This thesis attempts to portray the recent course of NATO-Russia relations in the post-Soviet era, especially in terms of the issue of NATO enlargement. In this thesis NATO has been considered not as military alliance but a security community in the sense that probably no NATO member would seriously consider the use of military force as a means of problem solving among themselves. Besides this thesis examines the current state of NATO and traces its transformation from the end of the Cold War to the post September 11 era. The thesis also examines the Russian foreign policy orientation in terms of NATO enlargement after the Cold War and it will also concentrate on the new security relationship after 11 September 2001 between NATO and Russia. The thesis argues that Russia&rsquo / s inability to improve its relations with NATO stands from the fact that post-Soviet Russian leadership has been unable to reform its military structure and security culture in accordance with NATO&rsquo / s attempts at redefining its identity and strategy in the post-Cold War.

The year of 1989 was a milestone in re-creation of the European continent and the relations between states of Western and Eastern Europe. After the collapse of Eastern Bloc, namely the end of the Cold War era, the relations were reshaped and there was a convergence of the Western and Eastern sides of the continent to common values, rules and political and economic structures. As a result of these new developments in the continent, the fifth enlargement wave of the European Union occurred. This was a controversial issue for the entire Europe. According to many scholars and researchers, Poland&rsquo / s political history and geography caused Poland to be perceived as a special case for the European Union. Poland could be seen as the most difficult candidate for the European Union membership in terms of its population and size. Because of its so-called &ldquo / special position&rdquo / , its membership was discussed in terms of whether being a stumbling block in the enlargement process. The main motivations behind Poland&rsquo / s goal of being a member of the Union were political and security-related. On the other hand, the challenges of membership were mostly concerning economic effects of membership on &ldquo / losers&rdquo / of the process, and social issues. Accession and integration process was a very difficult and complex period for all candidate countries. Poland created new institutions, bodies and charged many people for this process. The analysis of the organisational structure established in Poland for negotiations and the entire integration process shows that Poland created a well-functioning and efficient structure and was able to execute a stable integration process. The negotiations were carried out in 31 chapters with each candidate country. While some negotiation chapters could be accepted as easy topics, some of them required a hard &ldquo / bargaining&rdquo / in order to close the chapter. Five problematic chapters, free movement of persons, free movement of capital (particularly acquisition of real estate by foreigners), agriculture, environment, financial and budgetary provisions, could be accepted as the examples of tricky and hard negotiation chapters. As a conclusion, it can be said that Poland achieved NATO and EU membership, which were its twin goals in 1990s. Although, Poland was perceived as one of the most controversial candidates in European Union&rsquo / s most comprehensive and difficult enlargement movement, the &ldquo / big bang&rdquo / , it could constitute well-functioning coordination mechanisms and conclude the negotiations on time with the other candidate countries. Poland did not become a stumbling block in the enlargement process and concluded its accession process successfully.

Since 1980s, a number of factors caused an overall enhancement in the number of persons applying for asylum in Europe. This rapid increase in asylum applications and the end of the ideological gains towards refugees with the end of the politicized Cold War environment, necessitated European countries to re-focus on their immigration and asylum policies in a more systematic manner, especially after the ratification of the &lsquo / Single European Act&rsquo / . Following the transfer of competencies in asylum and migration to the Community level, discussions were quickly moved within a European framework although harmonization of divergent national practices about an issue directly related to state sovereignty, has not been deemed as a troublefree task for the Member States. On the other hand, the acquis regarding this problematic and state-centric issue has already started to be transferred to the Applicant Countries for the EU membership, as part of the pre-accession strategy, and also to the third countries through bilateral agreements. This thesis work will focus on the concerns regarding the extension of these European asylum acquis to the third countries as well as on the advantages of creating a Common Asylum Policy within the Union and its Associates.

