Journals
Find recent publications and blog post draws.
JCMS
6 Apr 2021
Blog
Is the European Union a complex adaptive actor?
Since its creation, the European Union has aimed to become a key international actor, promoting regional integration, democracy, the rule of law and human rights through its numerous international development programmes around the world. Yet, we should not forget a complementary dynamic that is as important as the EU attempts to diffuse its own institutional practices and values.
JCMS
23 Mar 2021
Blog
Why does the European Union act externally on higher education?
Why would one want to understand the conditions that have allowed for the establishment of the European Union’s (EU) external higher education policy?
JCMS
22 Mar 2021
Blog
(De)politicizing the migration development nexus in Europe
On 25 November 2020, in a surprising move away from its previous positions, the European Parliament voted in favour of making European Union (EU) aid conditional to developing countries’ compliance with migration management measures.
JCER Vol 17 No 1
10 Mar 2021
Research Article
Democratic Legitimacy and Soft Law in the EU Legal Order: A Theoretical Perspective
With the aim to provide a normative direction for future empirical assessment of EU soft law, this article explores the democratic credentials that EU soft law measures should fulfil to ensure their legitimacy.
JCER Vol 17 No 1
10 Mar 2021
Research Article
Member States and Audible Communication within the EU Council Working Groups
The article confirms the effect of socialisation on oral communication as well as the influence of structural factors such as member states’ power and the character of the document under discussion.
JCER Vol 17 No 1
10 Mar 2021
Book Review
Citizenship in the European Union: constitutionalism, rights and norms.
Review of Anne Wesemann (2020). Elgar studies in European law and policy. Edward Elgar Publishing, ISBN: 978 1 83910 316 2, 192pp.
JCER Vol 17 No 1
10 Mar 2021
Research Article
The European Union and the Liberal International Order in the Age of ‘America First’: Attempted Hedging and the Willingness-Capacity Gap
The article argues that, while being limited by American preponderance over international issues, the EU is faced with a willingness-capacity gap but still attempts to uphold the LIO through pragmatic leadership by hedging.
JCMS
2 Mar 2021
Blog
Social Europe? Why EU Migrants Are Denied Social Assistance Benefits at the Street Level
European Union (EU) citizens have become increasingly mobile within the Union. For a long time, free movement as well as cross-border social rights of EU migrants have been extended, especially by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
JCMS
22 Feb 2021
Blog
Revisiting the Trade Effects of the EU-Turkey Customs Union
In 2015, the Turkish government and the European Commission officially started a process for the modernization and expansion of the Customs Union between the European Union (EU) and Turkey.
JCMS
22 Feb 2021
Blog
Centre Right Party Electoral Success on Immigration
In 2015, over one million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe. This wave continued into 2016, with a substantial reduction in 2017 and 2018 taking place.
JCMS
15 Feb 2021
Blog
The Cultural Sources of British Hard Bargaining
Another day, another round of Brexit negotiations. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, UK prime minister Boris Johnson has committed to driving a hard bargain of the EU, setting out unrealistic expectations, signalling the UK is prepared for ‘no deal’.
JCMS
10 Feb 2021
Blog
Mainstream Parties are the key to politicization of Europe in European Elections
After the successful completion of economic integration with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, public controversies resulting from disagreement on fundamental questions on the scope and future direction of European integration intensified.
JCMS
5 Feb 2021
Blog
Does the promotion of LGBTI human rights cause the politicization of International Development Partnerships?
In the last decade, a number of European donors, including the EU, has framed their development policy within a human rights-based approach.
JCMS
28 Jan 2021
Blog
National policy makers have the final say on the extent of Europeanisation
The impact of European Union legislation varies across different policy fields and across countries. Some policy areas like competition rules are highly, and directly affected, while other areas like social policies and labour market policies are only indirectly affected.
JCMS
12 Jan 2021
Blog
Populist radical right parties and European development policy: politicising the migration-development nexus?
Populist radical right parties (PRRPs) have become a permanent feature of many party systems in European countries. Their electoral success has increased since 2015, when many migrants and refugees came to the EU.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
Beyond ‘donor-recipient relations’? A historical-institutionalist perspective on recent efforts to modernise EU partnerships with third countries
This paper presents a historical-institutionalist perspective on the EU’s current efforts to modernise its development policy and reform its various relationships with third countries.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
What Is the European Union? A Cultural Shared Risk Community!
