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Works on Islam in Europe often read like a juxtaposition of national case studies covering the history and perhaps the sociology of immigrant groups in the countries considered. Although the sociology of Islam is well-developed in certain European countries such as France, Germany and the UK, it is only in its infancy as a discipline at the European level. The chapters in this work, by leading European experts in the field, therefore aim to supply policy-makers, analysts and civil society leaders with an inventory of the main issues concerning the presence of Islam in Europe. The key message is that European Islam exists as a powerful transnational phenomenon, and European policy must keep pace with this reality.
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Police organizations present a unique paradox in modern democracies: they are guarantors of security and protectors of fundamental freedoms; and, at the same time, they are a potent threat to those same liberties. Perhaps no other servants of the state carry so much responsibility and require so much public trust. The police must be able to exercise a wide range of lawful powers - including the use of deadly force - in order to protect citizens and ensure law and order; and, at the same time, they must act in a manner that fully respects the law, civil liberties and basic human rights. The extent to which the police get the balance right is a recognized indicator of true democracy in a society. That indicator of true democracy is often measured by the level of public trust in the police. The publication of this IDM research report is both welcome and timely, as a means of measuring public trust in the Albanian State Police (ASP) and indicating the strength of democracy in this country. A wealth of data has been provided which will assist in understanding public perceptions of the police in greater depth and detail than in any previous period of Albania’s history. This data will provide a much-needed factual basis for debate about integrity within the ranks of the ASP, and inform the process of police reform and restructuring. The IDM information will also provide added impetus to the revised Code of Ethics and the growing desire within the Government to eradicate police corruption through an uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles.
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A review of the opinions of Polish political elites on Polish-German relations within the EU framework, which are of both academic and practical significance, was undertaken in a project of the Institute for Western Affairs conducted between 2013 and 2016 (Poland’s political elites in the context of Polish-German relations within the European Union). The goal was to examine the positions of Poland’s political elites within specific thematic fields associated with the EU (such as visions of EU transformations, the EU’s eastern policy, as well as security, energy and climate change) as held between the outbreak of the eurozone crisis in 2009 and the outset of the refugee crisis in 2015. The opinions and views expressed by Poland’s political elites reveal a conviction that a strong correlation exists between the nature of Polish-German relations and the crystallization of Poland’s role in the European Union. The elites are deeply divided on Polish-German relations at this critical time for the EU’s development, which suggests an absence of a political consensus. The divisions run deep, rooted in differences in the basic political orientations represented by the elite’s members. Conflicting views on Poland’s role in Europe and the European Union coincided with discrepancies in approaches to Germany, the concepts of mutual relations, and particularly the acknowledgement of Germany’s vital importance for Poland in Europe. Evidently, there are two aspects to the relationship. On the one hand, the perception of Germany as a strategic partner has influenced the search for Poland’s place in the EU. On the other, Germany was seen as a hindrance for defining a role for Poland within Europe. In this sense, the discourse on the shape of Poland’s role in Europe and specifically in the EU ended up being bundled with a dispute on the significance of Germany for Poland in this process. As a secondary consideration, the discourse influenced the way in which the state of Polish-German relations was diagnosed and predicted. The same applied to collaboration between the two countries and the widening gaps between the interests pursued in various fields of the EU’s engagement (such the eastern, energy and defense policies). Noticeably, the opinions of Polish elites on Polish-German relations became polarized along the same lines that separated views on a more prominent (leadership) role which Germany aspired to play in the EU in the wake of the eurozone debt crisis and in the face of the Ukrainian conflict. Diverse interpretations of Germany’s actions prevented Polish elites from reaching a consensus on the opportunities and prospects awaiting Poland in the event Germany succeeds in strengthening its position in the EU. The above maneuverings were echoed in the parliamentary discourse. Thrown into sharp relief were two narratives on the desired way in which Poland should develop its relations with Germany within the framework of the EU. While one of them saw Poland rising to the role of Germany’s strategic partner, the other expected it to pursue its own subjective policy within the EU independently of Germany. Both approaches reflect two archetypical visions of the course that Poland should take in history, i.e. (1) the Piast line which combined support for strengthening European integration with the belief that Poland’s cooperation with Germany