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This study has aimed to examine the actions of the European Union and its member states during the on-going refugee crisis. The EU is founded on a certain set of values and institutions that were clearly abandoned by more than one of the actors of the EU in the face of the overwhelming refugee crisis. The purpose is thus to investigate the cause behind these decisions by using two European integration theories. Neofunctionalism and Security Communities were chosen because of their founding role in the field of theories and because they constitute a so called hard case. The study concludes that the reason for these actions has its explanation in the lack of trust and common values between the member states. The crisis is also perceived by some actors as an outside threat due to the securitization of the European identity.

This thesis makes a comparative analysis of financial assistances provided to Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and Turkey by the European Union (EU) prior and pursuant to candidacy. Furthermore, the thesis argues results obtained through comparison of financial assistances provided to CEECs and Turkey by the EU within the framework of integration theories and examines the place of Turkey within the enlargement perspective of the EU by addressing arguments that are dominant in the literature in relation to European integration theories. The major argument of the thesis is that Turkey has not been treated equally with CEECs as regards financial assistance provided by the EU. As a justification for this, it is assumed that ideational factors have an impact on the enlargement perspective of the EU and they are determinant in the stance of EU towards Turkey.

Recent developments such as internationalization of labor markets, emergence of multi-level polities and a global discourse on human rights have influenced citizenship practices and challenged conventional definitions of citizenship. While conventional definitions of citizenship often presuppose the relationship between citizenship, nationality and nation-state, as an institution, citizenship is constituted and reconstituted by economic, political, social and legal practices. In this context, European Union citizenship (EU citizenship), which was formally introduced in 1993, has generated a discussion on its nature. As a reflection of its dynamic and ambiguous character, there is a variety of interpretations on EU citizenship that can be evaluated between postnational and national ends. In line with these interpretations, this thesis aims to provide an insight to the possibility of postnationality in the case of the European Union Citizenship. In this sense, the analysis of EU citizenship depends on two significant theoretical bases: the contemporary debates on citizenship and the theories of European integration. It is attempted to combine these theoretical frameworks in a critical analysis in order to consider the postnational potentials and possibilities that the EU citizenship has. In the case study of EU citizenship a socio-historical analysis of the making of EU citizenship is carried out mainly with reference to the official documents of the institutions of European Union. In the light of this analysis, EU citizenship is critically examined according to designated discussion themes. Consequently, in this thesis, it is mainly argued that dynamic and evolving nature of EU citizenship create contradictory notions in its development process. This also reflects that possibilities for postnationality are inherent to the EU citizenship.

xv, 372 p. / In my dissertation I argue that because the European Union and the United States of America have been largely treated as unique or at least special cases, both the literature on American-state building and that on European market integration have missed how close comparison alters both our descriptive views and social-scientific explanations of the shape of each polity. In particular, scholars have not sufficiently recognized that the European Union has gone further than the United States in many elements of the creation of a centralized, liberalized single market, nor have they produced explanations that account well for this development. This study challenges the dominant assumption that the United States is generally more hierarchical and centralized than the European Union and more of a single free market in the sense of fewer allowable trade barriers. By analyzing the rules of market integration in services (over 70% of GDP), public procurement (15 - 20% GDP) and the regulated goods markets (goods like elevators with their own regulatory regimes), I demonstrate that in all these major cases the European Union has adopted rules that open exchange to competition more than the United States. While the actual integration of flows on the ground is still generally less across European states than American ones, the political rules are more - and more liberally - integrated in Europe. I offer an institutional and ideational argument to explain these differences, with two main parts. First, there is no American parallel to the institution of the European Commission, which is mandated to continually push liberalization forward. My research shows that Commission leadership has been critical to each of the examined cases. Second, broader norms of legitimate governance favor centralized authority - including liberalizing central authority - more in the European Union than in the United States. Despite all the criticism we hear of the European Union, the basic notion of federal governance of market integration is far more strongly accepted across Europe at both elite and mass levels than in the United States. As interview evidence in this study displays, many Americans consistently object to any role for the federal government. / Committee in charge: Dr. Craig Parsons, Chairperson; Dr. Gerald Berk, Member; Dr. Lars Skålnes, Member; Dr. Alexander B. Murphy, Outside Member

The thesis deals with theoretical and practical aspects of building an internal market in the European Union. It makes a theoretical reflection of European economic integration, identifies the forms of economic integration and analyses individual theoretical concepts. The thesis concentrates on analyzing the fundamental strategic documents which influenced the process of building an internal market. The thesis investigates the four basic freedoms - freedom of movement of goods, services, labour and capital - which are necessary preconditions for an effective functioning of an internal market. It analyses achievement of an internal market in practice, identifies its most fundamental obstacles and offers possible solutions that would remove them. The paper also offers a comparison of efficiency of economies of the European Union, the United States and China.