In this commentary, the author continues his first reflections on European Union cultural history, which opened up this field and introduced the theory of ‘paradoxical coherence’.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
Integration theories and European education policy: bringing the role of ideas back in
This article contends that these transformations raise a theoretical puzzle in terms of the understanding of the two mainstream theories of European integration.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
Trust, Integrity and the Weaponising of Information: the EU’s Transparency Paradox
Drawing on 22 qualitative interviews with EU officials and representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), this article demonstrates that low QA is in fact a deliberate policy, with the European Commission openly acknowledging its reliance on public control to police the information it provides through its online systems.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
Framing the European Fund for Strategic Investments: A Comparative Analysis of the EU's Institutional Discourse
Using policy frame analysis, this article zooms in on the discursive patterns of the European Commission, European Parliament and Council, expecting to find transport infrastructure a key theme given the low investment levels in this sector after the financial crisis in 2008.
JCER Vol 16 No 3
18 Dec 2020
Research Article
Non-elite conceptions of Europe: Europe as reference frame in English football fan discussions
Our main research question aims at identifying how identifications of fans have been unconsciously Europeanised in the wake of an ongoing Europeanisation of the game.
JCMS
9 Nov 2020
Blog
Between the European Union and Russia: A Decade in the Contested Neighbourhood
European Union’s (EU) capacity of influencing (and even changing) other actors without recurring to coercion is one of its defining features as an international player. Although it has been seriously challenged by the economic and financial crisis, migration crisis, terrorists’ attacks and the Brexit, the countries to EU’s East continue to look for strengthening of their existing ties with the EU.
JCMS
5 Oct 2020
Blog
Do institutions help achieve greater value for spending European taxpayers’ money?
European and national politicians, journalists and citizens have often raised questions on how EU funds are used. The media tends to cover this topic whenever it can frame issues of mismanagement or corruption
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
6 Jul 2020
Introduction
EU development policy: evolving as an instrument of foreign policy and as an expression of solidarity
This article introduces the special issue on the evolution of European Union development policy, against the background of fundamental challenges that have emerged since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
6 Jul 2020
Research Article
The Impact of Brexit on Aid: EU and global development assistance under a realist UK scenario
By analysing the shifting profile of British aid since the Brexit vote and also the terms of the withdrawal, this article intends to shed light on its future course.
JCMS
6 Jul 2020
Blog
Taking central bank politicization seriously
What is it, exactly, that makes the European Central Bank political? In an article recently published in the Journal of Common Market Studies I try to put some order and clarity into this issue by, first, reconstructing the ways in which the term politicization is currently employed.
JCMS
30 Jun 2020
Blog
EU Cohesion policy in the spotlight
In this study, we explored media coverage of EU Cohesion policy – the largest EU investment policy for reducing economic, social and territorial inequalities.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
26 Jun 2020
Research Article
A New Scramble for EurAfrica?
The article argues that Brexit will intensify a ‘new scramble for Africa’ and highlights emerging challenges for European development cooperation vis-à-vis normative pledges to sustainable development.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
16 Jun 2020
Research Article
Paradigm Shift or Reinventing the Wheel? Towards a Research Agenda on Change and Continuity in EU Development Policy
The main aim of this article is to propose a research agenda on change and continuity in EU development policy.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
16 Jun 2020
Research Article
Towards a Functional Division of Labour in EU development cooperation post-2020.
This paper traces the evolution of the European approach to DoL and highlights the major reasons for its limited successes. It claims that among most important ones was the imprecise and inadequate description of the EU’s own comparative advantage and added value.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
16 Jun 2020
Research Article
The Challenge from within: EU Development Cooperation and the Rise of Illiberalism in Hungary and Poland
This article examines how the emergence of ‘illiberal democracy’ in Hungary and Poland has impacted the behaviour of these two countries in the EU’s international development policy making processes.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
12 Jun 2020
Research Article
African Agency and EU-ACP Relations beyond the Cotonou Agreement
With the Cotonou Agreement due to expire in 2020, formal negotiations towards a new partnership agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states began in September 2018.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
12 Jun 2020
Research Article
Irreconcilable Tensions? The EU’s Development Policy in an Era of Global Illiberalism.
A range of factors has contributed to the rise of illiberalism globally, leading to heightened geoeconomic rivalry while complex changes in global development governance facilitate the use of aid as an instrument of political and economic self-interest.
JCER Vol 16 No 2 (Special Issue)
2 Jun 2020
Research Article
The Legal Status and Effects of the Agenda 2030 within the EU Legal Order
This article explores the legal status and effects of the Agenda 2030 within the EU legal order. It refers to different forms of international law as a ‘connective tissue’ between the EU legal order and the Agenda 2030.
