Changing foreign policy: the Obama Administration’s decision to oust Mubarak

This paper analyses the decision of the Obama administration to redirect its foreign policy towards Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring. It attempts to highlight the issue of how governments deal with decision-making at times of crisis, and under which circumstances they take critical decisions that lead to major shifts in their foreign policy track record. It focuses on the process that led to a reassessment of US (United States) foreign policy, shifting from decades of support to the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak, towards backing his ouster. Specifically, the paper attempts to assess to what extent the decision to withdraw US support from a longstanding state-leader and ally in the Middle East can be seen as a foreign policy change (FPC). A relevant research question this paper pursues is: how can the withdrawal of US support to a regime considered as an ally be considered, in itself, as a radical FPC

Software als Institution und ihre Gestaltbarkeit

Software regelt immer mehr zwischenmenschliche Interaktionen. Üblicherweise werden die Funktionsmechanismen, Wirkungen und Gestaltungsoptionen von Regeln in der Institutionenforschung behandelt. In diesem Artikel soll beleuchtet werden, inwieweit sich Ansätze der Institutionenforschung auf Software anwenden lassen und was sich aus dieser Forschungsperspektive zu den Regelungswirkungen und Gestaltungsoptionen von Software ableiten lässt

Global Empires and the European Neighbourhood: China, Russia and the US

The aim of this chapter is to analyze contemporary trends in the relations between Russia, China, the United States of America (US) and the partecipants of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). This analysis is based on the idea that in a world that is growingly interconnected , the relations between the EU and its neighbours are affected by the relations that neighbouring countries have with other global players

Between the legacy of nation-state and forces of globalisation : Turkey’s management of mixed migration flows

Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East and Asia, has confronted with mounting pressures of mixed migration flows in recent decades. This paper aims to explore Turkey’s contemporary approach to migration management by focusing on the adoption of the country’s first comprehensive immigration law (Law on Foreigners and International Protection) and the signing of the readmission agreement with the European Union in 2013. This incorporates an analysis of both policy continuities and changes in migration management in Turkey, while also providing an understanding of the interplay between internal and external factors, namely internationalisation and Europeanisation processes and the responsiveness of domestic actors to such pressures. The paper argues that migration policies driven solely by state-centric concerns are becoming increasingly inefficient in responding to the challenges caused by interlinked pressures of globalisation and multi-layered migratory flows. As Turkey’s role as a transit and receiving country grows, issues of international migration, and irregular migration in particular, are becoming dynamic topics in defining its role in a globalised world and as well as the trajectory of its relations with the EU

Refugees at Europe's borders: the moral economy of care

In recent years the treatment of those seeking asylum in industrialized countries has been a matter of increasing international concern. Human rights organizations have documented instances of ill treatment and the summary expulsion of those trying to cross borders in the hope of a more secure existence. This article focuses on the treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants at Europe's borders, presenting examples from Europe's southern border, Belgium and the UK. The idea of a moral economy of care is invoked which provides an overarching context in which legitimate and illegitimate asylum seekers and refugees are identified. The implications of a moral economy of care are explored in relation to the provision of mental health and social care services to refugees