Negotiations between the EU and the candidate countries in the Western Balkans have been dragging on for almost two decades. Until an official decision has been made on who can join the EU and when, actors at different levels have been working together within various programmes with the aim of advancing content-related harmonisation and fulfilling requirements for accession. In one of these programmes, Interreg ADRION, transnational cooperation plays an important supporting role for the possibility of Western Balkan countries to learn the practices and rules within EU projects. This thesis deals with the experiences of the project participants within this programme. Furthermore, the experiences are examined in terms of possible learning effects as well as the potential impact of Europeanization within the institutions and organisations of the programme members.

The last 15 years has exemplified severe deficiencies in the institutional design of the European Union (EU). The EU suffers from a democratic deficit, which is demonstrated in the neglect if citizens preferences and their influence on decision making processes. This democratic deficit impacts not only the authority and legitimacy of the union but raises concerns between the EU and the world. The democratic deficit remains because of the lack of a European public sphere (EPS), an element which Habermas argues is necessary for democracy development. While previous research has found evidence for its existence in social networks and masss-media, this study broadens the field and investigates the potential existence if an EPS in a physical political network, namely the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). By conducting a quantitative content analysis, the study reveals clear indications of an EPS within the committee in which it is highly engaged in. Their engagement in the sphere is crucial to increase influence and power, as their engagement can decrease the democratic deficit, increase the legitimacy of the EU, and favour smooth cooperation between the member states, and between the EU and the world.

<p>By their very nature, attempts by civil society organizations to promote democracy abroad involve cooperation and contact across the borders of nation states. The dissemination of the ideas and practices of the promoters is often essential; in the case of Swedish democracy promotion, popular education or folkbildning has been important.</p><p>This thesis investigates the dissemination of ideas and practices by civil society organizations in Sweden and Estonia in the field of popular education. More specifically, a number of projects run by member organizations of the Swedish study association ABF (Workers’ Educational Association) and member organizations of the Estonian AHL (Open Education Association) are studied. These projects are also part of democracy-promoting activities whose funding comes mainly from Swedish donor agencies. The thesis aims to understand not only what has been spread but also how ideas and practices have been translated to fit the Estonian context. The primary theoretical concept used is therefore translation, even though one aim of the thesis is to systematize the field of study concerning processes of dissemination and to enrich the concept of translation with the aid of previous work on diffusion and socialization.</p><p>The main contribution of the thesis consists of the in-depth study of cooperation between Swedish and Estonian popular education organizations. It also contributes to the theoretical development of the concept of translation by identifying different phases in this kind of process and important elements of these phases. Popular education is an important part of Swedish democracy promotion and this study also contributes to this rather undertheorized subject, and also to the discussions of transnational civil society cooperation, by demonstrating an analytical framework that can be of use in future research into these issues.</p>

By their very nature, attempts by civil society organizations to promote democracy abroad involve cooperation and contact across the borders of nation states. The dissemination of the ideas and practices of the promoters is often essential; in the case of Swedish democracy promotion, popular education or folkbildning has been important. This thesis investigates the dissemination of ideas and practices by civil society organizations in Sweden and Estonia in the field of popular education. More specifically, a number of projects run by member organizations of the Swedish study association ABF (Workers’ Educational Association) and member organizations of the Estonian AHL (Open Education Association) are studied. These projects are also part of democracy-promoting activities whose funding comes mainly from Swedish donor agencies. The thesis aims to understand not only what has been spread but also how ideas and practices have been translated to fit the Estonian context. The primary theoretical concept used is therefore translation, even though one aim of the thesis is to systematize the field of study concerning processes of dissemination and to enrich the concept of translation with the aid of previous work on diffusion and socialization. The main contribution of the thesis consists of the in-depth study of cooperation between Swedish and Estonian popular education organizations. It also contributes to the theoretical development of the concept of translation by identifying different phases in this kind of process and important elements of these phases. Popular education is an important part of Swedish democracy promotion and this study also contributes to this rather undertheorized subject, and also to the discussions of transnational civil society cooperation, by demonstrating an analytical framework that can be of use in future research into these issues.

