open Access
Redefining the Limits of Refugee Protection? -- The Securitised Asylum Policies of the 'Common European Asylum System'
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2010) Hattrell, Felicity Ruth
This thesis employs discourse analysis to examine the human rights contradictions contained in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). It follows the development of the CEAS since its inception in 1999. However, the principal emphasis of the thesis falls on the scope for realising a rights-based asylum regime in the post-Lisbon context. The research takes the form of policy analysis, and is grounded in a human rights framework of inquiry. This human rights perspective is used to examine the normative and legal inconsistencies inherent to the EU’s securitised approach to asylum, and to put forward suggestions for an approach to asylum in the EU, which engenders a rights-based approach to protection. The analysis of contemporary EU asylum policy and practice demonstrates the extent to which securitisation is present in EU asylum policymaking. It shows that, until the security paradigm in this policy area is supplanted, the realisation of a rights-based asylum system in the EU will not be possible. It also addresses the further challenges to the realisation of the EU as a ‘single asylum space,’ which stem from the limitations in the current instruments of the acquis, most notably the absence of burden-sharing mechanisms to ensure that the EU’s humanitarian obligations are shared equally amongst Member States. The recent ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon holds significant potential for the development of a rights-based asylum regime in the EU. However, it remains in question whether Member States have the political will necessary to accomplish this.
Open Access
Discovering the Baltics? Think Tallinn! Perspectives for New Zealand in the Baltic States
(University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2011) Vernygora, Vlad
This research work is driven by a desire to improve status quo in the area of New Zealand’s political, business and person-to-person relations with the post-Soviet Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (the Baltics or the Baltic States), which by now represent an integral part of the European Union (EU). The example of Estonia will be tested as a possible ‘gateway’ for New Zealand trying to undertake its most recent endeavours towards discovering the Baltic region. The dissertation’s response variable can be outlined as ‘New Zealand multi-dimensional interactions with the post-Soviet Baltic Republics, particularly with the Republic of Estonia’. At the same time, the descriptive nature of the dependent variable is planned to be expanded with the help of the manipulated variable that will lead this research work. The latter variable will be formulated as ‘Estonia, a democratic, transparent, free-market state, can be chosen as a ‘gateway’ for New Zealand politics, business circles and the public in their endeavours to succeed in the post-Soviet Baltic region of the EU’. Such an approach will give a chance to scrutinise the studied issues comprehensively, from several angles (such as ‘theoretical’, ‘operational’ and ‘structural’), and by answering the following three research questions: is it necessary for New Zealand to promote its interests and values in the region of the Baltic States; does an idea to choose one of the three Baltic States as a ‘hub’ for promoting New Zealand interests and values in the Baltic region of the EU have a perspective; and can Estonia be considered/recommended to become such a ‘hub’? This dissertation is among the first attempts to address a deficit of scholarship studying New Zealand relations with the post-Soviet Baltic region. Its findings could be used by both New Zealand and the Baltics’ decision-makers in the field of international relations.