is likely to help it rise to greater significance in the European Union; and (2) the Jagiellonian view oriented at increasing Poland’s autonomy within the EU through closer integration with Central Europe (and possibly the Intermarium region) and consequently also with the EU as a whole. Disparities between the two visions were reflected in debates on eastern, energy & climate and security policies. Despite differences on the essence of relations with Germany, underpinned by the divide between the ruling coalition of the Civic Platform and the Polish People’s Party and its right-wing opposition embodied by the Law & Justice party, as reflected in the pre-2016 parliamentary debates, the two approaches converged in e.g. the admission that it is in Poland’s best interest to keep the EU from evolving towards a confederation dominated by large member states which alone would determine the fate of the Union. In the academic discourse, references to Germany are central to disputes about Europe and Poland’s place in the Union. The line that separates advocates of Poland’s integration with the EU from Euro-skeptics coincides with different understandings of Germany’s role and significance for Polish-German relations and for the development of the EU. In the former (prevailing) approach, emphasis has been placed on (a) Germany’s huge potential, partially compromised by dissenting forces, including those seeking to divide the EU into a “multi-speed Europe”, and (b) the relevance of the European imperative in Germany’s policies. The authors stressed also the key significance of Poland’s collaboration with Germany (regarding the CSDP, eastern policy and the future structure of the EU). The latter critical approach supported by the political right wing tended to focus on Poland’s geopolitical security and the need for Central Europe’s autonomy, both of which are seen as alternatives to cooperation with Germany. Differences in views on Germany’s leadership were associated with the way the proponents of the two approaches saw the EU and their preferred visions of European integration. Such proponents agreed to oppose Europe’s domination by major powers and resist the historically discredited “concert” among the member states. However, when the advocates of the pro-European approach sought to strengthen European institutions as an effective means of holding Germany in check, the Euro-critics proclaimed such a strengthening would stand in the way of transforming Europe into a commonwealth of sovereign states which they saw as a guarantee of Poland’s equality vis-à-vis Germany. For that reason, a closer cooperation between Germany and the EU was treated as rather contrary to Poland’s interests and as a barrier to Poland’s empowerment. The participants of the discourse of experts agreed to accept Germany’s central role in transforming the EU. The experts generally supported the postulate that Poland has an interest in ensuring that Europe continues its integration and that the EU achieves internal cohesion. The key point on which they diverged was Poland’s adoption of the euro. The scales tipped in favor of the proponents of a wait-and-see approach. The prevailing opinion was that a closer relationship with Germany would strengthen Poland’s position in the EU and that Germany was potentially interested in establishing closer links with Poland due to the similarities in the two countries’ fiscal regimes and specifically to (a) Poland’s possible future entry into the eurozone and (b) the benefits that Germany expects to derive from having Poland as a partner that would legitimize Germany’s leadership of the EU. Surveys of parliamentary elites have shown that Germany’s leadership of the EU is viewed primarily as a consequence of the eurozone crisis and of the weakening of the member states rather than as Germany’s pursuit of a long-term scheme to assert supremacy. The survey’s respondents suggested that the most likely consequences of Germany’s leadership of the EU would be a transformation of the eurozone into a hard core of the EU as well as the strengthening of Germany’s position and economic model in the Union. Both were pronounced as the definitive cause of adverse consequences for Poland. The survey’s results suggest that a pivot is possible in Polish-German relations. Since the coming to power of a new Polish government in the autumn of 2015, Germany has lost its status as Poland’s favored partner. Poland’s new preference is to choose its partners selectively and form flexible coalitions. The view that collaboration with Germany would continue to be as good as it has been and that its tightening would strengthen Poland's position in the EU is being gradually forsaken. Surveys offer two types of predictions. One envisions Poland’s flexible positioning in response to individual German initiatives while the other sees Poland acting on its own initiative vis-à-vis Germany by forging alliances with third countries. The findings of (anonymous) interviews with experts support the results of questionnaire surveys, albeit to a lesser degree than those suggested by the discourse unfolding among the same experts. It is evident that the expert community subscribe to two differing views and propose two types of recommendations for Poland’s policy towards Germany in the field of EU transformations and especially its eastern policy. Some of the experts recommend opposing Germany within the EU framework to avert a German domination of Poland. Others advocate building a closer political relationship with that country as a logical consequence of strong economic ties. As for the future, the anticipated negative impact on Poland has not necessarily been correlated with Germany’s assumption of leadership as Germany is not generally perceived as harmful for the EU.