This thesis explores the nature of cyber-security at the beginning of the 21st century. In the current security paradigm, security strategies based on anticipatory governance have become essential in the management of the constantly changing cyber-security environment. Thus, this thesis aims to understand security strategies and governance introduced in the European region. The increased dependency on cyber-space is visible in all public-private sectors and governmental operations, as well as communications between groups and individuals. As a result, cyber-attacks on public and private entities are increasing. This requires a security framework that is flexible and establishes different types of security cooperation to manage the widespread cyber-risks. This is essential to the development of security strategies, governance forms, practices, and guidelines for enhancing resilience and preparedness towards cyber-risks. Therefore, I am examining cyber-security through the lenses of nodal governance and governmentality, which enables me to understand European cyber-security strategies and governance forms developed by the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization. To analyse existing strategies and governance forms, I have used two critical security schools, the Copenhagen School and the Paris School, which cover different aspects of the security agenda. The thesis develops a substantive analytical framework through two case studies, namely cyber-security and cyber-terrorism. The findings in this thesis identifies problem areas, such as the complexity of the nodal system, the legislative lacuna, reliance on different governance forms, transparency and accountability, and types of anticipatory governance and regulatory practices.

As transnational crime has no regard to borders, competent authorities need to overcome the barriers the barriers of national jurisdictions and cooperate together. The UN and regional organisations, including the EU and ASEAN, have required States to criminalise transnational crime, including terrorism, and to implement effective measures to prevent, investigate, detect, prosecute and punish these offences. They have also required States to cooperate; cooperation being one of the key measures to ensure the effectiveness of States’ action.The regional level is considered to be the most effective to harmonise legislation as well as to adopt and implement mechanisms of cooperation for security purposes. However, the nature and level of cooperation vary a lot depending on the regional framework considered. In the EU, this cooperation has been legally framed and institutionalised as well as associated with harmonisation of Member States’ legislation. By contrast, cooperation remains much more informal in ASEAN and is not associated with harmonization of legislation. Despite its low level of integration, ASEAN plays an increasing role in the region by leading efforts to create a regional legal architecture. ASEAN is the most successful regional grouping in the “developing world” and has a particular approach vis-à-vis terrorism. Both regions have therefore a legitimate ground and purpose in learning from each other (comparative regionalism) and in working together (interregionalism) in order to ensure – up to the capacities of each regions – the best response to terrorism.The differences between the two regions are due to various factors, among which the unalike degree of trust between their respective Member States and their capacity to cooperate. Despite its absence in the constitutional treaties, “mutual trust” is a concept constantly used in the AFSJ, especially when police and judicial cooperation is at stake. Whereas its precise status, nature and consequences is still debated, mutual trust seems to have reached an institutional level and to have been transformed into legal expectations in the EU. By contrast, although trust is repeated in ASEAN declarations and objectives, it is less visible in practice between ASEAN Member States. Mutual trust is a fundamental yardstick in developing cooperation mechanisms. The highest the confidence in each other’s systems is, the more efficient the cooperation. Mutual trust serves to build bridges between national jurisdictions. In the EU, such mutual trust is based on common values and norms and implies the development of common minimum standards in the field including human rights norms. It rests of course also on other factors such as mutual understanding of the threat and each other’s particular legislation.The compared regional analysis will highlight notable discrepancies in each region’s approach. The EU has gone through a tremendous institutional evolution by communitarising the AFSJ. The EU has adopted norms to facilitate cooperation based on common standards and mutual trust. With the numerous types of cooperation mechanisms, the EU adopted a two-fold objective, namely facilitating the cross-border cooperation and harmonising the HR standards. By contrast, ASEAN is still governed by the so-called ‘ASEAN Way’ based on consultation and consensus rather than on bargaining and give-and-take leading to deals enforceable in a court of law; on non-institutionalised processes; and on practice-based rules. These differences involve a clear lack of trust between Member States. This method is slowly and partially shifting towards a more institutional and rules-based approach. This comparative analysis will allow to conclude on the convergences and differences in the conditions and level of trust in each of the two regions in the field of terrorism and on their impact on the level of cooperation.Based on this comparison, interregional challenges and prospects will be focused on. The EU has adopted a comprehensive approach combining human rights and security measures. Preserving such a balance when interacting with external actors is a serious challenge, especially when States tend to privilege security measures. The EU must adapt its objectives, priorities and means to the particularities of ASEAN while respecting its own standards. In this regard, mutual trust is an important factor in developing interregional collaboration. Since 1972, the EU developed economic ties with different ASEAN Member States and with the ASEAN Secretariat itself. Both regions have increasingly engaged in an interregional dialogue on different issues of interest, including terrorism. Here again, the criteria/conditions and the level of mutual trust developed between the two regions will be examined. / Doctorat en Sciences juridiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

