Thesis advisor: Jennifer Erickson / What explains why international and regional organizations in some cases choose to cooperate during peacekeeping operations, while in other cases find themselves competing for resources and control? This thesis seeks to explain variation in coordination, competition, and cooperation between international and regional organizations in the area of peacekeeping. In the post-Cold War era, a number of factors—including the proliferation of increasingly capable organizational actors, expansion of mandated tasks, and increasing complexity of conflict—have led to the development of an international peacekeeping “regime complex.” This complex is characterized by multiple international institutions that exhibit overlapping membership, are actively involved in matters of peace and security, and are connected by normative and operative interaction, both official and ad hoc. In some cases, this complex functions smoothly, while in others, it does not. By examining materialist, dependency, and identity factors at work in the peacekeeping regime complex, this thesis explores institutional interaction and the drivers of both rivalry and collaboration in the context of four cases: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Mali, and Somalia. I hypothesize that organizations will cooperate when they hold complementary understandings of their roles within the peacekeeping regime complex, but will compete when these identities clash and overlap. Understanding these dynamics will not only lead to recommendations for more effective and efficient peacekeeping operations, but also contribute more generally to the growing theoretical field of regime complexity in international relations. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Scholar of the College. / Discipline: International Studies.

Thesis advisor: James Cronin / The Northern Ireland conflict has often been viewed as parochial, closed off from the currents of international opinion and foreign influence. Yet nationalists, unionists, and pacifists consistently recruited supporters and confronted their adversaries on an international stage. The relative success or failure of these groups within the Northern Ireland political system was based in large part on their ability to navigate the changing global context. This dissertation demonstrates that to understand the development of the conflict and that of the peace process, it is necessary to take a comprehensive look at the role of the international community. The conflict in Northern Ireland was fundamentally international from its inception in the late 1960s and grew increasingly so over the next thirty years. Many of the ideas that motivated the groups involved in the Northern Ireland conflict were global in nature and origin, as were the institutions and organizations that became important players in the conflict and its resolution. Given that international ideas, institutions, and organizations were so central in forming the contours of the conflict, the conflict must be analyzed within a framework of international history. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

Models of EU financial market supervision Author: JUDr. Evžen Šťastný, LL.M. This paper seeks the optimal way of supervision of a single EU financial market. The reason for my research is that, based on the development of financial markets in recent years, the interconnection of markets, modern investment instruments and the strengthening of multinational financial groups allow for quick and easy transfer of capital and risk between countries and financial sectors. This forces us to reconsider the appropriateness of the currently used supervisory model. The paper analyzes models of home state supervisor in connection with supervision on a consolidated basis and supervision of financial conglomerates, the model of a lead supervisor and a single supervisor model with the unified structure and dual structure with the Union and national supervisory authorities. As the evaluation criteria were chosen costs for financial institutions, supervisory effectiveness, consumer confidence and political acceptability. The analysis concludes that the most appropriate model of supervision of a single financial market of the European Union is the model of a single supervisory authority with the unified structure. The work is divided into eight chapters to present reasons why the issue should be examined, analyzed...

Univerzita Karlova v Praze Právnická fakulta Doktorský studijní program: Teoretické právní vědy Studijní obor: Ústavní právo Školitel: doc. JUDr. Jana Reschová, CSc. DISERTAČNÍ PRÁCE Parlamentarismus v Evropské unii (Parliamentarism in the European Union) JUDr. Martin Soukup Čílova 1803/2 162 00 Praha 6 Abstract European integration in the second half of the twentieth century resulted in the unique and inspiring project of the economic and political union called at first European Communities and later European Union. History of this gradual integration is accompanied by intensive professional, political and also lay discussions on nature of the European union of states and on its future. Institutional separation of powers in the Union and its legitimacy, as well as the issue of vertical separation of powers among the Union and member states have substantial influence on the Union functioning. Its own system of bodies became one of the most significant features of the Communities and later Union. It is typical for the Union bodies as distinct from the classic central bodies of state power that some of them are strongly connected with the member states. Institutional framework of the Union changed considerably after ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. One of the central and ruling bodies of the Union is the...

Brexit was voted by referendum three years ago, on June 23rd, 2016. Yet, no final decision has been taken regarding the exit conditions of the United Kingdom. It took almost two years for the European Union and the British Prime Minister to find an agreement, which keeps being rejected by the British Parliament. Consequently, the aftermaths of Brexit on the European market remain fully uncertain and companies have to find ways to be ready to face it. Therefore, the aim of our study was to understand how French companies face the uncertainty related to Brexit and how they analyze its potential consequences. More precisely, we wanted to examine if there were any factors that lead firms to implement new strategies in order to face Brexit’ aftermaths in the best way possible and to understand if these factors were impacting their ability to handle Brexit. We also aimed to deepen the question of information channels that are the more used by companies in order to discover if they have an impact on their strategy. Finally, we wanted to understand what kind of strategies were implemented by managers within the companies and how they intended to face negative consequences or seize opportunities related to Brexit. As a result, our research question was: What factors may influence French companies in their ability to handle Brexit? To answer this question, we created a conceptual model and sent an online self-completion questionnaire to French companies’ managers. We asked them some of their firm’s characteristics, how they got information about Brexit and how often, how they perceive and analyze Brexit and what their answer may be. Through our results’ analysis, we showed that some firms’ characteristics have no impact on the answer to Brexit (sector and degree of internationalization) whereas the size impacts the reaction towards the crisis. Moreover, we found that information channels as well as the tendency to search for information also impact the strategy implemented by companies. Finally, our results showed that companies that analyze Brexit as an opportunity tend to implement larger reactions than the other ones and that companies that fear to lose money were more likely to implement risky strategies.

