The Iraq War: killing dreams of a unified EU?

For students of EU public policy, the EU's reaction during and after the Iraq War may represent the same story of impotence that has historically plagued the EU when trying to speak with a single voice and act with a united front during a major world crisis. Despite some achievements with the EU's Common and Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) of the early 1990s (Ginsberg 1997; Holland 1995), the Iraq War perhaps best reflects Cameron's concerns: "in handling serious political crises, especially those involving armed conflict, the Union has rarely acted as one", or acted effectively (Cameron, 1998, 66). Seeking to better understand why the EU did not act effectively during the Iraq War and to consider what lessons can be taken from this experience, the paper has three main objectives. First, the paper considers the theoretical reasons that help explain why the EU has historically failed to create a common defence and security policy. The section thereafter analyses developments during the Iraq war and tests which theoretical explanations (or combinations thereof) are of most value to understand the EU's stance. The final section then considers the future of the EU as an international actor in light of the fundamental concepts introduced by Hill (1993) regarding 'capabilities' and 'expectations' of EU foreign policy

Crisis and Change in Ireland

The 2011 Irish election must be placed in the context of both the economic and the political crisis that preceded the vote in order to examine its results and consider Ireland’s future in Europe. After years of economic growth during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ boom, Ireland fell into economic decline as a result of its financial crisis in 2008. Ireland’s fall can best be understood as home-made, fuelled by speculation and lax regulation of the financial sector. In the context of this economic and financial crisis, Ireland then suffered a political crisis in which the Fianna Fáil (FF) government coalition lost legitimacy, prompting an early election on 25 February 2011. Unsurprisingly perhaps, a new coalition government comprised of Fine Gael (FG) and Labour came into being as a result. A major issue to be addressed by the new government relates to the renegotiation of the interest rates on the EU/IMF bailout agreed in December 2010. However, what remains unclear is how much this new government’s hands are already tied and whether or not the EU seeks to renegotiate the terms of the deal

¿Por qué rechazaron los irlandeses el Tratado de Lisboa? Un análisis de los resultados del referéndum

En este ARI se analizan los resultados del referéndum y se examinan los distintos factores que contribuyen a explicar por qué el electorado irlandés votó en contra del Tratado de Lisboa el 12 de junio de 2008. En la primera parte de este ARI se analizará la dinámica observada durante la campaña del referéndum, que como mejor se describe es como extremadamente “negativa” por el lado del “No” y como deslucida, o de exceso de confianza incluso, por el lado del “Sí”. Se mostrará cómo los sondeos de opinión también reflejaron desde el principio que el bando del “No” había adquirido fuerza, aun cuando un amplio porcentaje de los votantes siguiera “indeciso”. Posteriormente se examinarán los resultados de la votación, destacando que, salvo en algunas circunscripciones electorales urbanas acomodadas de la zona de Dublín, en el resto del país se votó “No” de forma contundente. Posteriormente se analizarán algunos de los distintos patrones de voto observados entre el electorado, sobre la base de una encuesta Eurobarómetro Flash post–referéndum realizada por Gallup del 13 al 15 de junio. Las conclusiones de esa encuesta y el análisis de los resultados por circunscripción electoral subrayan que la Irlanda rural, los trabajadores manuales, los jóvenes y las mujeres votaron en contra del Tratado

Policy Formulation, Implementation and Feedback in EU Merger Control

This paper analyses the formulation of the EU Merger Control Regulation (MCR) and its implementation via the 1992 Nestlé/Perrier merger. It offers two arguments. First, these phases of policy development occurred in ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ policy communities found at the supranational level of governance. The first community consists of larger Commission and business interests that formulated the MCR and the second of specific actors within the ‘macro’ community - the Merger Task Force and the firms – that implemented the rules. Secondly, the development of these communities can be explained by private interest theory. The conclusions highlight two main lessons for students of comparative European politics. First, the concept of ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ communities existing at both the formulation and implementation phases of policy offers a framework for comparativists to better analyse which types of actors will interact during different stages of the policy-making process. It is argued that while the (larger) ‘macro’ community helps define the nature of the regulations, a related, but not necessarily equally composed, ‘micro’ community eventually implements the rules, potentially changing the nature of the policy itself via a ‘feedback’ mechanism. Secondly, this study suggests that comparativists must pay more attention to the private interests of policy-makers and how these are intertwined with their ‘private fears.’ Such interests and fears guide policy-makers while simultaneously constrain them from acting alone.

