This thesis examines the role of the European Community in the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. From their first dealings up until 1968 – when official relations were established – and beyond, the Community and Yugoslavia never achieved a stable relationship that would have come into its own with the outbreak of the Yugoslav crisis in the early 1990s. In this respect, economic, political and social dimensions characterizing cooperation between the EC and the SFRY are analyzed to illustrate the developments between the two parties. The outbreak of the Yugoslav crisis was a completely new phenomenon for Brussels. Although admittedly unprepared, EC officials stated that ‘the hour for Europe has come’. This eleventh-hour intervention, however, opened the door to certain non-state actors who became involved and, more importantly, affected the decision-making at EC level leading to the policy of recognition of Slovenia and Croatia as independent states, and thus the demise of the Yugoslav federation. The thesis focuses on the activism of diaspora communities, the media and the Catholic Church. As far as the diaspora communities are concerned, their activism was most significant in Austria, a country that enjoyed an outstanding reputation within the European Community at the time. The Carinthian Slovenes used their position within Austrian politics to promote the independence of Slovenia and Croatia. As to the Western media, their reporting of the Yugoslav crisis, with its sympathy for the independence of the two republics, was accepted as a reliable source of information, a view confirmed by statements from Brussels. Finally, the Catholic Church also expressed sympathy for Slovenia and Croatia: the fact that the two SFRY republics were Catholic was reason enough for the Vatican to campaign for their independence at EC level.

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This dissertation examines the boundaries of world politics expressed in claims about the ‘global’ character of international order. The presence of a single political order that covers the surface of the globe—the international system—is often treated as axiomatic in international relations. Animated by the tension between this claim to global scope and critiques of world politics in international relations, this study investigates the way discourses of international politics sustain claims to global political unity. I do this through analyses of literatures that chart the past (the globalization of international society), present (theories of structure and the problem of world politics), and future (Kant’s Cosmopolitan Right) of world political order in international relations. I argue that discourses of international politics sustain claims to global political unity through a specific understanding of order: system, understood as an irreducible relation between parts and whole. While descriptions of the international system abound, prevailing theoretical oppositions in international relations (such as anarchy and society, and hierarchy and equality), presume a particular account of an already present order that they describe. As a result, I argue, these theories of international order provide an implicit answer to some of the most intensely contested questions in world politics, such as the relationship between unity and diversity, that sets boundaries on imagining possibilities for political order on a planetary scale. / Graduate

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This dissertation evaluates the applicability and effectiveness of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as a settlement mechanism for addressing the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, the most complex and challenging ocean-related regional conflict in East Asia. This dissertation answers these broad questions: Does UNCLOS create a constitution for the ocean? Is UNCLOS successful in preventing or managing conflicts pertaining to marine resources? Hoes does the SCS dispute settlement bridge the gap of International Relations (IR) and International Law (IL)? Since 1980s, the regime concept came to be used as one vehicle to cross the disciplinary divide between IL and IR. This dissertation seeks to foster dialogue between political scientists and international lawyers by viewing UNCLOS as an international regime and exploring its internal coherence and its external relationship with other international regimes and institutions in this region. I argue that there can be little doubt about the centrality of UNCLOS in the legal framework for ocean management, albeit it may be perceived to have certain shortcomings. The most pervasive threats to the SCS stability and obstacles to solve the dispute are caused by the lack of political will to implement the dispute settlement mechanism of UNCLOS. This paper proposes a pragmatic settlement regime of five dimensions to solve the SCS dispute and accelerate ocean governance in this region.

Annotationen zu den Büchern: - Die Agnellis. Die heimlichen Herrscher Italiens - Die Außen- und Friedenspolitik des Heiligen Stuhls - Moralkommunikation der Macht, politische Konstruktion sozialer Kohäsion im Wohlfahrtsstaat