This thesis analyses the progression of the average wages of the countries in the Eurozone between 1996 and 2017. The purpose of this study is to examine if the wages in those countries have converged during this period and the impact of adopting the Euro had. To answer that question, data has been collected for every country and expose the progression of the average wages relatively to the Eurozone’s average. Furthermore, the thesis employs an econometrical model to conclude if the average wages are statistically different from the Eurozone’s average.  With the above process, this paper concludes that there is no significant indication of wage convergence between all countries during the analysed period. However, by omitting Luxembourg, Finland, France, Ireland, Greece and Portugal there are trends of convergence in the remaining countries, both above and below the Eurozone average wage throughout the period. The econometrical model concludes that Finland and France are the only countries whose average wages are not statistically different from the Eurozone average throughout the analysed period. Finally, the adoption of the Euro does not appear to have an impact in terms of wage convergence.

The 26th of March the European Parliament voted for the directive Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (COM/2016/0593).The directive was then voted through by the Council of Ministers on April 25th and should be implemented into each union states legislation within 24 months. The Directive came to be very controversial and heavily debated in the media, where it has been depicted as either a threat to freedom of speech or as the salvation of copyright owners. Citizens of the Union usually have poor insight in the work of EU and media are the citizens single largest link between them and the Union. What the media reports is interesting to study by the three fundamental democratic values transparency, influence, and accountability. This paper uses a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach to examine the debate around the Copyright Directive and to highlight the most distinctive arguments and people in the debate in order to examine the results from a democratic perspective. The most striking arguments in the debate is that the basic principles of copyright must be strengthened, that opponents / advocates lacks knowledge, that the Directive contributes to censorship of the internet and a link tax, and that the big internet corporations must take responsibility. Advocates are primarily copyright owners who strive for their rights to receive an income from their work, while opponents are primarily specialists in the field or internet companies who are concerned about the implications of the directive.

A crítica de Habermas à União Europeia no que concerne seu processo político de integração é de inegável importância na contribuição tanto do pensamento habermasiano quanto dos estudos europeus. Partindo-se desta premissa, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo abordar cronologicamente toda a reflexão do filósofo a fim de apresentar suas críticas nos momentos cruciais do bloco. Inicialmente, analisa-se o diagnóstico do autor do paradigma sistêmico no período de formação da união política, e sua resposta aos desafios do bloco à época: o patriotismo constitucional. Segue-se com os momentos da discussão do Tratado Constitucional e a inflexão da crítica habermasiana ao introduzir o conceito de solidariedade como perspectiva para as turbulências vividas pela União Europeia. Por fim, trata-se da crítica mais recente do filósofo com relação à atual estrutura política, firmada em Lisboa. Sua narrativa da juridificação democrática elucida como arquitetar uma teoria democrática transnacional que atenda às deficiências que o projeto de integração revelou. Ao final será esclarecido como Habermas enxerga as saídas da legitimidade democrática ao longo da integração europeia, sempre acompanhando o diagnóstico do autor seguido de suas respostas. / Habermas\'s criticism of the European Union (EU) in what regards its political process of integration is of undeniable importance in the contribution for both Habermas and European studies. In this regard, the present work aims to address chronologically the considerations of the philosopher in order to present his point of views regarding crucial moments of the EU development. Initially, we analyze Habermass diagnosis of a systemic paradigm within the period of the EUs political union formation, followed by his response to the challenges of the organization at the time, giving rise to the concept of constitutional patriotism. The work continues with the period of the discussion of the Constitutional Treaty and the turning point of the Habermasian critique by introducing the notion of solidarity as a perspective for the turbulences experienced by the EU. Finally, we turn to the author\'s more recent critique of the current political structure, established by the Lisbon Treaty. His narrative of democratic juridification elucidates how to architect a transnational democratic theory that meets the deficiencies that the integration project revealed. Finally it will be clarified how Habermas may explain possible perspectives for democratic legitimacy throughout European integration, always through the diagnosis made by the author, followed by his answers to the given problem.

Thesis advisor: Jonathan Laurence / This thesis analyzes the impact of Europeanization on national sovereignty, through a case study examining the French experience between the Maastricht Treaty of the early 1990s and the Treaty of Lisbon in present day. It approaches the study of Europeanization and French national sovereignty from two directions, addressing both political and social sovereignty. While Europeanization and European integration are most identified with the economic realm, examining political and social sovereignty allows for the development of an understanding of how Europeanization operates as a top-down process. Europeanization began on the supranational level, bringing the states together economically. It then developed on the interstate level, bringing together leaders politically. Currently, it is expanding to the subnational level, uniting the people of all member states socially. Because of this progression, Europeanization has had the most impact on economic sovereignty, less on political sovereignty and the least on social sovereignty. Though Europeanization and national sovereignty are traditionally seen as locked in an either/or battle, this study of France’s experience with political and social sovereignty throughout the past twenty years suggests that Europeanization is not destroying national sovereignty, but rather, allowing for a reinterpretation of national sovereignty and the relationship between nation-states and international actors. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

Thesis advisor: Robert Murphy / In order for the Euro to be successful over time, certain conditions must be satisfied. First, the economies of the countries need to be similar so that a policy change does not cripple certain economies when it attempts to help others. Therefore, convergence among the interest rates of the different countries will be tested. Also, since the Euro has removed the individual monetary policies, the countries only have fiscal policy to use for stabilization of their economies. Provisions have been in place to prevent countries from overspending, which creates pressure for devaluation of the Euro. This paper will provide evidence that these countries have shown convergence in their economies since the inception of the Euro. It will also explore the literature surrounding the opinions about the role of fiscal policy. Together, these two topics will be used to support the belief that the Euro will be sustained in the future. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program.