This thesis analyses the Eastern enlargement of the EU in comparison with the past four enlargement rounds, as a result of which it proves that Central and Eastern enlargement (CEE) is a unique experience for the EU. After the fourth enlargement, the EU turned its face to the CEECs, which witnessed unexpected events of a historic nature, with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This date symbolises a great change for the CEECs, such as the end of communism, transition to open market economy, democratisation and stability. A special focus is given to the inclusion of the CEECs into the EU necessitating to make adjustments both in the EU and in the CEECs. The specifity of the fifth enlargement derives from all the changes and challenges that it poses to the applicant countries and the Union but also to its neighbours. It concludes that the factors of uniqueness of the Eastern enlargement will strengthen the probability of the inclusion of the future applicants in the Eastern part of the continent. This enlargement is a positive development for the old and the new member states, it is one of the most important &lsquo / political necessities&rsquo / and &lsquo / historical opportunities&rsquo / that the EU is facing since its establishment, because it will not only ensure the unification, stabilisation, security, economic growth and general well-being of the continent but also because it has opened the way of membership to the future possible applicants in the Eastern part of the continent.

The EU is assumed to have a strong top-down transformative power over the states applying for membership. But despite intensive research on the EU membership conditionality, the transformative power of the EU in itself has been left curiously understudied. This thesis seeks to change that, and suggests a model based on relational power to analyse and understand how the transformative power is seemingly weaker in the Western Balkans than in Central and Eastern Europe. This thesis shows that the transformative power of the EU is not static but changes over time, based on the relationship between the EU and the applicant states, rather than on power resources. This relationship is affected by a number of factors derived from both the EU itself and on factors in the applicant states. As the relationship changes over time, countries and even issues, the transformative power changes with it. The EU is caught in a path dependent like pattern, defined by both previous commitments and the built up foreign policy role as a normative power, and on the nature of the decision making procedures. This path dependent pattern prevents the EU from actively using its strongest tools when trying to influence and steer the applicant states regarding reforms and norm transfer, effectively weakening the transformative power. Evidence from elections in Albania and Macedonia show how the domestic electoral stakeholders actively can resist, and even prune, important norms and laws, on best electoral practice, a key feature for the democratic structures required for EU membership. It is also apparent how there are few domestic change agent strong enough to actively promote normative changes, leaving much of the work for the EU. The clientelistic structures of these countries are a key aspect in shaping interests and actions of the political elite. The result is that layers of old and new institutions are created, producing the mixed pattern of reforms observed all over the Western Balkans. By combining the findings at both the EU level and in the applicant states, this thesis makes both important empirical and theoretical contributions, challenging some core aspects of the Europeanisation literature.

Graph augmentation concerns the addition of edges to a graph to satisfy some connectivity property of a graph. Previous research in this field has been preoccupied with edge augmentation; however the research in this document focuses on the addition of vertices to a graph to satisfy a specific connectivity property: ensuring that all the nodes of the graph are contained within cycles. A distinction is made between graph augmentation (edge addition), and graph enlargement (vertex addition). This document expands on previous research into a graph matching problem known as the “shoe matching problem” and the role of a graph enlargement algorithm in finding this solution. The aim of this research was to develop new and efficient algorithms to solve the graph enlargement problem as applied to the shoe matching problem and to improve on the naïve algorithm of Sanders. Three new algorithms focusing on graph enlargement and the shoe matching problem are presented, with positive results overall. The new enlargement algorithms: cost-optimised, matrix, and subgraph, succeeded in deriving the best result (least number of total nodes required) in 37%, 53%, and 57% of cases respectively (measured across 120 cases). In contrast, Sanders’s algorithm has a success rate of only 20%; thus the new algorithms have a varying success rate of approximately 2 to 3 times that of Sanders’s algorithm. / Computing / M. Sc. Computing

