The End of History and the Last Man

Europe undivided: democracy, leverage and integration after Communism

The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe. Edited by Frank Schimmelfennig and Ulrich Sedelmeier. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005. 256p. $22.50. The postcommunist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have generated a rich body of literature over the past 15 years. Most works on CEE transitions have drawn from the comparative politics literature and treated international factors, at best, as secondary. Yet with the recent eastern expansion of the Council of Europe, NATO, and the European Union, there has been a growing scholarly interest in the impact of international institutions on domestic changes in this region.

The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe

The Formation of National States in Western Europe

The Encyclopaedia of Islam

The Persian Gulf region is of strategic importance to the European Union (EU). Yet, different political realities of authoritarian government in the Gulf challenge crucial parts of EU foreign policy that are based on normative power Europe concepts. Cooperation with the ruling dynasties appears beneficial for EU decision-makers if one looks at the comprehensive agenda of common interests in the Gulf region. In 2004, the EU aimed to build a strategic partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East; in this the EU emphasized its commitment to advancing its partnership with the Gulf countries. Yet, from the perspective of 2012 the results are bleak. Despite some signs of improvement in deepening the political, economic and security interactions with the region, there is still no concerted EU policy in the Gulf beyond the thriving bilateral activities of some EU member states. The events of the Arab Spring have increased the challenges even further. The EU, on the one hand, is trying to support forces ...

The EU and the Gulf monarchies: normative power Europe in search of a strategy for engagement

Since July 2004, Egypt has undertaken a comprehensive economic reform agenda, put forward by ‘newly’ emerging political and economic elites with different sources of legitimization than their predecessors. Economic reforms are accompanied by a limited package of political reforms. Following an actor-oriented approach to the analysis of Egypt's reform process, reform actors are defined by a striking dilemma: Reform actors on behalf of the regime show a comprehensive capability in designing the reform agenda (‘capability’) but only half-hearted efforts to seek public support for their reform package (‘variety’). Reform actors from the opposition do have sufficient public support but lack the instruments to alter the reform agenda. This ‘variety–capability gap’ results from the specifics of an authoritarian regime that only allows a limited degree of public dissent and participation (controlled pluralism). The degree of regime interference and repression regarding oppositional reform actors provides a clear ...

Egypt's moment of reform and its reform actors: the variety–capability gap

Since the 2003 regime change in Iraq and the 2011 Arab uprisings, the political map of the Middle East has been in flux. Regional actors have taken advantage of emerging windows of opportunity, whi...

Playing the Diversity Card: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy under the Salmans

EU-Mittelmeerpolitik und der Reformprozess in Ägypten

Part I: Concept 1. Autocratization and its Pull and Push Factors - A Challenge for Comparative Research Marianne Kneuer and Thomas Demmelhuber 2. Conceptualizing Authoritarian Gravity Centers: Sources and Addressees, Mechanisms and Motives of Authoritarian Pressure and Attraction Marianne Kneuer and Thomas Demmelhuber PartII: Empirical Studies on Authoritarian Gravity Centers 3. Kingdom of Gravity: Autocratic Promotion and Diffusion in Saudi Arabia Tobias Zumbragel 4. Democratic Erosion and Autocratization in Latin America: The Role of Venezuela as an Authoritarian Gravity Center Marianne Kneuer 5. Kazakhstan: A Possible Future Authoritarian Gravity Centre? Adele del Sordi and Alexander Libman Part III: The International Dimension of Authoritarianism Revisited 6. Russia's Effects on a Consolidated Democracy: The Erosion of Democracy in Hungary and the Putin Model Thomas Ambrosio 7. Iran and its Neighbors: Military Assistance as Support for Authoritarianism Rachel Vanderhill 8. Networking with Chinese Characteristics: China's Party-to-Party Relations in Asia Julia Bader and Christine Hackenesch 9. Spreading Cyber-Autocracy? The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Diffusion of Norms of "Internet Sovereignty" Sebastian Harnisch Part IV: Authoritarian Gravity Centers in Cross-Regional Comparison 10. Authoritarian Gravity Centres in Cross-Regional Comparison: Future Studies and the International Dimensions of Authoritarianism Thomas Demmelhuber, Marianne Kneuer, and Tobias Zumbragel

Thomas Demmelhuber

Papers

The EU and the Gulf monarchies: normative power Europe in search of a strategy for engagement

Egypt's moment of reform and its reform actors: the variety–capability gap

Playing the Diversity Card: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy under the Salmans

EU-Mittelmeerpolitik und der Reformprozess in Ägypten

Authoritarian Gravity Centers : A Cross-Regional Study of Authoritarian Promotion and Diffusion