Although South East European countries have all expressed their willingness and commitment in joi... more Although South East European countries have all expressed their willingness and commitment in joining EU and becoming an integral part of the European Architecture, the region is still struggling through slow development and heterogeneity among countries in their integration stages on one hand, and demanding requirements from the EU level together with a discontinuous and constantly changing European approach on the other one. Given this context, it is necessary to re-address the developmental strategies for SEE. In this paper, I review the literature of two major perspectives for the region: the European and regional approach, as well as the process of integration and cooperation as two concepts incorrectly interchanged with one another. The debate is whether these two perspectives are competing or complementary to each other, and moreover, whether the regional approach is feasible given the peculiar context of SEE.
The dissolution of USSR was accompanied with the problem of stateness. Inter-ethnic and nationali... more The dissolution of USSR was accompanied with the problem of stateness. Inter-ethnic and nationalistic clashes emerged during the regime change. The fall of Communism was like the opening of Pandora’s Box. Once USSR disintegrated, ethnic and nationalistic claims complicated the transitional period of many former Soviet states due to their heterogeneous composition of the population. Still today many of the former Soviet states have not yet finished their democratization process, but they are left in the “grey zone”, neither authoritarian nor democratic. Ukraine for example has formed a hybrid regime. On the other hand, the case of Belarus shows for a backlash of the transition through becoming an authoritarian regime and the “last dictatorship of Europe”. Moldova has suffered violent civil wars due to nationalistic problems. Its democratization is hostage of Transnistrian conflict, a separatist region that is impeding its consolidation. The aim of this paper is to research on the relation between nationalism, nation-building and democratization. Some scholars argue that national unity is a precondition for the democratization to occur, whereas others argue that national disunity can distract malicious authoritarian ambitions in some cases, and therefore this disunity helps in reaching democracy. After reviewing the literature I focus on the impact of national division on democratization both in the short-run and in the long-run. Timing constitutes an important element of my thesis. Theories are applied for the case of Moldovan transition. Is nationalism a deadlock for Moldovan democratization?
The further integration of EU towards a final political shape is perceived to be a hostage of the... more The further integration of EU towards a final political shape is perceived to be a hostage of the Member states’ reluctance to pool off their sovereignty when dealing with salient policy domains such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Being one of the three core institutional pillars of European Union, together with European Community and Justice and Home Affairs, CFSP is aligned mostly towards the intergovernmental side of the wide theoretical spectrum dealing with EU integration studies. However, even though lacking the degree of centralization that EC enjoys, it would be theoretically and empirically unfair to neglect the incremental institutionalization that has occurred within CFSP as broadly analyzes by the new institutionalism approaches, specifically the historical and sociological institutionalism. Then what is impeding CFSP to supranationalize?
Most authors argue that the main factors behind the missing centralization of CFSP are the weak institutionalization, power and prevalence of national interests upon the European ones. The aim of this paper is to discuss upon an additional factor that affects the CFSP such as the missing of a European public space and moreover the lack of a common identity, which on the other hand supports the” democratic deficit” problem in EU. What does “common” mean to Europeans? Why is it of higher importance to have common interests when it comes to foreign policy issues? Indeed, the European citizen is distant from any process taking place within the CFSP. If some degree of socialization has occurred among the elites who engage into everyday policy-making within the CFSP, then according to constructivists, the phenomena of “going native” might be possible even among the common citizens, and in this way a common foreign interest would be pursuit instead of national interests.
The European public space would help to make foreign policy issues more visible to the citizens, and thus facilitating their direct engagement into CFSP through public claims. According to Habermas, a “community of communication” would strengthen the European public space, and therefore the word “common” would make sense. Moreover, I provide and analyze one of the mechanisms through which the emergence of a European public space might occur even in the foreign policy domain, which is the Europeanization of national public discourses. I will pursue a constructivist approach combined with post-modernist approaches such as the discursive approaches in order to support my thesis. Moreover, I will engage shortly on the literature of Europeanization in general and the Europeanization of public discourses in specific.
For more than forty years, since the colonization period ended and the structural adjustments of ... more For more than forty years, since the colonization period ended and the structural adjustments of African economies began, up to nowadays, there has been a huge inflow of money towards Africa, particularly to the Sub-Saharan Countries (SSC), which are ranked among the most aid-dependent countries including Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo and Niger (Abuzeid, 2009). The international community has taken the responsibility to narrow the income gap between rich/developed countries and poor/developing ones through the mechanism of transferring money or capital under the foreign assistance programs. Media has played a significant role in appealing empathy to the public by transmitting a despairing and hopeless reality in Africa (Mwenda, 2008). Hence the criteria that has qualified Africa for aid is poverty relief. However, despite the good intentions of the international community, Africa is still suffering from famine, hunger, disease and conflict. One has the right to raise doubts with regard to the effectiveness of foreign aid. Has it improved or impoverished the economic reality of most aid-dependent African countries?
