This thesis examines the EU arms embargo on China as a case-study, analysing the apparent paradox of the EU’s foreign and economic external policy mechanisms internally and the American involvement in the EU’s foreign and economic external policy with regard to China. The thesis firstly introduces the uniqueness of the Chinese arms embargo in contrast to the other 22 arms embargoes issued in EU’s history. In terms of the case-study, the EU’s arms embargo on China did not become a key contentious issue until the initial moves by the EU Commission to lift it surfaced in 2004. The analysis of the EU foreign and economic external policies towards China and the arms embargo focuses on the political, legal, and economic foundations of EC/EU policy and seeks to offer explanations of the evolution of events at EU institutional level, the EU member states’ level, and the wider international level. The thesis examines the evolution of the EC/EU – Chinese relationship. It also examines how the key political issue of the embargo eventually came to become a technical matter, which lost some of its importance to the Chinese. In this evolution, the thesis picks up on Chinese scholars’ fascination with the EU – the relationship between its institutions, and the member states relationship with each other and the EU institutions with regard to the arms embargo. It notes that some Chinese scholars have seen the EU as a potential role model for the developments in China and the region of Asia. The thesis notes the role of the outsider player, the United States of America, which influenced the making and implementation of foreign and economic external policy of the EU. The thesis proves that China is fully aware of the continuous influence exerted by the US onto the EU-Chinese relationship. In sum, the arms embargo is an ideal test case to examine: a) the evolution of the EU’s coherence, consistency and independence and b) the evolution of Chinese thinking about the EU model.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The advent of the NATO Response Force (NRF) is the result of the call for NATO to create a warfighting capability to meet the security threats of the 21st Century. The NRF is a joint force comprised of air, land and maritime assets designed to conduct operations across the full spectrum of conflict. Missions include opposed entry scenarios, counter-terrorism, crisis response and peace enforcement, embargo operations, interdiction, and human relief and non-combatant evacuations, meeting the need called for in the U.S. National Security Strategy as well as the European Union Security Strategy. The NRF will also serve as a catalyst for transformation, encouraging European nations to downsize and retool their legacy forces in order to participate in the NRF. Political influences and operational constraints threaten to limit the NRF. The tangible effect the NRF will have on the Air Force will be its disproportionate need for Air Force assets to meet its required operational mandate. The result of the EU's inability to readily address their capability shortfalls will be the NRF's dependence upon Air Force to provide strategic airlift, air refueling, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and the procurement and use of Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) for the foreseeable future. / Major, United States Air Force

This dissertation seeks to test the proposition that public opinion is a driving force in integration, and thus examines the effect of euroscepticism on EU integration. Utilizing an understanding of integration as the process of European states achieving similar legal, social, cultural, political and economic policy outcomes while ceding greater policy power to European institutions, the relationship between aggregate level euroscepticism in EU member states (the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden) and speed of compliance with EU policies is examined. More specifically, this dissertation examines the relationship between aggregate level euroscepticism in an EU member state, and the speed at which that state transposes EU directives. In testing this relationship a number of contextual conditions are examined, including the role of issue salience, domestic party systems, and electoral conditions. The findings of this dissertation suggest that the widely held belief that public opinion is driving European integration may be false.

Investigation of the European Union’s foreign policy towards Hamas acquires its significance as a topic from the undemocratic way in which the (supposedly) democratic EU pursues its strategy since, according to its own rhetoric, this should have been normatively undertaken. In examining inconsistencies and paradoxes in the EU discourse towards Hamas, and the determinants underlying such contradictions, the study scrutinizes questions of ‘how’ and ‘why’, focusing mainly on identities and self-interests as lenses borrowed from constructivism and neorealism, as well as the influence of external actors on the way the EU functions towards Hamas. Behind such inconsistency stands a cultural-historical heritage, part of the mind-set of the European decision-makers. The contradictory status of the association between the two actors is formed by the main interactively-constructed and conflictual socio-political components arising from the reality of the EU as a stability-seeking and security-driven actor in Palestine, and the self-definition of Hamas as a freedom-fighter striving for the liberation of its lands. Being defenders of the culturally-drawn meanings given by the EU to Palestine as a ‘promised land’ for the Jews within a two-state solution, and those given to it by Hamas as an ‘Islamic Waqf’ is another field of identities’ clash between the two actors. The Israeli factor, regarded in practice as a fixed, constant and purely Western and European interest in the Middle East, along with the dominant influence of the US on its EU partner, are emphasized as main determinants of EU policy towards Hamas. On the macro and micro levels, the determinants of the EU decision making process, and the way the EU functions when its perceived interests are threatened must be understood when any decision on relations with the EU is taken, particularly by the Palestinian resistance factions. At the same time, the EU should also examine its own inconsistencies in dealing with Hamas as a ‘terrorist’ organization and boycotting its democratically-elected government, in order to avoid repeating the ‘trial and error’ approach with the new powers rising in the ‘Arab spring’ countries, and to adapt itself to change in Palestine accordingly.