Background: Gingival enlargement (GE) is a frequent finding in cyclosporin users. The mechanisms of this association are not totally known and point out to a multifactorial model, with dose and associations with calcium channel blockers. Novel immunosuppression protocols are adjusting for drugs and dosages. Aim: This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and severity of gingival enlargement in renal transplanted individuals under cyclosporin and possible associations with clinical and pharmacological findings. Methods: With a cross- sectional design, 63 renal transplanted patients under cyclosporin therapy from the University Hospital of the Santa Maria Federal University were examined. Demographic, pharmacological and periodontal variables were assessed. Data analysis, independent sample t test and chi square were used to compare means values of different variables, comparing groups with or without gingival enlargement. Results: A response rate of 86,30% was achieved. In total, 40% of the patients presented some degree of GE. Eleven presented scores >10% and only 5 presented scores of 30%. Mean value for GE was low (6,79±15,83). Patients under nifedipine presented higher prevalence of GE, without reaching statistical significance. Mean values for serum levels of CsA were 3,20±0,94 mg/kg/day and 156,12±162,75 ng/ml, respectively. No statistically significant differences among individuals with or without GE was obtained relating to the use of nifedipine and/or none/verapamil. Conclusion: A lower prevalence and severity of GE was found in relation to previous studies, independent to the drug association. / Justificativa: Aumento gengival (AG) é um achado freqüente em pacientes que utilizam Ciclosporina (CsA). Os mecanismos dessa associação não são totalmente conhecidos e apontam para um modelo multifatorial, com doses e associações com outras drogas, como bloqueadores de canais de cálcio (BCC). Novos protocolos de imunossupressão vêm ajustando fármacos e doses visando obter melhores resultados na terapia, diminuindo também os efeitos adversos. Objetivo: Este estudo tem por objetivo investigar a prevalência e a gravidade de aumento gengival em transplantados renais medicados com CsA, e possíveis associações com fatores farmacológicos e clínicos. Metodologia: Utilizando um delineamento transversal, foram examinados 63 transplantados renais em terapia com CsA no Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (HUSM). Dados demográficos, farmacológicos e periodontais foram coletados. Para a análise dos dados, foram utilizados o teste t não-pareado e qui-quadrado a fim de comparar as médias das variáveis para os grupos com e sem aumento gengival. Resultados: Uma taxa de resposta de 86,3% foi obtida. Ao todo 40% dos pacientes apresentaram algum grau de AG. Onze apresentaram escores acima de 10% e apenas 5 com 30%. A média de AG foi baixa (6,79). Pacientes que utilizam nifedipina apresentaram maior prevalência de AG, sem significância estatística. As médias de dosagem e níveis séricos de CsA foram 3,20 mg/kg/dia e 156,12 ng/ml, respectivamente. Não houve diferença estatística dessas variáveis entre os indivíduos com e sem aumento gengival e entre os gruposnifedipina e sem BCC ou verapamil. Conclusão: No presente estudo, o AG associado à CsA apresentou valores de prevalência e gravidade reduzidos , independentemente das interações medicamentosas.

