Institutional Convergence of CIS Towards European Benchmarks

The empirical analysis of the determinants of institutional development in transition countries as well as the qualitative country studies summarized in this publication allow for some optimism concerning a potential impact of the EU on institution building and governance quality in CIS countries. Regression analysis reveals a positive impact of EU cooperation agreements below a membership perspective. Alternatively to the EU, entry into the NATO accession process also exerts incentives for better institutions which are often overlooked. In contrast, WTO membership is not found to have any impact on institution building in CIS countries. While there is room for some EU-related optimism given the results from the regression analysis it depends on the country-specific ENP action plans and programs whether or not ENP cooperation actually leads to Europeanization or institutional convergence towards EU standards in the CIS. The case studies on the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanization through ENP in Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan reveal that current EU policies towards these countries can be, at best, seen as a catalyst but not as a main driver of institutional convergence. A perspective for a stake in the internal market is on the long horizon for Ukraine only. ENP mechanisms for conflict resolution in Georgia and Azerbaijan have been rather weak before the recent clash in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The top-down institutional convergence, i.e. an EU-first strategy, worked well for Enlargement Europeanization but implemented in the ENP it significantly reduces the leverage of the EU to create a ring of well-governed neighbour states.Europeanisation, European Union, European Neighborhood Policy, Institutional Convergence

Neighbourhood Europeanization trough ENP - The Case of Ukraine

We contribute to the literature of European Studies by introducing the approach of Neighbourhood Europeanization. Based on insights from Membership and Enlargement Europeanization, we reveal important inconsistencies of Neighbourhood Europeanization through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as well as a lack of robust empirical support for its effectiveness. We also define core dimensions and determinants of Neighbourhood Europeanization and implement this analytical framework for the case of Ukraine. Our analysis clearly demonstrates substantial asymmetries in the ENP for Ukraine across three dimensions we chose – democracy promotion, economic cooperation, and Justice and Home Affairs, which clearly reflect the inconsistency of the ENP concept, that is top-down formulation of EU interests combined with weak conditionality. However, our analysis shows that despite Ukraine’s growing frustration because of the lack of a membership perspective, there is a lot of room for keeping up Ukraine’s motivation for Europeanization reforms. Especially, widening and strengthening the linkage-mechanisms would allow to overcome ENP inconsistency and to improve the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanization.neighbourhood policy; enlargement; ideas; integration theory; Europeanization; Europeanization

Actorness of Regional Organizations in an Authoritarian Context: A Conceptual Framework

The paper aims to provide a theoretical framework for studying actorness of regional organizations created by authoritarian countries. It serves as a conceptual foundation for a DFG project co-led by the authors in 2021-2023 and focusing on studying the behavior and the functioning of Eurasian regional organizations. While the literature traditionally assumes that authoritarianism and actorness of regional organizations are incompatible, we take a more nuanced perspective on this question. The paper discusses possible determinants for the emergence of actorness, in particular in the post-Soviet Eurasia. It also introduces the concept of back-door actorness, which could be particularly relevant in the authoritarian context

The Conflict in Eastern Ukraine and International Support for the Decentralization Reform (2014–2022): Theory-Guided Observations

This article explores Western donors’ support for the decentralization reform in post-Euromaidan Ukraine prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, with a focus on the relationship between decentralization and conflict management. It demonstrates that, despite the protracted conflict in eastern Ukraine, bilateral donors have preferred to address Ukraine’s decentralization from the governance reform perspective, rather than as a form of territorial self-governance (TSG) arrangement, linked to conflict resolution. They have also tended to “outsource” conflict-related support to multilateral organizations. This article explains the Russian Federation’s use of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics” as proxies in an international conflict and the contested nature of the role played by the Minsk Protocol in determining the form of support provided for reform. It concludes with insights into the implications of donor support for the decentralization reform in Ukraine for research on decentralization and other TSG solutions in conflict-affected contexts.publishedVersio

German Foreign Policy toward the Visegrad Countries: Patterns of Integration in Central Europe