There has been a general population decline in the European Arctic and northern periphery, with out-migration being one of the main drivers. The population is ageing and less able to contribute to the economic welfare. The EU has implemented a series of projects in the region in an attempt to remedy the out-migration and make the regions attractive for further investments and development. The study investigates how actors within a number of EU-funded projects perceived local social sustainability, in their communities and within their projects. It aims to gain a better understanding of what social sustainability means in northern contexts, and how EU-funded projects could improve social sustainability. Using coding inspired by the Arctic Social Indicators, the study mapped perceptions and reflections through conducting a series of interviews with actors attached to EU projects. The results show that a majority of projects potentially have had a higher impact on social sustainability than the actors reflected upon, such as the impact on cultural wellbeing that comes from improving local slow tourism, focussing on local traditions and heritage. The study also finds that transnational cooperation is perceived to be beneficial for socially sustainable outcomes with benefits including knowledge transfer and business cooperation. Transnational cooperation, however, comes with challenges such as communication issues due to language barriers, and policy difficulties when working across borders. Overall the study concludes that the EU projects are perceived to have positive outcomes on the social sustainability in northern communities. Not only did the actors perceive these EU-funded projects to be important for monetary development, but also in creating invaluable bonds between partners.

This diploma thesis examines the participation of Czech regional actors in the transnational and interregional branches of the INTERREG program in 2007-2013, using organizational learning theory. It focuses on learning processes on individual, group, and organizational levels. To a smaller extent, it also examines dissemination of knowledge towards other actors on the local and European level. The aim of the thesis is to find out whether these learning processes take place on all the mentioned levels and also to uncover the main obstacles of these processes. The method of the research is a questionnaire survey combined with semi-structured interviews. The research reveals that both individual and group learning take place during the projects. The most common barriers are complications stemming from differing environments of the actors (different political, institutional, legal, or administrative environments). Organizational learning takes place as well, but to a smaller extent than learning on the preceding levels. The main problem is the preservation of tacit knowledge. The research also suggests that effective dissemination of knowledge towards other local actors takes place as well. However, the relevance of the final project outcomes for other EU actors appears to be rather low.

The purpose of this study is to investigate one of the European Structural Fundprogrammes, Interreg V Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak (ÖKS) and the priority areaTransportation. The programme gives financial support to transportation projectsaiming to develop sustainable (environmentally friendly) transportation alternativesand solutions. Through studies and theories on cross-border collaboration (CBC) and goals forsustainable transportation a major need of joint strategies for solving shared problems,such as environmental concerns has been demonstrated. This approach ofcollaboration projects as a pillar for sustainable development has been the foundationof how the current Interreg programme has been studied and the starting point for thisresearch. The study aims to clarify the relationship between the overall view uponcooperation and joint development programmes (within areas stretching over nationaland administrative borders, such as transportation) and the specific Interregprogramme. A programme which during current period (2014-2020) experienced adrastic decline of number of applicants. In order to further understand the context thecurrent study has trough empirical research defined added values (advantages) of theCBC but also identified the perceived difficulties and barriers (disadvantages). Thefounding’s have further been compared and supplemented with perspectives fromrelevant actors engaged in transportation development. This material has beencollected through qualitative interviews enabling a vital and good understanding ofconcerned actors and their view of advantages and disadvantages with CBC. Theanalysis has also enabled the conclusion that the general view among the actors is thatcollaboration projects are necessary for a sustainable development. However, studiedprogramme with declined number of applicants did not succeed in attracting desiredparticipants. Consequently, the actors were also asked to share their view upon thedecline of applicants for current Interreg period. One identified explanation wasrelated to the administrative burden which was perceived too heavy by the actors. Inaddition, the financial part was perceived to be too low or poorly designed. Theknowledge about the programme was also found to be limited among some of theactors. To be able to involve more participants in the future it has been concluded thatimprovements within the three areas of defined obstacles have to be implemented. This investigation and findings aim to contribute to increased insights andunderstanding of the cross-border cooperation process in order to be able to reach andinvolve relevant actors in the most favourable way for successful future projects anddesired sustainable development.