In this thesis, historical institutional analysis of neo-institutionalism will be adopted as the research approach. The analysis combining the international institutional background and domestic institutional development in China and Hong Kong indicates the structural dynamics and strategic goals why China establishes CEPA with Hong Kong. Besides, I focus on the provisions of CEPA and summarize the difficulties of further development and perspectives. I wish this thesis could be studied as reference for scholars and experts in the field of Mainland China studies.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the idea of ¡§professional development schools (PDSs)¡¨ which was a new school setting and one of collaborative models with universities developed in the past decade in USA. The researcher inquired into PDS¡¦s goals, functions, operations, major influential factors, and ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ in depth, and aimed to explore the collaborative models and the developing stages of Taiwan¡¦s PDSs according to the five standards, which was the key concept of PDS model and was designated by National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. These five standards are ¡§learning community¡¨, ¡§accountability and quality assurance¡¨, ¡§collaboration¡¨, ¡§equity and diversity¡¨, and ¡§structures, resources and roles¡¨. The researcher selected six staffs as the participants from each partnership of university/affiliated high school and used qualitative research methods to collect research data, including documentary reviews and semi-structured interviews. After careful examination and analyses of the data collected, the following conclusions are reached: 1. About professional development schools: (1) PDSs are innovative school settings and establishments which were initiated and refined progressively along the educational reform movements. (2) PDSs are not only the ¡§learning communities¡¨; but also the settings for the professional development of participants. (3) The establishment of PDSs needs support in terms of structure and system building from both sides of the partnership. They also need more resources to be invested in. (4) ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ are both guidelines and criterion for the assessment of the PDSs. 2. About the collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools: (1) The cases actually demonstrate the function of ¡§learning community¡¨, but the degree of ¡§collaboration¡¨ is not close enough. (2) The standard of ¡§accountability and quality¡¨ for the collaborative models can¡¦t be presented due to lack of evaluation measures for the partnership. (3) Two case high schools have developed some supportive activities for low-achievement students by their own. The involvements of two universities on this aspect are apparently not enough. (4) Two cases need to enhance their support for the partnership in terms of structure and system building. (5) According to the ¡§PDS Standards¡¨, the developing stages of two cases are between beginning level and developing level. (6) The collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools are influenced by internal and external factors. According to the conclusions of this study and the related problems encountered, suggestions to government, two case partnerships, universities, high schools and future researchers have been proposed.

In order to determine the effects of social capital in innovative contexts, Nahapiet and Ghoshal&rsquo / s (1998) three dimensions of social capital (structural, relational and cognitive) were investigated in a business incubator located in a university science park. This thesis tries to answer five questions for the incubator context: (1) What are the antecedents of the three dimensions of social capital? (2) What are the benefits of social capital for the tenant firms? (3) How are the dimensions of social capital related to the antecedents and benefits? (4) What are the effects of being located in a university on social capital development between the firms and the host university? and (5) What is the role of the incubator management/specialists on social capital creation? The research questions were investigated in two layers: (1) Social capital development among tenant firms, and (2) Social capital development between the tenant firms and the host university. The research was designed with a multi-method approach along four steps. In the first step, the selected incubator was observed for a day. In the second stage, a pilot interview was conducted with one of the tenant firms. Next the firms were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their demographic characteristics. In the last stage, a theoretical sample of nine selected firms&rsquo / owners were interviewed. All the collected data were analyzed following the grounded theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) and seven propositions were developed to be investigated in further research.

This thesis aims to discuss NATO&rsquo / s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in Central Asia in terms of its role in promoting regional security. It focuses on the evolution of the cooperation between NATO and its Central Asian partners within the framework of the NATO&rsquo / s PfP program, as well as the Alliance&rsquo / s vision of security in Central Asia. The thesis argues that although NATO is active in Central Asia with its PfP programs, its engagement with the Central Asian states is mainly motivated by its own global security priorities rather than promoting regional security cooperation in Central Asia. This thesis comprises four main chapters. After the introduction chapter, the second chapter examines regional security challenges in post-Soviet Central Asia. The third chapter discusses the fundamental characteristics of NATO&rsquo / s PfP program and regional security in Central Asia. The fourth chapter examines NATO&rsquo / s PfP programs in individual Central Asian states by examining the priorities of each state in cooperating with the Alliance. The fifth chapter analyses the relevance of NATO&rsquo / s PfP programs for increasing its involvement in Central Asia since 2001 by taking its global and regional security priorities. The concluding chapter discusses the main findings of this thesis.