Continuity and change in party positions towards Europe in Italian parties: an examination of parties' manifestos

This paper analyses Italian parties' manifestos for national and European elections from 1979 to 1999 with the 'Wordscore' programme in order to gauge whether party positions with regard to the European Union have changed and whether the salience of the European Union has increased. Results indicate that, although there is no sign of increased salience, the leading Italian political parties have repositioned themselves in their attitudes towards the European Union, indicating that the European political space matters for national parties

Economic actors' political activity in 'overlap issues': privatisation and EU state aid control

This paper considers the political activity of economic actors in what we refer to as ‘overlap issues.’ Such issues consist of two separate, but related, domestic and supranational decisions that are taken at both levels of European governance. Examined here are the domestic level privatisation policy-making processes in Spain, France and Ireland, and the subsequent European Commission decisions on the state aids given during the sales. The research argues that although the influence of economic actors is crucial in understanding the domestic-level privatisation aid negotiations, such actors’ participation is absent in the supranational decision-making process that witnessed all the aids being approved. In order to explain this limited political activity of firms at the EU-level, attention is focused on both the role of the member state and the paradoxes in EU policies that simultaneously guide and constrain the Commission from making a decision against capital. The conclusions situate our findings within the ‘elite pluralist’ literature on economic actors’ political activity in Europe while also considering the idea of the structural dependence of the EU on capital

Lobbying the European Commission: Open or secret?

Little transparency in the EU black‐box of policy making means that there is limited citizen knowledge of which interest groups are operating in Brussels, what they seek to influence, how much resources they put into lobbying and the impact this has had on EUâs already large democratic deficit. As such, mass publics have held few tools to better understand, and get involved in changing, EU politics. In order to combat this problem, observers have considered the need to pursue 'sunshine' laws, a significant one being the regulation of lobbying. With this in mind, this paper asks: what has the Commission done with regard to regulating lobbyists and how does this compare from an international perspective; what insights can be gained about how the Commission register has evolved and the actors involved in policy making; and what lessons can be learned from this experience and is it really an antidote for the lack of genuine popular involvement in EU policy making? To answer these questions, there are three main sections. The first examines what is meant by the term 'lobbying regulation' and, from a comparative international perspective, it analyzes the Commission's attempts to increase transparency through its establishment of its 'voluntary' register in June 2008. The second considers the evolution of the register since its establishment, offering a novel, yet simple, analysis of the register's statistics between June 2008 and October 2010, focusing on registrations by consultancies, law firms, in‐house corporate lobbies, NGOs and others. It also considers registration dynamics in one of the most significant and globalized sectors in the economy, namely the automobile sector. The third section closes with lessons to be learned from a comparative perspective and ponders the structural changes that may be considered by the Commission in order to establish genuine popular involvement in EU policy making.European Commission; lobbying regulation; register of lobbyists; transparency; automobile sector

The European Union and Morocco: security through authoritarianism?

'Die jüngsten Entwicklungen auf der internationalen Ebene haben das akademische Interesse an der 'Gemeinsamen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik' (GASP) der Europäischen Union verstärkt, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Politik der EU gegenüber der arabischen Welt. In diesem Zusammenhang wird häufig auf die Rolle der EU als normativer Akteur hingewiesen und ihre Bedeutung bei der Verbreitung von Demokratie und Menschenrechten betont. Die Politik der EU gegenüber bestimmten Regionen wird also vor dem Hintergrund des Liberalen Idealismus betrachtet. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt diese Sichtweise in Frage. Er argumentiert stattdessen, dass eine am strukturellen Realismus orientierte Interpretation der GASP einen wichtigen Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis der EU-Außenbeziehung leisten kann. Anhand der Euro-Mediterranen Partnerschaft, und insbesondere am Beispiel der EU-Politik gegenüber Marokko, zeigen die Autoren, dass die EU - entgegen den liberal-idealistischen Werten der GASP - autoritäre Regime in den Partnerländern unterstützt und fördert, um auf diese Weise den Mittelmeerraum zu sichern.' (Autorenreferat)'Recent international events sparked renewed academic interest for the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, particularly towards the Arab world. Usually, much is made of the normative power of the Union and of its role in exporting the values of democratic governance and human rights. It follows that the policies of the Union in specific regions are judged according to the parameters of liberal idealism. This paper challenges such an assumption and argues that a structural realist interpretation of the Union's tentative foreign policy makes a decisive contribution to better understand and evaluate what the Union 'does' abroad. The paper is specifically concerned with the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and how, contrary to the liberal idealist values of CFSP, it helps securitising the Mediterranean through the promotion and support of political authoritarianism in the partner countries. The case of Morocco is discussed in detail.' (author's abstract)

Computational Methods for the Analysis of Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization

Array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) is a technique for assaying the copy number status of cancer genomes. The widespread use of this technology has lead to a rapid accumulation of high throughput data, which in turn has prompted the development of computational strategies for the analysis of array CGH data. Here we explain the principles behind array image processing, data visualization and genomic profile analysis, review currently available software packages, and raise considerations for future software development

Student understanding of the direction of force due to atmospheric pressure: A tale of two models

The direction of force due to atmospheric pressure is a difficult idea for students to understand. We report a study, involving 35 middle school students, which points towards the existence of two contrasting mental models of atmospheric pressure(Patm), which we term the Weight Model (WM) and the Collision Model (CM). Our analysis reveals a predisposition among students to adhere to the WM, wherein they consider Patm akin to a column of air pressing down on the surface of the earth (Tytler,1998). In our presentation, we discuss everyday experiences and textbook presentations as two plausible sources for this predisposition. Our study involves the analysis of the student discourse as they participated in an activity to estimate the value of atmospheric pressure using a syringe and some easily available materials (Inversin, 1977). Students worked in small groups of 3 to 4, facilitated by instructors. Our goal was to help students engage in discussion, wherein they explicitly articulated their ideas and considered notions from others in an authentic context, thereby paving the way for a revision of their own ideas. The activity had the following components: a) A pre-activity questionnaire: A set of 6 questions, aimed at eliciting students’ prior conceptions and basic understanding related to atmospheric pressure. These written responses subsequently served as the basis for discussion among students, within and across student groups. b) A demonstration to show the action of atmospheric pressure: Instructors illustrated the action of atmospheric pressure on the syringe and its directionality. The demonstration sought to scaffold students’ thinking while engaging with the difficult notion of the direction of force due to atmospheric pressure. c) Activity to estimate the magnitude of atmospheric pressure: In this part the students have to design an experiment using the syringe to calculate the value of atmospheric pressure. The experimental design involves a balancing condition between 3 forces: static friction between the barrel and piston of the syringe, force due to atmospheric pressure and weight hung on the syringe. d) Post activity questionnaire: The final part of the activity is a set of questions aimed at checking whether there was any change in student response patterns pertaining to atmospheric pressure. Our analysis reveals that the activity and associated discussions show potential to facilitate students’ transition from the WM to the CM. We present evidence of modest conceptual gains characterized by micro-transitions in students’ problem-solving strategies, being increasingly inclined towards the canonical CM rather than the intuitive WM of the atmosphere. We also present some problematic discourse patterns, which are likely widespread in traditional lecture-based Physics classrooms. REFERENCES Inversin, A. R. (1977). Measuring Atmospheric Pressure with a Syringe. Physics Teacher, 15(4), 232-233. Tytler, R. (1998). Children’s conceptions of air pressure: Exploring the nature of conceptual change. International Journal of Science Education, 20(8), 929–958. https://doi.org/10.1080/095006998020080