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The moral obligation of solidarity – present in every religion – and the wayit functions in the relations between states, nations and people belongingto foreign ethnic, national and religious groups, have been discussed in theinternational arena for several years.The rule of solidarity is an ethical imperative that gives the right and imposesthe obligation to act whenever a human being experiences harm thataffects his mental and physical well-being or threatens his life. Accordingto John Paul II, “Solidarity is (…) a firm and persevering determination tocommit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and ofeach individual, because we are all really responsible for all”1. Tenzin Gjaco,the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet says that when people demand the rights andfreedoms they cherish, they should not also forget about responsibilitiesthey have towards other people. “If we accept that others have an equal rightto peace and happiness as ourselves do we not have a responsibility to helpthose in need?”2. He claims that if we close our eyes to the suffering of othersto enjoy our freedom and success, we reject the responsibility. That is why it isabsolutely necessary to develop interest in the problems of others - individualsand entire nations3.
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W 2017 r. natężeniu uległy różne niekorzystne tendencje w otoczeniu Europy: kryzys migracyjny/uchodźczy, który wprawdzie osłabł, ale jednak pozostał problemem, wyzwania dla wspólnoty transatlantyckiej związane z administracją Donalda Trumpa, Rosja i brak możliwości znalezienia jakiegoś modus vivendi w relacjach z nią, szczególnie w zakresie bezpieczeństwa, Bliski Wschód jako źródło terroryzmu zagrażającego Unii Europejskiej, także od wewnątrz. Wyzwaniem, przed jakim stanęła sama Unia Europejska, stało się pytanie o skalę i sposób jej dalszej integracji; problemem był model reformy strefy euro oraz utrzymanie spoistości projektu europejskiego. Aktywność Niemiec na arenie międzynarodowej determinowana była przypadającymi na wrzesień 2017 r. wyborami do Bundestagu. Proponując konkretne rozwiązania, uwzględniające w dużym stopniu interes niemiecki, starano się zachować dystans wobec kontrowersyjnych propozycji.
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Czy NATO, istniejące już ponad 60 lat, pozostaje nadal fundamentalną strukturą polityczno-wojskową gwarantującą bezpieczeństwo i stabilizację w Europie - jak było to przez minione dziesięciolecia? W jakim stopniu Pakt powinien być elementem i czynnikiem bezpieczeństwa w skali globalnej - czego wymagają wyzwania współczesności? Czy w obecnych warunkach i wobec nowych zagrożeń NATO może jeszcze skutecznie działać, być wiarygodnym aliansem? Między innymi takie pytania należy postawić, zanim przystąpi się do opracowania nowej doktryny strategicznej Sojuszu. Ta z kolei musi rozstrzygnąć kilka zasadniczych kwestii, ważnych dla zdynamizowania NATO i wyprowadzenia go z krytycznego punktu.
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This report identifies differences between Roma and non-Roma in access to health and in health outcomes, through the collection of disaggregated data in households across Romania in 2013. Some of the differences which emerge are extreme – Roma live on average 16 years less, are more susceptible to serious medical conditions, and are less likely to have access to medical attention or be able to afford the costs of medicines when compared with the rest of Romania’s population. The European Roma Rights Centre has undertaken this research to highlight a key problem in health initiatives for Roma across Europe – a lack of data. Through the lens of health inequality, the report highlights the need for all states to collect and publish disaggregated data in order to measure all inequalities between groups within the state and the effectiveness of any measures taken to address existing inequalities. There is a clear need for disaggregated data in order to demonstrate the scope of discrimination Roma face and to develop and implement targeted policy measures to address this situation.
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An account of a crime aimed at human lives inevitably suppress¬es a testimony on robbery, even if it was an armed robbery. Prob¬ably, that is the only explanation for an overwhelming absence of serious work on collecting the evidence and critical retrospect of the disappearance of property acquired by Serbs in Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia during the turbulent twentieth century. While there are hundreds of volumes published on genocide, with the tendency of permanent growth, when it comes to prop¬erty, there is – silence. It seems that the understanding of inevitability of this process has been widely accepted. The magnitude of this process is best illustrated by the proportion of ethnic Serbs in the population of Croatia: before the First World War, one in four inhabitants of Croatia was a Serb, while nowadays it is one in twenty-four, roughly estimated.
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During the Soviet era, the lands of contemporary Central Asia were largely terra incognito for the outside world. Located deep within the Soviet Union, the region was isolated for much of the 20th century. During this period, Soviet Central Asia (the Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and Kyrgyz republics) and Kazakhstan (which was seen as administratively separate from the other four republics) were to an extraordinary degree controlled by Moscow and the institutions of Communist power. The sudden and dramatic collapse of the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev at the end of 1991 thus marked an historic moment for Central Asia for it exposed the region almost overnight to the international community.In July 2007, the European Union initiated a fundamentally new approach to the countries of Central Asia. The launch of the EU Strategy for Central Asia signals a qualitative shift in the Union’s relations with a region of the world that is of growing importance as a supplier of energy, is geographically situated in a politically sensitive area – between China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and the south Caucasus – and contains some of the most authoritarian political regimes in the world. In this volume, leading specialists from Europe, the United States and Central Asia explore the key challenges facing the European Union as it seeks to balance its policies between enhancing the Union’s energy, business and security interests in the region while strengthening social justice, democratisation efforts and the protection of human rights. With chapters devoted to the Union’s bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and to the vital issues of security and democratisation, ‘Engaging Central Asia’ provides the first comprehensive analysis of the EU’s strategic initiative in a part of the world that is fast emerging as one of the key regions of the 21st century.
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The year 2009 is decisive for the protracted Cyprus conflict. Incentives for a settlement might be higher and above all more evenly distributed among all parties than in 2004, when the Annan Plan failed due to an overwhelming Greek Cypriot rejection of the proposed blueprint despite Turkish Cypriot acceptance of the plan. Yet while strategic assessments and elite incentives bode cautiously well for a Cyprus settlement, ultimately an agreement will have to be approved by the two Cypriot communities in referendums and above all it will have to be implemented by the Cypriots on the ground. In other words, ordinary Cypriots lie at the crux of the conflict settlement as well as the drawn-out conflict resolution process, determining the ultimate success or failure of any blueprint signed by their leaders.
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Regulatory agencies such as Europol, Frontex, Eurojust, CEPOL as well as bodies such as OLAF, have over the past decade become increasingly active within the institutional architecture constituting the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and are now placed at the forefront of implementing and developing the EU’s internal security model. A prominent feature of agency activity is the large-scale proliferation of‘knowledge’ on security threats via the production of policy tools such as threat assessments, risk analyses, periodic and situation reports. These instruments now play a critical role in providing the evidence-base that supports EU policy making,with agency-generated ‘knowledge’ feeding political priority settingand decision-making within the EU’s new Internal Security Strategy (ISS).