Relations between Germany and the Visegrad Four (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) have undergone numerous changes since the fall of the Iron Curtain. For each country in the V4, the relationship with Germany has developed along different paths. Today, differences in outlook seem to be present on issues ranging from EU energy security to NATO’s role in European security (on the eastern borders in particular). The recent Ukraine crisis is another instance of diverging attitudes. This twofold analysis describes, firstly, Germany’s cooperation with the V4 as a whole, particularly its decisive role in shaping the countries’ EU and NATO accession processes. Secondly, it investigates the bilateral agreements between Germany and the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, respectively, and examines these as instruments of German foreign policy. Our conclusion is that, because of unequal interests and differences of opinions, the V4 as a whole is less important to Germany than the sum of its individual bilateral relationships

the case of Ukraine

We contribute to the literature of European Studies by introducing the approach of Neighbourhood Europeanization. Based on insights from Membership and Enlargement Europeanization, we reveal important inconsistencies of Neighbourhood Europeanization through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as well as a lack of robust empirical support for its effectiveness. We also define core dimensions and determinants of Neighbourhood Europeanization and implement this analytical framework for the case of Ukraine. Our analysis clearly demonstrates substantial asymmetries in the ENP for Ukraine across three dimensions we chose – democracy promotion, economic cooperation, and Justice and Home Affairs, which clearly reflect the inconsistency of the ENP concept, that is top-down formulation of EU interests combined with weak conditionality. However, our analysis shows that despite Ukraine’s growing frustration because of the lack of a membership perspective, there is a lot of room for keeping up Ukraine’s motivation for Europeanization reforms. Especially, widening and strengthening the linkage-mechanisms would allow to overcome ENP inconsistency and to improve the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanization

Neighbourhood Europeanization through ENP: the case of Ukraine

We contribute to the literature of European Studies by introducing the approach of Neighbourhood Europeanization. Based on insights from Membership and Enlargement Europeanization, we reveal important inconsistencies of Neighbourhood Europeanization through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as well as a lack of robust empirical support for its effectiveness. We also define core dimensions and determinants of Neighbourhood Europeanization and implement this analytical framework for the case of Ukraine. Our analysis clearly demonstrates substantial asymmetries in the ENP for Ukraine across three dimensions we chose – democracy promotion, economic cooperation, and Justice and Home Affairs, which clearly reflect the inconsistency of the ENP concept, that is top-down formulation of EU interests combined with weak conditionality. However, our analysis shows that despite Ukraine’s growing frustration because of the lack of a membership perspective, there is a lot of room for keeping up Ukraine’s motivation for Europeanization reforms. Especially, widening and strengthening the linkage-mechanisms would allow to overcome ENP inconsistency and to improve the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanizatio

International Negotiations and Domestic Change in the EU's Eastern Neighborhood: Deconstructing Antidiscrimination Reforms in Moldova

Democratic reforms, or lack thereof, in countries addressed by the European Union's (EU's) Eastern Partnership initiative (EaP) have attracted considerable scholarly attention. Yet many studies approach these countries' political and policy developments through the lens of external actors' (especially the EU and Russia's) engagements. While accounting for international influences, this article lends agency to the domestic actors by scrutinizing the antidiscrimination reform process in Moldova, one of the EaP countries with closer relations to the EU, against the background of their negotiations. In doing so, the article explains the outcome of the reform and makes a case for applying Robert Putnam's (1988) Two-Level-Game approach to an analysis of a controversial reform process surrounded by international and domestic pressures in a nonconsolidated democracy. In addition to its empirical contribution, the article seeks to advance the applicability boundaries of the Two-Level-Game theory beyond classical Foreign Policy Analysis in a democratic context and enhance the scholarly debate on the external-domestic interplay in policy change and norm adoption

Institutional convergence of CIS towards European Benchmarks

The empirical analysis of the determinants of institutional development in transition countries as well as the qualitative country studies summarized in this publication allow for some optimism concerning a potential impact of the EU on institution building and governance quality in CIS countries. Regression analysis reveals a positive impact of EU cooperation agreements below a membership perspective. Alternatively to the EU, entry into the NATO accession process also exerts incentives for better institutions which are often overlooked. In contrast, WTO membership is not found to have any impact on institution building in CIS countries. While there is room for some EU-related optimism given the results from the regression analysis it depends on the country-specific ENP action plans and programs whether or not ENP cooperation actually leads to Europeanization or institutional convergence towards EU standards in the CIS. The case studies on the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanization through ENP in Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan reveal that current EU policies towards these countries can be, at best, seen as a catalyst but not as a main driver of institutional convergence. A perspective for a stake in the internal market is on the long horizon for Ukraine only. ENP mechanisms for conflict resolution in Georgia and Azerbaijan have been rather weak before the recent clash in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The top-down institutional convergence, i.e. an EU-first strategy, worked well for Enlargement Europeanization but implemented in the ENP it significantly reduces the leverage of the EU to create a ring of well-governed neighbour states