Theorising the European Neighbourhood Policy: Debordering and Rebordering in the Mediterranean

This paper discusses recent developments in Euro-Mediterranean relations following the establishment of the European Neighbourhood Initiative (ENP) and attempts to put these empirical insights into theoretical perspective. By relating selected elements of the theory of world society - in conjunction with other constructivist approaches in IR - to the analysis of Euro-Mediterranean relations, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the extent to which the ENP offers real integration between the EU and its southern neighbours or whether the ENP can rather be seen as (yet another) case of window-dressing in Euro-Mediterranean relations. By way of providing an answer to this question, this paper proceeds in three steps, thus discussing the ENP in relation to three selected theoretical concepts, namely 'debordering/rebordering', 'regionalisation', and 'inclusion/exclusion'.open coordination; immigration policy

Cross pillar politics of the European Union. EU actors and the centralisation of foreign and interior policies.

The pillar structure of EU politics dates back to the Maastricht Treaty and has since then been subject to several reforms but has never been formally abolished. According to a standard view, there is a fundamental distinction between the allegedly 'supranational' first pillar and the 'intergovernmental' second and third pillars. This standard view asserts that policy making in foreign and interior affairs - those areas which are partly located in each of these pillars - also follows two different institutional logics. This thesis proposes a different perspective on foreign and interior policies and analyses the role of EU actors - the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council Secretariat, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors - in these two areas. It argues that policy making is not primarily characterised by the supranational-intergovernmental divide but rather by functionally induced cross pillar dynamics applying equally to both policy areas. It shows that EU actors were able to shape 'intergovernmental' bargains and that the primary division in foreign and interior policies is not on the supranational-intergovernmental dimension but rather between executive actors and those controlling the executive. Middle East and migration policies serve as case studies for this analysis. The thesis shows that both areas have since the Maastricht Treaty become an integral part of the political system of the EU. Moreover, the centralisation process in foreign and interior policies, which stretches beyond the pillar confines, has consolidated the specific functional feature of both areas. It is argued that both areas constitute one policy type, referred to as macro political stabilisation. The functional dynamics of macro political stabilisation policies affect the way in which capabilities have been delegated to EU actors within the cross pillar institutional setting of EU foreign and interior policies. Moreover, the preferences of actors as well as the specific patterns of interaction in the policy making process also have to be understood against this functional background

The Social Evolution of World Politics

How can we understand long-term change in world politics better? Based on readings of thinkers as diverse as Habermas, Foucault and Luhmann, the authors of this book propose a framework for understanding such change in terms of social evolution. They show that processes of social learning and unlearning are key to understanding the long-term historical evolution of complex societies, and propose to approach these with the core concepts of autonomization, hierarchical complexity, and co-evolution. Three case studies illustrate this social evolutionary perspective to the study of world politics, examining the evolution of forms of organizing political authority, of conflicts, of diplomacy, of law as boundary condition

Design, dimensioning and simulation of inerters for the reduction of vehicle wheel vibrations : case studies

For the last two decades, a novel mechanical system has received increasing attention—the inerter. An inerter is a system that can store mechanical energy for a rather short amount of time and behaves analogously to a capacitor in electrical engineering. Until today, only a few inerter applications have been reported. In a vehicle suspension, an inerter can be used to reduce wheel vibrations. This paper demonstrates the application potential of the novel mechanical system and describes the design and dimensioning of an inerter for the reduction of these kind of wheel vibrations for two completely different vehicle concepts. The first application concerns a Formula Student race car in which the main objective represents the maximization of the mechanical grip to improve lap times. For the inerter dimensioning in a racing car, lightweight design is a major issue. The second application is an agricultural tractor in which the focus is on the reduction of the ground pressure to protect the environment as well as on a very robust and compact realization of the inerter. A detailed simulation of both cases allows a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the wheel vibration reduction potential. In both applications, a considerable improvement potential could be identified which amounts, in the case of the race car, to a reduction of wheel oscillation of about 21% and for the tractor to a wheel vibration reduction potential of up to 54%

Simulation-based prediction of the cold start behavior of gerotor pumps for precise design of electric oil pumps