European Union (EU) Enlargement is more than a collaboration of nations; it has become a large-scale development project where countries facing significant economic challenges undergo enormous transitions in order to meet the standards for acceptance into the EU. This level of accelerated development calls for a strong integrated sustainable development oversight. Sustainable development is a global development management philosophy that aims to conserve the integrity of the earth’s ecosystems while supporting economic growth and social welfare. It was developed by the Brundtland Commission during the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, its primary purpose was to reduce the resistance to the conservation of the environment while raising awareness for the importance of the earth’s natural resources, both for those who need it today and those who will need it tomorrow. The aim of this study was to investigate the degree to which sustainable development has been implemented into the process of EU Enlargement. A snowball method was used to identify both qualitative and quantitative data through official documents and statements, reports, research, and web pages. First, I investigated both the EU and the UN definitions of sustainable development to see how they compared and how the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) addressed EU Enlargement. Next, I examined the EU accession assistance programs available to candidate countries to determine if they were guided by sustainable development and if they had had any influence on the sustainable development within the candidate countries. The definitions of sustainable development for both the EU and the UN were notably different. The UN:s definition provided a balanced approach to the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development, while the EU:s definition strongly supported the economic pillar decreasing the value of the environmental pillar. The EU SDS showed no marked reference to EU Enlargement and the accession assistance programs were not guided by sustainable development. Furthermore, the quantitative data collected from the EU sustainable development indicators in EuroStat indicated that the process of accession increased candidate countries GDP growth which also increased their capacity to meet the MDG’s and therefore, to implement sustainable development. However, while economic and social standards of the candidate countries were shown to increase while environmental conservation was shown to decrease. The significant lack of data designed to monitor the environmental pillar of sustainable development within the EU:s strategy indicated that the environmental pillar of sustainable development has been neglected. In conclusion, while the capacity to implement sustainable development has increased, implementation of sustainable development has not. Discussed in response to this is the need for a comprehensive EU SDS that reaches through the boundaries of member states and into candidate and candidate hopeful countries. Acting through an umbrella program the EU Enlargement SDS could bring both enlargement and sustainable development together cohesively increasing the chances that new EU members will make a more rapid advance in the process of sustainable development.

This thesis examines processes of peace-promotion in the Balkans since the end of the Cold War. It is conducted from the perspective of International Relations theory and as such identifies peace as a pattern of order defined by the analytical framework of security communities. In this respect, the thesis argues that the initiation of a security community in the Balkans is a result of the post- 1999 international socialisation of regional decision-making by the EU and NATO. It, therefore, advances the concept of an elite security community as the embryonic stage of securitycommunity- building. The focus on state-elites is an outcome of the procedural dynamics of socialisation, where it is the decision-making behaviour that signifies compliance with externallypromoted standards. The conjecture is that the promotion of peace in the Balkans is the result of the extension of the Euro-Atlantic security community. The inference is that both the EU and NATO tend to be more convincing agents of socialisation as a result of their association/partnership and accession programmes. Being a complex and context specific process, the conditioning of Balkan states into a security-community-pattern of relations is underwritten by the Euro-Atlantic exercise of socialising power. This notion of power, however, is not defined as the control of policy-outcomes, but instead emphasises the ability of external actors to cause change in decision-making behaviour. The thesis also argues that the process of international socialisation has different effects depending on the nature of statehood in the target entities - in integrated states the external agency is both more immediate to discern and implement, while in awkward states the process tends to be longer and more intricate. Yet, as the case of the Balkans attests, the extension of the Euro-Atlantic security community to the region depends on the viable (even if distant) prospect of membership in the EU and NATO. In this way the thesis contributes to understanding the early stages of initiating a security community, as well as the role played by international actors in its promotion.

A l'approche de l'élargissement de l'UE de 2004, les Etats membres de l'Union européenne ont adopté des dispositions transitoires à la libre circulation des travailleurs, à savoir une période dérogatoire de sept ans durant laquelle ils pouvaient continuer à appliquer leur législation relative aux permis de travail. Initialement isolée, l'Allemagne est parvenue en quelques années à imposer sa préférence à ce sujet à l'ensemble de l'Union européenne. Cette thèse fait trois constats. Le premier est que si la libre circulation des travailleurs se situe à l'intersection des politiques d'élargissement, de marché du travail et de politique migratoire, c'est la composante migratoire qui a dominé la prise de décision. Plus précisément, les dispositions transitoires étaient perçues comme un outil de migration sélective afin de choisir les profils jugés comme étant les plus désirables - et ce même si les désirs politiques ne correspondaient pas à la réalité du marché. La seconde est qu'il n'y a eu que très peu d'Européanisation et d'harmonisation dans ce processus de décision, les Etats membres dominant les négociations. Enfin, le troisième constat est que les acteurs politiques ont principalement pris en compte des considérations électorales, et non des considérations économiques, dans l'adoption de ces dispositions transitoires. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished