Analyzing European Union Politics

The speed and depth with which the European Communities/ European Union has evolved is breathtaking and has radically shaped the life of the continent. Ever since the beginning of this ambitious economic and political project, scholars around the world have tried to explain the underlying logic behind it and the mechanisms of its functioning. Thus, a plethora of studies developed alongside the evolution of the EU. SENT (Network of European Studies) is an innovative and ambitious project which brought together about 100 partners from the EU member states, candidate and associated countries, and other parts of the world. It was a far reaching project aimed to overcome disciplinary and geographical- linguistic boundaries in order to assess the state of EU studies today, as well as the idea of Europe as transmitted by schools, national politicians, the media, etc. SENT’s main goal was to map European studies, in order to get a comprehensive picture of the evolution of European studies over the last decades in different disciplines and countries. This approach permitted to achieve a better understanding of the direction these studies are now taking. Five disciplines were identified where EU studies have particularly evolved: law, politics, economics, history, and social and cultural studies. The mapping of EU studies thus includes a review of the most studied issues in EU studies today, the main academic schools, the most influential journals and books published, but it also shows how local realities and national identities affect the study and teaching of Europe around the world. In addition, an important work was done in mapping and discussing teaching methodologies in relation to European studies with the aim of introducing and diffusing the most up-to-date techniques

Coordinating the Congolese Police Reform: Which role for the European Union?

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Non-State Actors in the Implementation of CSDP: Convergence or Competition in the EU’s Security Sector Reform Policies in the DRC

In this paper, the author approaches the implementation of security and defence policies of the EU and its member states from a governance perspective, which focuses on the multitude of governmental / institutional and non-governmental actors involved, and their relations. This is applied to the security sector reform (SSR) policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). SSR is a major field of activity within the civilian crisis management dimension of ESDP/CSDP (European/Common Security and Defence Policy), that also in the DRC became a focal point of the EU. Within this framework, two operations are deployed in support of the Congolese SSR. In addition, also the European Commission and particular member states, such as the UK, are intensively engaged in the Congolese SSR. Their programmes are implemented by non-governmental actors and consultants, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). As the implementation of these SSR policies in the Congo illustrates, coordination is often obstructed by the varying approaches and (financial) resources of theses institutional and non-governmental actors. The author investigates the relations between these governmental/institutional and non-governmental actors in the European SSR policies in the Congo, and analyses the impact of the presence of non-governmental actors (consultants, companies and others) in the implementation of these policies.status: publishe

Coordination et Alignement Européen dans la Réforme de la Police Congolaise

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The EU in the Congolese Police Reform: Structural Diplomacy without Alignment?

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From Security Reform (SSR) to Security Sector Development (SSD): a European Structural Diplomacy towards the DR Congo?

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EU foreign policy and the challenges of structural diplomacy : comprehensiveness, coordination, alignment and learning

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Policy networks and the analysis of EU foreign policy

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Structural Diplomacy, Contextual Difference, and the Process of Learning

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Ideas of Europe in Belgian Political Discourse

Belgians are often perceived as pro-Europeans with an integrationist discourse when it comes to a stronger, more closer Europe. This is not only the case among the political elite, but also in the public opinion we can find a positive discourse. Eurobarometer Opinion polls (European Commission, 2008) indicate that an overall majority (66%) of the Belgians see the country's membership of the European Union as a good thing. Paradoxically, 72% of the Belgian people don't feel to be well informed on the functioning of the EU. The reason behind this positive attitude is thus clearly not the knowledge and information on EU affairs. More important factors behind the Belgian pro-European discourse, are the weak Belgian nationalism and the necessity of the European framework for a small country like Belgium. This paper explores what the debates and discourses on the EU are and what factors are constructing ideas if Europe in Belgium. The active role of Belgian politicians and the discourse of the political elite and the society is most visible and explicit at critical moments in the European integration process. Therefore, this paper looks at the critical junctures that marked European integration during the past decade: the Laeken Declaration, the subsequent Convention on the Future of Europe, the Constitution of Europe, and the Lisbon Treaty. Furthermore, the 2009 European Parliamentary elections and the 2010 Belgian Presidency are included as important junctures. At each of these moments, Belgian political actors took the opportunity to present themselves as a pro-European and active leaders pushing forward European integration inspired by a federalist tradition.status: publishe