The purpose of this paper is to approach foreign aid through economic lenses by reframing the role of aid in the economic growth equation of the developing countries. Is aid’s impact as benevolent as the intentions of the donors? The methodology consists of a qualitative deductive approach through critically assessing the existing literature and analyzing how aid fits or misfits in the macroeconomic models. The relationship between aid and growth (the two main variables, the former independent, the latter dependent) is indirectly analyzed through explaining the relation between the two intervening variables in the model (public finances-enterprise). The paper concludes by emphasizing how foreign aid has now become the problem, and not the solution since Africa is still caught in the “poverty trap”. Moreover, the last section focuses on a better assessment of the foreign aid system and suggests on how to improve it in order to help Africa undress its veil of pity-appealing and “walk on its own feet”.
Although South East European countries have all expressed their willingness and commitment in joi... more Although South East European countries have all expressed their willingness and commitment in joining EU and becoming an integral part of the European Architecture, the region is still struggling through slow development and heterogeneity among countries in their integration stages on one hand, and demanding requirements from the EU level together with a discontinuous and constantly changing European approach on the other one. Given this context, it is necessary to re-address the developmental strategies for SEE. In this paper, I review the literature of two major perspectives for the region: the European and regional approach, as well as the process of integration and cooperation as two concepts incorrectly interchanged with one another. The debate is whether these two perspectives are competing or complementary to each other, and moreover, whether the regional approach is feasible given the peculiar context of SEE.
The dissolution of USSR was accompanied with the problem of stateness. Inter-ethnic and nationali... more The dissolution of USSR was accompanied with the problem of stateness. Inter-ethnic and nationalistic clashes emerged during the regime change. The fall of Communism was like the opening of Pandora’s Box. Once USSR disintegrated, ethnic and nationalistic claims complicated the transitional period of many former Soviet states due to their heterogeneous composition of the population. Still today many of the former Soviet states have not yet finished their democratization process, but they are left in the “grey zone”, neither authoritarian nor democratic. Ukraine for example has formed a hybrid regime. On the other hand, the case of Belarus shows for a backlash of the transition through becoming an authoritarian regime and the “last dictatorship of Europe”. Moldova has suffered violent civil wars due to nationalistic problems. Its democratization is hostage of Transnistrian conflict, a separatist region that is impeding its consolidation. The aim of this paper is to research on the relation between nationalism, nation-building and democratization. Some scholars argue that national unity is a precondition for the democratization to occur, whereas others argue that national disunity can distract malicious authoritarian ambitions in some cases, and therefore this disunity helps in reaching democracy. After reviewing the literature I focus on the impact of national division on democratization both in the short-run and in the long-run. Timing constitutes an important element of my thesis. Theories are applied for the case of Moldovan transition. Is nationalism a deadlock for Moldovan democratization?
The further integration of EU towards a final political shape is perceived to be a hostage of the... more The further integration of EU towards a final political shape is perceived to be a hostage of the Member states’ reluctance to pool off their sovereignty when dealing with salient policy domains such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Being one of the three core institutional pillars of European Union, together with European Community and Justice and Home Affairs, CFSP is aligned mostly towards the intergovernmental side of the wide theoretical spectrum dealing with EU integration studies. However, even though lacking the degree of centralization that EC enjoys, it would be theoretically and empirically unfair to neglect the incremental institutionalization that has occurred within CFSP as broadly analyzes by the new institutionalism approaches, specifically the historical and sociological institutionalism. Then what is impeding CFSP to supranationalize?
Most authors argue that the main factors behind the missing centralization of CFSP are the weak institutionalization, power and prevalence of national interests upon the European ones. The aim of this paper is to discuss upon an additional factor that affects the CFSP such as the missing of a European public space and moreover the lack of a common identity, which on the other hand supports the” democratic deficit” problem in EU. What does “common” mean to Europeans? Why is it of higher importance to have common interests when it comes to foreign policy issues? Indeed, the European citizen is distant from any process taking place within the CFSP. If some degree of socialization has occurred among the elites who engage into everyday policy-making within the CFSP, then according to constructivists, the phenomena of “going native” might be possible even among the common citizens, and in this way a common foreign interest would be pursuit instead of national interests.
The European public space would help to make foreign policy issues more visible to the citizens, and thus facilitating their direct engagement into CFSP through public claims. According to Habermas, a “community of communication” would strengthen the European public space, and therefore the word “common” would make sense. Moreover, I provide and analyze one of the mechanisms through which the emergence of a European public space might occur even in the foreign policy domain, which is the Europeanization of national public discourses. I will pursue a constructivist approach combined with post-modernist approaches such as the discursive approaches in order to support my thesis. Moreover, I will engage shortly on the literature of Europeanization in general and the Europeanization of public discourses in specific.
For more than forty years, since the colonization period ended and the structural adjustments of ... more For more than forty years, since the colonization period ended and the structural adjustments of African economies began, up to nowadays, there has been a huge inflow of money towards Africa, particularly to the Sub-Saharan Countries (SSC), which are ranked among the most aid-dependent countries including Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo and Niger (Abuzeid, 2009). The international community has taken the responsibility to narrow the income gap between rich/developed countries and poor/developing ones through the mechanism of transferring money or capital under the foreign assistance programs. Media has played a significant role in appealing empathy to the public by transmitting a despairing and hopeless reality in Africa (Mwenda, 2008). Hence the criteria that has qualified Africa for aid is poverty relief. However, despite the good intentions of the international community, Africa is still suffering from famine, hunger, disease and conflict. One has the right to raise doubts with regard to the effectiveness of foreign aid. Has it improved or impoverished the economic reality of most aid-dependent African countries?
The purpose of this paper is to approach foreign aid through economic lenses by reframing the role of aid in the economic growth equation of the developing countries. Is aid’s impact as benevolent as the intentions of the donors? The methodology consists of a qualitative deductive approach through critically assessing the existing literature and analyzing how aid fits or misfits in the macroeconomic models. The relationship between aid and growth (the two main variables, the former independent, the latter dependent) is indirectly analyzed through explaining the relation between the two intervening variables in the model (public finances-enterprise). The paper concludes by emphasizing how foreign aid has now become the problem, and not the solution since Africa is still caught in the “poverty trap”. Moreover, the last section focuses on a better assessment of the foreign aid system and suggests on how to improve it in order to help Africa undress its veil of pity-appealing and “walk on its own feet”.
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Papers by Xhensila Gaba
Most authors argue that the main factors behind the missing centralization of CFSP are the weak institutionalization, power and prevalence of national interests upon the European ones. The aim of this paper is to discuss upon an additional factor that affects the CFSP such as the missing of a European public space and moreover the lack of a common identity, which on the other hand supports the” democratic deficit” problem in EU. What does “common” mean to Europeans? Why is it of higher importance to have common interests when it comes to foreign policy issues? Indeed, the European citizen is distant from any process taking place within the CFSP. If some degree of socialization has occurred among the elites who engage into everyday policy-making within the CFSP, then according to constructivists, the phenomena of “going native” might be possible even among the common citizens, and in this way a common foreign interest would be pursuit instead of national interests.
The European public space would help to make foreign policy issues more visible to the citizens, and thus facilitating their direct engagement into CFSP through public claims. According to Habermas, a “community of communication” would strengthen the European public space, and therefore the word “common” would make sense. Moreover, I provide and analyze one of the mechanisms through which the emergence of a European public space might occur even in the foreign policy domain, which is the Europeanization of national public discourses. I will pursue a constructivist approach combined with post-modernist approaches such as the discursive approaches in order to support my thesis. Moreover, I will engage shortly on the literature of Europeanization in general and the Europeanization of public discourses in specific.
The purpose of this paper is to approach foreign aid through economic lenses by reframing the role of aid in the economic growth equation of the developing countries. Is aid’s impact as benevolent as the intentions of the donors? The methodology consists of a qualitative deductive approach through critically assessing the existing literature and analyzing how aid fits or misfits in the macroeconomic models. The relationship between aid and growth (the two main variables, the former independent, the latter dependent) is indirectly analyzed through explaining the relation between the two intervening variables in the model (public finances-enterprise). The paper concludes by emphasizing how foreign aid has now become the problem, and not the solution since Africa is still caught in the “poverty trap”. Moreover, the last section focuses on a better assessment of the foreign aid system and suggests on how to improve it in order to help Africa undress its veil of pity-appealing and “walk on its own feet”.
Most authors argue that the main factors behind the missing centralization of CFSP are the weak institutionalization, power and prevalence of national interests upon the European ones. The aim of this paper is to discuss upon an additional factor that affects the CFSP such as the missing of a European public space and moreover the lack of a common identity, which on the other hand supports the” democratic deficit” problem in EU. What does “common” mean to Europeans? Why is it of higher importance to have common interests when it comes to foreign policy issues? Indeed, the European citizen is distant from any process taking place within the CFSP. If some degree of socialization has occurred among the elites who engage into everyday policy-making within the CFSP, then according to constructivists, the phenomena of “going native” might be possible even among the common citizens, and in this way a common foreign interest would be pursuit instead of national interests.
The European public space would help to make foreign policy issues more visible to the citizens, and thus facilitating their direct engagement into CFSP through public claims. According to Habermas, a “community of communication” would strengthen the European public space, and therefore the word “common” would make sense. Moreover, I provide and analyze one of the mechanisms through which the emergence of a European public space might occur even in the foreign policy domain, which is the Europeanization of national public discourses. I will pursue a constructivist approach combined with post-modernist approaches such as the discursive approaches in order to support my thesis. Moreover, I will engage shortly on the literature of Europeanization in general and the Europeanization of public discourses in specific.
The purpose of this paper is to approach foreign aid through economic lenses by reframing the role of aid in the economic growth equation of the developing countries. Is aid’s impact as benevolent as the intentions of the donors? The methodology consists of a qualitative deductive approach through critically assessing the existing literature and analyzing how aid fits or misfits in the macroeconomic models. The relationship between aid and growth (the two main variables, the former independent, the latter dependent) is indirectly analyzed through explaining the relation between the two intervening variables in the model (public finances-enterprise). The paper concludes by emphasizing how foreign aid has now become the problem, and not the solution since Africa is still caught in the “poverty trap”. Moreover, the last section focuses on a better assessment of the foreign aid system and suggests on how to improve it in order to help Africa undress its veil of pity-appealing and “walk on its own feet”.