The diploma thesis "New Regionalism and Sub-Saharan Africa" deals with the question of economic integration in Africa and its theoretical reflexion. First chapter deals with the question whether different integration theories are applicable to African reality or not. Author subsequently analyzes Pan-Africanism as a specifically African ideology, classical economic integration theories, classical theories of political science on integration and modern theories of political science, with the conclusion that neither of these theories provides explanation of speeding up African integration in recent years. Chapter two deals with the phenomenon of so-called "new regionalism" as a process in world economy, second part deals with different theoretical conceptions and theories trying to describe and theorize about this process. Chapter three briefly describes evolution of African integration from its colonial starts to the newest initiatives connected with the transformation of Organization of African Unity into African Union. Chapter four offers five case studies of integration in different regional organizations. Each case study outlines starting position in 1991 in the sense of creation of organization, its aims and evolution of integration up to signing of the Abuja Treaty creating African Economic...

There is enough evidence on how climate change consequences will adversely affect Africa despite the fact that it is the continent that has least contributed to the problem. The international climate change regime recognises Africa's vulnerability to climate change and provides for special treatment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the UNFCCC). Thus, the international climate change regime presents an opportunity for African countries to adapt and mitigate the consequences of climate change through the UNFCCC mechanism. However, the international climate change legal regime has not been able to adequately assist African countries to address the consequences of climate change under the vulnerability principle. Although the current international climate change regime requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Africa needs to take steps itself to address the problem, because it is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The African Union (AU) could play a great role in ensuring that the international climate change regime addresses the consequences of climate change in the region. This could be done through fostering strong African common positions during international climate change negotiations. A strong common position could strengthen African bargaining power and might result in more funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer for adaptation and mitigation programmes under the UNFCCC-Kyoto Conference of Parties. However, reaching a strong common position requires the cooperation of the AU member states. In this context, African regional integration is an opportunity for the AU to foster such cooperation among member states. The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (the Abuja Treaty), the Constitutive Act of the AU and the Protocol on the Relations between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) prioritise regional economic integration and call for states' cooperation, but the call has not yet been heeded. To realise deep and viable African integration, there must be a well-structured institutional and legal framework that defines the relationship between the AU, the AEC and the RECs. African regional integration is also seen as an avenue whereby the AU can create its own regional climate-change regime. In this regard, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is examined in order to assess whether it adequately integrates climate change issues. This study finds that although Africa is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is weak and inadequate to address the problem. The Framework should integrate climate change issues in order to achieve sustainable development. The AU should also ensure that member states ratify the relevant treaties and protocols (the Maputo Nature Convention and the Protocol establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights) that have not yet been ratified in order that they may become operational. The Maputo Nature Convention puts sustainable development in the forefront of attention as a reaction to the potentially conflicting environmental and developmental challenges facing the continent (such as climate change), but it is not yet in force. This work finds that human rights law can strengthen the AU's role in addressing climate change through its normative framework. The human rights approach to climate change under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Banjul Charter) is a viable avenue because human rights law forms the basis for states' responsibility based on human rights obligations and principles. The extraterritorial application of the Banjul Charter presents an avenue for AU institutions such as the Human Rights Commission and the African Human Rights Court to curb the effects of climate change through a human rights lens. The future of the AU is presented within the context of a set of recommendations that identify strong African regional integration as an avenue through which the AU can foster the cooperation of member states to address the consequences of climate change in the AU's and RECs' normative frameworks. General recommendations are made on the need for the international climate change regime to pay more attention to issues of funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer on the basis of the vulnerability principle and in relation to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Also, the AU needs to strengthen its legal and institutional structures to ensure deep African integration that is capable of addressing common challenges such as the consequences of climate change. / PhD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

There is enough evidence on how climate change consequences will adversely affect Africa despite the fact that it is the continent that has least contributed to the problem. The international climate change regime recognises Africa's vulnerability to climate change and provides for special treatment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the UNFCCC). Thus, the international climate change regime presents an opportunity for African countries to adapt and mitigate the consequences of climate change through the UNFCCC mechanism. However, the international climate change legal regime has not been able to adequately assist African countries to address the consequences of climate change under the vulnerability principle. Although the current international climate change regime requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Africa needs to take steps itself to address the problem, because it is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The African Union (AU) could play a great role in ensuring that the international climate change regime addresses the consequences of climate change in the region. This could be done through fostering strong African common positions during international climate change negotiations. A strong common position could strengthen African bargaining power and might result in more funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer for adaptation and mitigation programmes under the UNFCCC-Kyoto Conference of Parties. However, reaching a strong common position requires the cooperation of the AU member states. In this context, African regional integration is an opportunity for the AU to foster such cooperation among member states. The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (the Abuja Treaty), the Constitutive Act of the AU and the Protocol on the Relations between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) prioritise regional economic integration and call for states' cooperation, but the call has not yet been heeded. To realise deep and viable African integration, there must be a well-structured institutional and legal framework that defines the relationship between the AU, the AEC and the RECs. African regional integration is also seen as an avenue whereby the AU can create its own regional climate-change regime. In this regard, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is examined in order to assess whether it adequately integrates climate change issues. This study finds that although Africa is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is weak and inadequate to address the problem. The Framework should integrate climate change issues in order to achieve sustainable development. The AU should also ensure that member states ratify the relevant treaties and protocols (the Maputo Nature Convention and the Protocol establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights) that have not yet been ratified in order that they may become operational. The Maputo Nature Convention puts sustainable development in the forefront of attention as a reaction to the potentially conflicting environmental and developmental challenges facing the continent (such as climate change), but it is not yet in force. This work finds that human rights law can strengthen the AU's role in addressing climate change through its normative framework. The human rights approach to climate change under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Banjul Charter) is a viable avenue because human rights law forms the basis for states' responsibility based on human rights obligations and principles. The extraterritorial application of the Banjul Charter presents an avenue for AU institutions such as the Human Rights Commission and the African Human Rights Court to curb the effects of climate change through a human rights lens. The future of the AU is presented within the context of a set of recommendations that identify strong African regional integration as an avenue through which the AU can foster the cooperation of member states to address the consequences of climate change in the AU's and RECs' normative frameworks. General recommendations are made on the need for the international climate change regime to pay more attention to issues of funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer on the basis of the vulnerability principle and in relation to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Also, the AU needs to strengthen its legal and institutional structures to ensure deep African integration that is capable of addressing common challenges such as the consequences of climate change. / PhD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