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All policies, initiatives and ideas of accession countries are directed towards the European Union. With the safe development and enlargement, European Union is the world's center of peace and stability. For Montenegro, as a small open economy in the Western Balkans, which tends to become part of a unique political, economic and cultural market, entrance into the EU is a strategic goal from independence gained in 2006. Within the framework of the process of European integration, Montenegro unifies all resources that are still significantly underdeveloped thus creating better options for their absorption and further development. In accordance with the previous, the key issues that are analyzed in this paper are the following: In what way and at what "speed" is Montenegro working on the process of EU integration? With what kind of problems and challenges Montenegro is facing? What methods in the context of European integration Montenegro is using? To what extent are the solutions optimal and relevant for Montenegro? Key words: integration, candidate, negotiation, accession, Montenegro, European Union

This thesis investigates impact of pension reforms implemented in the EU27 countries in time period 1993 - 2013 to implicit pension debt. We applied Holzmann's (2004) methodology to calculate implicit pension debt. Primary outcome is that in the investigated period, 21 countries have reduced its im- plicit pension debt in range of 57% to 700% of its GDP. On the other side, in Denmark, Germany and Portugal, implicit pension debt increased in range 10% - 194% of their GDP. Paper also investigated impact of individual components implemented in pension reforms. Largest impact was recorded by change of pension age. In- creasing pension age by 1 year reduced the IPD by 46% of GDP on EU27 level. This was also the most often used measure as it was implemented 42 times in the investigated period. Reforms of indexation have also significant impact on IPD, however, as indexation is linked to chosen variables to decrease IPD it is only possible to change indexation linkage. Possibilities of early retire- ment were also limited, as it was adjusted 13 times. The effect was smaller in comparison to increasing retirement age where increasing early retirement age decreased implicit pension debt by 21% of GDP on the EU27 level. This equals to impact of increasing contribution rate by 1 p.p. The smallest impact was...

All policies, initiatives and ideas of accession countries are directed towards the European Union. With the safe development and enlargement, European Union is the world's center of peace and stability. For Montenegro, as a small open economy in the Western Balkans, which tends to become part of a unique political, economic and cultural market, entrance into the EU is a strategic goal from independence gained in 2006. Within the framework of the process of European integration, Montenegro unifies all resources that are still significantly underdeveloped thus creating better options for their absorption and further development. In accordance with the previous, the key issues that are analyzed in this paper are the following: In what way and at what "speed" is Montenegro working on the process of EU integration? With what kind of problems and challenges Montenegro is facing? What methods in the context of European integration Montenegro is using? To what extent are the solutions optimal and relevant for Montenegro? Key words: integration, candidate, negotiation, accession, Montenegro, European Union

Because trade is seen as welfare improving for society, governments have long employed their policy-making powers to increase trade levels. In recent years, no strategy has been more employed by policy makers than free trade agreements. As free trade agreements become more popular, world tariff levels rapidly approach zero. Given this, policy makers must look to other methods to encourage trade. I examine how non-tariff trade barriers impact international trade levels. By better understanding these trade barriers, policy makers will be able to make more informed decisions. To better understand non-tariff trade barriers, I begin with well-known impediments to trade, including the border effect, transportation costs, and the trade creation and trade diversion effects of regional trade agreements. I then demonstrate and examine heterogeneity in these trade costs. In Chapter II I examine the often-studied border effect, the notion that regions trade more intra-nationally than internationally. I demonstrate that smaller regions are less attractive to foreign trading partners than their larger counterparts. Fixed costs of crossing an international border, as well as more effective marketing methods, mean economically larger U.S. states or Canadian provinces see a smaller border effect. In Chapter III I look at how transportation costs incurred within the exporting country impact trade levels. Using a unique instrumental variable strategy, I show that the cost of getting a good to a port is a significant hindrance to trade. Finally, in Chapter IV I show that the benefits of joining the European Union are heterogeneous across countries. This means that while the E.U. may be beneficial on average, it may not be beneficial for individual countries.

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