Published Ph.D. Theses
Many doctoral theses by graduates of the Department of Political and Social Sciences are eventually published as books.
The full text of some other theses is available in the SPS theses Collection in Cadmus, the institutional repository of the EUI.
See below for a selection of recent titles.
2011
Leading the debate on the domestic effect of the growing influence of international adjudication, this invaluable text examines Serbia and Croatia’s erratic record of compliance with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Since the demise of the Milosevic and Tudjman regimes, Serbian and Croatian governments have been inconsistent in cooperating with the ICTY, despite the conditions of EU membership and US financial incentives. This study reconstructs events before, during and after extradition to build up a picture of the complex politics involved in ICTY relations, and provides a conceptual framework to study compliance in international relations and law. Through this analysis, a historical tracing of varied factors of political influence and a conceptualization of compliance is provided, resulting in a rich interdisciplinary work embracing political science, international relations and social theory. By scrutinizing the social meanings and political practices which become attached to prescribed norms in compliance processes, this book provides a highly-relevant insight into contemporary meanings of ‘compliance’.
Politics of International Law and Compliance will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, international relations and international law, and European politics.
Routledge, 2011
Public broadcasters, like the BBC and the Italian broadcaster RAI, are some of the most important media organisations in the world. Politicians are often tempted to interfere in the workings of these broadcasters and when this happens, the results are highly controversial, as both the Blair and Berlusconi governments have discovered.
Public Broadcasting and Political Interference explains why some broadcasters are good at resisting politicians’ attempts at interference, and have won a reputation for independence – and why other broadcasters have failed to do the same. It takes a comparative approach of broadcasters in different countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Sweden arguing political independence for public service broadcasters is important because of its contribution to democracy allowing voters alternative sources of information which allow them to choose between electoral alternatives.
The book will be of interest to be of interest to policy-makers, scholars and students of political communication, broadcasting and the media.
Routledge, 2011
The Organization of European Security Governance investigates what impact the changing nature of security challenges has had on the organization of security governance in Europe. As the most pervasive security challenges today are difficult to classify as either internal or external, the traditional divide between domestic and international security has become blurred. In response, European leaders have emphasized the need to develop comprehensive and horizontal approaches to security in the European Union. But has the European Union been able to deliver a coherent response to this new security environment? In a detailed comparative study of two crucial policy fields - EU counter-terrorism and post-conflict crisis management - the book outlines the scope of the ongoing transformation of Europe's security order, examines its challenges and explains its defects.
Routledge, 2011
The way the sovereign state is taken for granted in political theory prevents an explanation of historical and contemporary organizations and phenomena different from this ideal type. Peter Haldén bypasses the state and the problems it causes by constructing an understanding of politics and a research model based on classical and early modern republican political theory. This enables historical analysis without anachronism and a new interpretation of the European Union. By comparing the EU with the Holy Roman Empire (1648-1763) and the antebellum United States (1776-1865), he explains that the EU's international weakness is a result of its strength as a security system that stabilizes Europe. The author argues that continued American support and embedding in NATO is necessary in order for the EU to act on the world stage and to stabilize Europe in the long run. Through these theoretical innovations, he explores alternatives to state-building in the Third World.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2011
2010
European foreign and security policy : states, power, institutions and American hegemony, Catherine Gegout
The European Union's (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) stipulates that all member states must unanimously ratify policy proposals through their representatives on the EU Council. Intergovernmentalism, or the need for equal agreement from all member nations, is used by many political scientists and policy analysts to study how the EU achieves its CFSP. However, in European Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Gegout modifies this theory, arguing instead for analyses based on what she terms 'constrained intergovernmentalism.'Gegout's theory of constrained intergovernmentalism allows for member states, in particular France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to bargain with one another and to make rational decisions but also takes into account the constraints imposed by the United States, the European Commission, and the precedents set by past decisions. Three in-depth case studies of CFSP decision-making support her argument, as she examines the EU position on China's human rights record, EU sanctions against Serbia, and EU relations with NATO.
University of Toronto Press, 2010
This book presents the results of a study of the process of diplomatic elite transformation in post-communist countries. The study aims to analyse whether circulation or reproduction processes prevailed among diplomatic elites during the first decade and a half after the fall of communism. The author argues that a better understanding of these transformation processes can be achieved by looking at people at entry level in the political elite. The key to capturing the processes of circulation and reproduction among diplomatic elites is through analysis of the general characteristics of diplomats as well as the system of personnel selection. This study is based on a survey conducted by the author. Not unexpectedly, the composition of the emerging diplomatic elite shows some similarities across countries; however, the study demonstrates some striking differences as well. This book addresses scholars and students of political elites, the history of diplomacy and foreign policy, and sociology, in the first instance. Written in clear and non-technical language, it may also interest the curious general reader.
Saarbrücken, DM Verlag, 2010
Sanctions are an important tool within the foreign policy of the European Union, which have until now remained obscure to both scholars and the general public.
This book examines sanctions as a political tool of influence and evaluates the efficacy of sanctions imposed by the EU against third countries and their ability to bring about the desired outcome.
While the principal sanctions activity of the EU takes place under the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the author also considers the suspension of development aid under the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, the withdrawal of trade privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences and other sanctions outside these frameworks.
Reviewing the sanctions practice of the EU in its virtual entirety, Portela assesses the relevance of classical sanctions theory by testing a series of hypotheses with empirical case studies attempting to identify the determinants of success of EU sanctions.
Enhancing our understanding of the EU's international role, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, security studies, EU studies, human rights and democracy, conflict management, IPE and development studies.
London, Routledge, 2010
Protection for Exporters. Power and Discrimination in Transatlantic Trade Relations, 1930–2010, Andreas Dür
The liberalization of transatlantic trade relations since the Great Depression is one of the key developments in the global political economy of the last hundred years. This period has seen the negotiated reduction of both tariffs and nontariff barriers among developed countries, which allowed for the rapid expansion of trade flows, a driving force of economic globalization.
In Protection for Exporters, Andreas Dür provides a novel explanation for this phenomenon that stresses the role of societal interests in shaping trade politics. He argues that exporters lobby more in reaction to losses of foreign market access than in pursuit of opportunities, thus providing a rationale for periods of acceleration and slowdown in the pace of liberalization.
Dür also presents hypotheses about the form in which protection for exporters is provided (preferential or nonpreferential) and the balance of concessions that is exchanged in trade negotiations.
Protection for Exporters includes case studies of major developments in international trade relations, such as the passage of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act in the 1930s, the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in the 1940s, the Kennedy Round in the 1960s, the debate over Fortress Europe in the 1980s, and U.S.-European competition over access to emerging markets in the early 2000s.
Dür's rigorous argument and systematic empirical analyses not only explain transatlantic trade relations but also allow for a better understanding of the dynamics of international economic relations.
Ithaca & London, Cornell University Press, 2010
Does the increasing usage of online political forums lead to a more deliberative democracy? This book answers to this question by presenting the evolution of the public spaces in a historical perspective, by defining and operationalizing the deliberative criteria of democracy, and by measuring and evaluating the impact of virtualization of the political debates under three perspectives.
It looks at the extent to which different categories of the population debate online, it looks at the categories of actors hosting online political forum, and assesses the quality of the online political debates in different contexts.
The final aim of this work is to provide a more balanced evaluation of the impact of virtualization of the political debates and to enrich the evolving deliberative theory with new findings.
New York & Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010