JCMS
20 May 2020
Blog
Can the European Parliament make the European Central Bank accountable?
Since the euro crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) has expanded its powers from monetary policy to banking supervision in the Eurozone.
JCMS
20 May 2020
Blog
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in EU
There are lessons to be learned from the EU’s responses to the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic reveals the absolute need for further cooperation in the EU if the member states are to manage these types of health crises effectively.
JCMS
13 May 2020
Blog
The European Union and the Responsibility to Protect
The EU’s engagement with the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) – a principle agreed by UN members in 2005 to prevent and respond to atrocities – reflects a surprisingly mixed record in some respects.
JCMS
1 May 2020
Blog
The Shifting Impact of Religion on Attitudes Toward the European Union
What factors shape public attitudes toward the European Union (EU)? Observers of public opinion during the early stages of European integration found a stable ‘permissive consensus’ among citizens that allowed elites to pursue the project without deep public scrutiny.
JCMS
7 Apr 2020
Blog
EU Narratives of Regionalism Promotion to ASEAN
The experience of regionalism in Asia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in particular, shows us that the EU is merely an example of regionalism, at best a source of inspiration, but not the defining regionalism paradigm.
JCMS
7 Apr 2020
Blog
In God we trust? Identity, institutions and international solidarity in Europe
The financial crises, bailouts and subsequent political backlash in several countries, made policy makers and researchers seek explanations for public support for – and resistance against- redistribution within the EU.
JCMS
20 Mar 2020
Blog
Do we know what our concepts do in our analyses?
In my article I provide an analytical framework for studying what our theories and concepts do It proposes the concept of performativity as a well-suited analytical tool.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
17 Mar 2020
Teaching, Learning and the Profession
Synchronous Online-Teaching on EU Foreign Affairs: A Blended-Learning Project of Seven Universities between E-Learning and Live Interaction
In this paper, we interrogate and reflect on this teaching experience by elaborating on its technical and didactical aspects, presenting its innovative character, outlining its strengths and weaknesses, and providing recommendations for colleagues.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
3 Mar 2020
Teaching, Learning and the Profession
Using Policy Briefs as Assessment to Integrating Research-Led Employability in Foreign Policy Courses
The aims of this paper are to highlight the way policy briefs were employed as an assessment tool on a final year foreign policy orientated Politics/IR module in a UK university.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
3 Mar 2020
Introduction
Innovative Teaching on European (Foreign) Affairs
This special section seeks to extent our knowledge on teaching innovative methods in European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs in time of challenges, politicisation, and digitalisation.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
3 Mar 2020
Teaching, Learning and the Profession
Teaching the EU in Brexit Britain: Responsive Teaching at a Time of Uncertainty and Change
Drawing on an action research approach, this article explores how the referendum result affected what and how this educator teaches the EU at a time of uncertainty and change for the UK.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
3 Mar 2020
Teaching, Learning and the Profession
Teaching EU Foreign Policy via Problem-Based Learning
In this contribution I showcase my experience of integrating an active learning element in my teaching of EU foreign policy, by experimenting with Problem-Based learning.
JCMS
27 Feb 2020
Blog
Why European asylum policies should account for refugees’ preferences
The European Union remains deeply divided on how to establish responsibility-sharing among its member states and how to reform the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).
JCMS
13 Feb 2020
Blog
Economic Nationalism and Bank Resolution in Italy
Is economic nationalism still alive when it comes to banking in the EU, and if so, what drives it? How have EU institutions responded so far?
JCMS
4 Feb 2020
Blog
Conducting EU foreign policy in times of crises and dissent
In the last decade, dissent among EU member states about the EU’s fundamental values has increased as a result of some national governments’ refusal to implement decisions and consent to previously agreed policy on issues related to human rights, rule of law and migration.
JCMS
3 Feb 2020
Blog
Surveillance policies and party cohesion in the European Parliament
The wave of terrorist attacks that affected Europe in 2015-2017 as well as the revelations of Edward Snowden in 2013 jointly framed the demand for a new social contract in the field of surveillance and privacy and its acceptable limits.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
3 Feb 2020
Book Review
EU Policy Making on GMOs: The False Promise of Proceduralism
This monograph examines the regulatory framework for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the European Union.
JCER Vol 16 No 1
9 Jan 2020
Research Article
The Council of the EU in Times of Economic Crisis: A Policy Entrepreneur for the Internal Market
This article fills that gap by analysing debates in the Council of the European Union on two major strategies: the Small Business Act for Europe and the Europe 2020 strategy.
JCMS
9 Jan 2020
Blog