This thesis aims to analyze German Conservatism and the impact of Germany&rsquo / s policies towards Turkey&rsquo / s membership. The point of departure is privileged partnership which is offered to Turkey in replace of membership to the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a prominent defender of privileged partnership and previous Chancellor Gerhard Schr&ouml / der who supported Turkey&rsquo / s accession, had a totally different attitude. It is questioned whether this sharp change in foreign policy derives from German Conservatism and Christian Democracy. As a result, it is not possible to claim an essentialist opposition to Turkey&rsquo / s accession by German Christian Democrats but privileged partnership is a product of German Conservative thinking which sees European Integration as a cultural project.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the impact of European Employment Strategy (EES) on social partnership at national level. Increasing the participation of trade unions, employer organisations and other social partners in policy formulation and implementation is one of the EES objectives. A comparative study has been conducted on Ireland and Greece in order to analyse to what extent this objective has been achieved through EES, which is an Open Method of Coordination. Historical institutionalism provides the theoretical framework for this thesis. The impact of EES is demonstrated at two levels. First level change indicates change in discourse. Second level shows change in social partners

This thesis aims to examine the security dimension of Turkey&rsquo / s relations with Russia during the period between 2000 and 2010. In this context, political, military and energy aspects of the security relations between Turkey and Russia are examined in detail. Contrary to the views that conceive the recent rapprochement in Turkish-Russian relations as &lsquo / strategic partnership&rsquo / or a form of cooperation that has the potential of reaching the level of strategic partnership, the thesis argues that these countries have developed their bilateral relations in the form of pragmatic cooperation due to the existing limits to the deeper levels of cooperation in the security field. It seems that the euphoria of rapprochement between two countries is resulted from the diminution of mutual threat levels as well as the proliferation of common interest areas. Nevertheless, despite these developments, both Turkey and Russia continue to consider their relations as a form of pragmatic cooperation rather than strategic partnership.

This thesis seeks to analyze the nature of relations between Armenia and Russia in the 2000s. Contrary to the dominant view that relations between these two countries could be labeled as strategic partnership, this thesis argues that these relations could be characterized as pragmatic cooperation. In fact, both countries having close relations in all fields and refraining from pursuing policies that might harm the other&rsquo / s interests in the 1990s, gave priority to their own national interests in the diplomatic and economic fields in the 2000s, while maintaining close cooperation in the security field. In the 2000s, Russia started to pursue a pragmatic foreign policy by improving its relations with Azerbaijan that has rich oil and natural gas reserves. Likewise, Armenia has also started to pursue a balanced foreign policy by enhancing its cooperation with the Western countries and international organizations in diplomatic and security fields in the same period. Moreover, Armenia also deepened its cooperation with Iran in the energy sector to decrease its energy dependence on Russia. Consequently, both Armenia and Russia have started to pursue pragmatic policies in diplomatic and economic fields to maximize their own national interests while maintaining close cooperation in security field. Therefore, bilateral relations between these two countries started to take more pragmatic character than a strategic partnership.

This thesis is to study the evolution of the EU - Africa relations, and how they have been shaped in the 21st Century. Bearing a historical perspective of the relations, the cornerstone of the study will cover the period between 2000 and 2010. It is at the turn of the century that the EU-Africa relations gained momentum with the adoption of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the first EU- Africa Summit in Cairo, 2000 that laid the foundation of the Joint Africa EU Strategy. This strategy epitomizes the desire of the EU and Africa to forge a close bond of relations towards achieving their shared interests based on a &lsquo / partnership of equals&rsquo / . EU-Africa relations have been characterized on the basis of clientelism inherent from its colonial legacy in Africa. Thus the main question is whether the strategy adopted guarantees a relationship based on a &lsquo / partnership of equals&rsquo / or is it pure rhetoric? The thesis concludes that, Africa&rsquo / s importance on the international arena has been increasing in the last decade with a proportionate increase in competition for its resources especially from emerging powers. This has threatened the EU&rsquo / s position in Africa and with the EU&rsquo / s quest to enhance its global actorness, there has been a need for the EU to restructure its relations with Africa. Though the strategy is based on a mutual partnership, it is skewed to the EU&rsquo / s favour due to its superior power both economically and politically.

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