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La política exterior y de seguridad de la Unión Europea (UE) varía sustancialmente dependiendo de las circunstancias específicas de cada caso. Esto es particularmente evidente en el ámbito de la no proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva (ADM). Por ejemplo, en el caso de la crisis nuclear iraní la UE se muestra un actor propio con un papel bastante coherente y enérgico, mientras que durante la disputa con Irak del 2003, la UE se porta más bien como una organización internacional profundamente dividida e incapaz de realizar acciones independientes. En la presente tesis se asume que las principales variables independientes que pueden explicar este fenómeno no son los 'intereses nacionales' sino las ideas en forma de creencias normativas y causales que sustentan la construcción de intereses, la elección de los instrumentos y, en última instancia, la política exterior colectiva. Por lo tanto, la cuestión central de esta investigación es: ¿Cómo afectan las ideas a la política exterior colectiva, en particular de la UE en el ámbito de la no proliferación?En la primera parte de la tesis, se desarrolla el marco teórico para comprender mejor la relación entre las ideas y los diferentes grados de acción colectiva por grupos de estados en materia de 'alta política.' Basado en un modelo concreto sobre el papel de las ideas en la cooperación internacional, se examina cómo funcionan estas ideas en el caso específico de la política exterior y de seguridad europea. En este sentido, se identifican cuatro grupos dominantes de ideas ('complejos de ideas') que influyen en la política europea común: 'Europa nacional,' 'Europa integracionista,' 'Europa cosmopolita' y 'Europa multilateral.' En estos complejos de ideas son particularmente importantes las creencias causales y normativas sobre seguridad, el uso de los medios y relaciones estatales. El argumento fundamental es que un número limitado de complejos de ideas hace probable el consenso en una política relativamente fuerte. Esto es particularmente cierto si se toma en consideración la maleabilidad de las ideas y el alto grado de institucionalización de grupos de estados como la UE. La competencia entre los complejos de ideas, sin embargo, deja un margen considerable para el desacuerdo. Por tanto, los complejos de ideas pueden explicar la fuerte variación de la política de la UE entre los diferentes campos de actividad.La segunda parte de la tesis analiza empíricamente la política europea en el ámbito de la no proliferación de ADM. Se han elegido tres casos de estudio: (a) una comparación entre las políticas de la UE durante la crisis nuclear iraní y la invasión estadounidense de Iraq; (b) los esfuerzos desiguales de la UE contra la proliferación en el sur y este de la vecindad europea, y (c) las políticas de la UE hacia las instituciones internacionales de no proliferación a la luz del concepto de 'multilateralismo eficaz.' El objetivo es demostrar cómo las ideas influyen en la práctica la política exterior desigual de la UE bajo situaciones diferentes. Del análisis de los estudios de caso se pueden extraer tres conclusiones principales: en primer lugar, el consenso en la UE para la acción colectiva sólo es posible si ciertos límites relativos a la percepción de seguridad, la utilización de medios y las relaciones con otros estados no se cruzan; en segundo lugar, la necesidad de un equilibrio entre los complejos de ideas opuestos explican la política frecuentemente moderada de la UE ('equilibrio de ideas'); y, por último, las ideas como 'multilateralismo eficaz' se pueden utilizar de manera limitada como un foco para fomentar la cohesión, coherencia y legitimidad de la UE en los asuntos internacionales. / The foreign and security policy outputs of the European Union (EU) vary substantially depending on the issue at stake. This has been particularly clear in the field of non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). For example, in the case of the Iranian nuclear crisis, the EU shows the characteristics of a fairly coherent and forceful actor in its own right, whereas during the 2003 Iraq standoff the EU is merely a deeply divided international organization incapable of independent action. The dissertation argues that the principal independent variables that can explain this phenomenon are not 'national interests' but ideas in the form of normative and causal beliefs, which underpin the construction of interests, the choice of instruments and, ultimately, collective foreign policy outputs. Hence, the central research question is: How do ideas affect collective foreign policy output, in particular by the EU in the field of non-proliferation?In the first part, the dissertation develops a theoretical framework to understand better the relation between ideas and the different degrees of collective action by groups of states in matters of 'high politics.' Based on a concrete model outlining the role of ideas in international cooperation, it continues examining theoretically how ideas work in the specific case of the European foreign and security policy. In this regard, it identifies four dominant sets of ideas ('idea complexes') that influence common European policy output: 'national Europe,' 'integrationist Europe,' 'cosmopolitan Europe' and 'multilateral Europe.' In these idea complexes, causal and normative beliefs about security, the use of means and state relations are particularly important. The key argument is that the limited number of relatively malleable foreign policy idea complexes makes consensus for relatively forceful policy output likely, in particular taking into consideration the high degree of institutionalization of groups of states such as the EU. The competition between idea complexes leaves, however, substantial room for disagreement. Therefore, idea complexes can explain the EU's strong output variation between different fields of activity.The second part of the dissertation analyzes empirically the EU's policy in the field of non-proliferation of WMD. Three specific case studies have been chosen: (a) a comparison between the EU policies during the Iranian nuclear crisis and the US led invasion of Iraq; (b) the EU's uneven non-proliferation efforts in the Southern and Eastern neighbourhood; and (c) EU policies towards international non-proliferation institutions in light of the concept of 'effective multilateralism.' The aim is to demonstrate how ideas influence in practice the uneven EU foreign policy output in different situations. Three major conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the case studies: First, consensus in the EU on collective action is only possible, if certain limits regarding security perception, use of means and relations with other states are not crossed; secondly, the need for striking a balance between competing idea complexes explains the frequently moderate policy output by the EU ('ideational balancing'); and, finally, ideas such as 'effective multilateralism' can be used to a limited extent as focal points to foster cohesion, coherence and legitimacy of the EU in international affairs.

Wissenschaft hat einen großen Anteil daran, internationale Umweltprobleme auf die politische Tagesordnung zu bringen und Maßnahmen zu ihrer technischen Lösung zu entwerfen. Dies gilt sowohl für den Abbau der Ozonschicht als auch für den Klimawandel. So relevant die Generierung von wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen in diesen Feldern ist, so komplex ist die Interaktion zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik und so schwierig ist es, Verlässliches darüber zu sagen. Thomas Hickmann analysiert das Verhältnis von Wissenschaft und Politik in internationalen Umweltregimen aus einer neuen Perspektive. Er untersucht nicht den Einfluss wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse auf die Politik, sondern rückt die Frage in den Fokus, inwieweit Regierungen Einfluss auf die Wissenschaft nehmen, um nationale Interessen durchzusetzen. Diese Perspektive wurde in der Forschung bislang weitgehend vernachlässigt, weshalb eine systematische Analyse dieser Frage in der Literatur fehlt.

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