<p>The two Eastern enlargements in 2004 and 2007 marked a new chapter in the EU’s history, since it was the first time that the Union turned to enlarge eastwards. This thesis examines the borderline problem that arose with Article 49 of the <em>Maastricht</em> <em>Treaty on the European Union</em>, which gave the right to <em>any European country</em> that respects the principles of: liberty, democracy, human and fundamental rights, and the rule of law, to apply for membership in the EU.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem by taking on three case studies consisting of Hungary, Lithuania, and Ukraine, for the purpose of analyzing the Eastern enlargement and Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU. The reason for doing so is to compare Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member in the EU with two Eastern states that, like Ukraine, have been involved with the Soviet Union, and that despite their degree of involvement, have been successfully integrated in the EU.</p><p> </p><p>As the EU has turned to enlarge eastwards, it gradually pushes its borderline with every enlargement, closer to Russian territory. Hence, it is necessary to investigate how potential integration of a country like Ukraine can affect the EU’s relations with Russia. The crucial aspect of the current relations between the EU and Russia is the interdependence of energy, where Ukraine is as a strategically important country, since it currently serves as a corridor between East (Russia) and West (EU). This thesis therefore shows that the problematic of potential integration of Ukraine goes much deeper than that of a geographical matter, and therefore touches other problem areas related to domestic political instability in Ukraine, and Russian political influence through its gas supplies.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis approaches the EU’s borderline problem from a foreign political perspective by investigating Ukraine’s potentials of becoming a member of the EU and suggesting, by the assistance of Westberg’s theoretical framework of integration theories, a third generation of integration theories to be needed in order to meet the problematic of the enlargement towards East. The thesis further gives recommendations to how the EU could deal with its borderline problem by answering three research questions related to the enlargement problematic.</p> / <p>De två östutvidgningarna 2004 och 2007 utgjorde ett nytt kapitel i EU:s historia då det var första gången som Unionen påbörjade utvidgningen mot Öst. Denna uppsats undersöker gränsproblematiken som uppkom i samband med Artikel 49 i <em>Maastricht</em> <em>Fördraget om Europeiska Unionen</em>, vilken gav rätten till varje Europeiskt land som respekterar principerna om: frihet, demokrati, mänskliga och fundamentala rättigheter, samt rättsstat, att ansöka om medlemskap i EU.</p><p> </p><p>Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem genom att ta sig an tre fallstudier bestående av Ungern, Litauen, och Ukraina, i syfte att analysera östutvidgningen och Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU ur ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv. Anledningen till detta är att jämföra Ukrainas potential att bli medlem i EU med två öststater som, i likhet med Ukraina, har varit involverade i Sovjet Unionen, men som oberoende graden av involvering med Ryssland, framgångsrikt blivit integrerade i EU.</p><p> </p><p>Eftersom EU påbörjat utvidgningen mot Öst så förskjuts EU:s gräns gradvis, med varje östutvidgning, nära ryskt territorium. Därmed är det nödvändigt att utreda hur potentiell integrering av ett land som Ukraina kan påverka EU:s relationer med Ryssland. Den avgörande aspekten när det gäller relationerna mellan EU och Ryssland, är det ömsesidiga beroendet kring energi, där Ukraina utgör ett strategiskt viktigt land, eftersom det för närvarande verkar som en korridor mellan Öst (Ryssland) och Väst (EU). Denna uppsats visar att problematiken kring potentiell integrering av Ukraina rör problemområden bortom geografisk natur, så som inhemskt politisk instabilitet i Ukraina, samt Rysslands politiska inflytande genom energiförsörjning till Europa.</p><p> </p><p>Denna uppsats närmar sig EU:s gränsproblem från ett utrikespolitiskt perspektiv genom att utreda Ukrainas potentiella medlemskap i EU. Den föreslår, med hjälp av Westbergs integrationsteoretiska ramverk, att en tredje generation av integrationsteorier är nödvändig för att analysera problematiken kring utvidgningen mot Öst. Uppsatsen ger rekommendationer till hur EU kan hantera sitt gränsproblem genom att svara på tre frågeställningar gällande utvidgningsproblematiken.</p>