The development of electric gerotor pumps is a complex multiphysical optimization problem. To develop optimal systems, accurate simulation models are required to increase digital reliability. An important challenge is the accurate prediction of the pump behavior for extreme temperatures in automotive applications from -40°C to 110 °C, where the viscosity of the fluid changes significantly. Therefore, simulation-based methods (numerical methods for calculating viscous friction) were developed and validated by measurements, including climatic chamber tests. The results show a strong correlation between simulated and measured performance characteristics, especially in terms of volumetric flow rate ( <5%), pump torque and efficiency ( <7%) at different temperature and viscosity conditions over a wide speed range (1000-5000 rpm) and different system pressures (0.5-5 bar). A novel method for simulating the cold start behavior of pumps (journal bearing approach for outer gear in pump housing) was introduced and validated by measurements. The methods presented significantly reduce the need for physical testing and accelerate the development process, as the pump behavior at each operating point can be accurately predicted before a hardware prototype is built. This improves the understanding of gerotor pump characteristics and provides insights to further improve the model-based development of electric oil pumps for the automotive industry.This research received no external funding

Digital function modeling in graph-based design languages

The main focus of this paper is the integration of an integrated function modeling (IFM) framework in an engineering framework based on graph-based design languages (GBDLs). Over the last decade, GBDLs have received increasing attention as they offer a promising approach for addressing several important challenges in engineering, such as the frequent and time-consuming transfer of data between different computer aided engineering (CAE) tools. This absorbs significant amounts of manual labor in engineering design projects. GBDLs create digital system models at a meta level, encompassing all relevant information concerning a certain product design and feeding this into the relevant simulation tools needed for evaluating the impact of possible design variations on the performance of the resulting products/parts. It is possible to automate this process using digital compilers. Because of this, it is also possible to realize systematic design variations for a very large number of parameters and topological variants. Therefore, these kinds of graph-based languages are a powerful means for creating a large number of viable design alternatives and for permitting fast evaluation processes against the given specifications. While, thus far, such analyses tend to be based on a more or less fully defined system, this paper proposes an expansion of the applicability of GBDLs into the domain of product functions to cohesively link conceptual with embodiment design stages. This will also help with early systematic, automated generation and the validation of design alternatives through relevant simulation tools during embodiment design. Further, it will permit the automated exploration of function paths and enable extended analysis possibilities, such as the detection of functional bottlenecks, while enhancing the traceability of the design over the development process. For these extended analysis possibilities, a function analysis tool was developed that adopts core ideas of the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). In this, the functional distinction between function carriers and function-related processes allows the goal-directed assessment of component reliabilities and the detectability and importance of processes in a technical system. In the paper, the graph-based modeling of functions and the function analysis tools are demonstrated on the example of a multicopter.European Regional Development Fund and the Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, GermanyGerman Federal Ministry of Education and Researc

Digital development process for the drive system of a balanced two-wheel scooter

Graph-based design languages have received increasing attention in the research community, because they offer a promising approach to address several major issues in engineering, e.g., the frequent manual data transfer between computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems. Currently, these issues prevent the realization of machine executable digital design processes of complex systems such as vehicles. Promising scenarios for urban transportation include an interconnection of mass transportation systems such as buses and subways with individual vehicles for the so-called “last mile” transport. For several reasons, these vehicles should be as small and light as possible. A considerable reduction in weight and size can be achieved, if such vehicles are tailored to the individual size, weight and proportion of the individual user. However, tailoring vehicles for the individual characteristics of each user go beyond a simple building set and require a continuous digital design process. Consequently, the topic of this paper is a digital design process of a self-balanced scooter, which can be used as an individual last-mile means of transport. This process is based on graph-based design languages, because in these languages, a digital system model is generated, which contains all relevant information about a design and can be fed into any simulation tool which is needed to evaluate the impact of a possible design variation on the resulting product performance. As this process can be automated by digital compilers, it is possible to perform systematic design variations for an almost infinite amount of parameters and topological variants. Consequently, these kinds of graph-based languages are a powerful means to generate viable design alternatives and thus permit fast evaluations. The paper demonstrates the design process, focusing on the drive system of the respective balanced two-wheel scooter and highlights the advantages (data integration and possibility for machine execution).European Regional Development FundMinistry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württember

Differentiation theory and the ontologies of regionalism in Latin America

Abstract In this article, we argue that conventional understandings of regional integration based on neo-functionalism, hitherto often used to describe the diverse projects of Latin American regionalism, are of limited utility in that context. Rather than representing processes of economic or political unification, the various regionalisms could be understood more productively as a reaction to the crisis in legitimacy that social orders in the region have experienced under the conditions of globalized modernity. We then deploy an understanding of regionalism derived from sociological differentiation theory in order to advance this argument

Theorising the European Neighbourhood Policy: Debordering and Rebordering in the Mediterranean

Product of workshop No. 3 at the 6th MRM 200