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Third-country nationals seeking protection have no EU-wide legal channels at present for entering EU territory and triggering protection mechanisms under the Common European Asylum System. As a result, many embark on hazardous journeys, with concomitant risks and loss of human life. The absence of ‘protection-sensitive’ mechanisms for accessing EU territory, along with EU external and extraterritorial border and migration management and control, undermine Member States' refugeeand human rights obligations. Humanitarian visas may offer a remedy in this regard by enabling third-country nationals to apply in situ for entry to EU territory on humanitarian grounds or becauseof international obligations. This study asks whether the existing Visa Code actually obliges Member States to issue humanitarian visas.
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This paper examines key developments in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean. By asking,‘Whose Mare?’, we focus on rule of law challenges stemming from these developments in a post-Lisbon EU. The developments examined are the Italian Navy-led Mare Nostrum operation, the debates over European ‘exit strategies’ for this operation and the ensuing launch of the Frontex Triton joint operation (JO). The recently adopted Regulation on Frontex sea border surveillance operations is also presented as a key development to understand the rule of law challenges. Moreover, the adoption of the European Union Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) and the development of several maritime surveillance systems in the EU highlight that a wide range of actors seeks authority over this field.
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This study provides a comparative analysis of the national legal regimes and practices governing the use of intelligence information as evidence in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. It explores notably how national security can be invoked to determine the classification of information and evidence as 'state secrets' in court proceedings and whether such laws and practices are fundamental rights and rule of law-compliant. The study finds that, in the majority of Member States under investigation, the judiciary is significantly hindered in effectively adjudicating justice and guaranteeing the rights of the defence in ‘national security’ cases. The research also illustrates that the very term ‘national security’ is nebulously defined across the Member States analysed, with no national definition meeting legal certainty and “in accordance with the law” standards and a clear risk that the executive and secret services may act arbitrarily.
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In the wake of the disclosures surrounding PRISM and other US surveillance programmes, this paper assesses the large-scale surveillance practices by a selection of EU member states: the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Given the large-scale nature of these practices, which represent a reconfiguration of traditional intelligence gathering, the paper contends that an analysis of European surveillance programmes cannot be reduced to a question of the balance between data protection versus national security, but has to be framed in terms of collective freedoms and democracy. It finds that four of the five EU member states selected for in-depth examination are engaging in some form of large-scale interception and surveillance of communication data, and identifies parallels and discrepancies between these programmes and the NSA-run operations.
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The summer of 2010 will long be remembered in Europe for what has become known as “l’affaire des Roms” inFrance. The case has revealed profound institutional tensions at EU level between the French government and the European Commission and the European Parliament. The political spectacle that has unfolded has only complicated and added confusion to the actual nature and relevance of the affair from an EU perspective. In particular, it has obscured the legality of the eviction and expulsion of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals of Roma origin from France in light of that country’s obligations in the context of EU citizenship and free movement law, as well as its profound implications for fundamental rights protection. The Roma affair has constituted a severe test of the legitimacy of the EU’s AFSJ and the overall effectiveness of the EU’s legal landscape. The developments in France have demonstrated the limits ofcurrent EU enforcement mechanisms in providing a swift and depoliticized answer to contested national measures whose compliance with EU law and fundamental rights remains questionable.
More...A FORCE PROTECTION FRAMEWORK FOR ARMED FORCES
The digital environment is an increasingly important dimension of the contemporary battle space. While we have been focusing our attention on cyber-threats and systemic resilience, less attention has been paid to challenges arising from the malicious use of openly available digital information regarding military organisations. An adversary does not need significant resources or advanced cyber capabilities to pose a threat in the digital domain, when social media and digital technologies are easily accessible, providing information and infrastructure that can be exploited by anyone with access to a computer and an internet connection. For example, open-source methods can be used to geolocate military units, social media can be used to augment influence activities, and social data can be scraped for valuable intelligence.
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Bu kitap Uluslararası Göç derslerinde temel metin olarak kullanılmak üzere yayınlanmış dergi makaleleri ve kitap bölümleri biraraya getirilerek hazırlanmıştır. Göç kuramlarından, göç politikalarına, göçmen uyumu ve vatadanşalıktan, Türkiye’nin içe ve dışa göç deneyimlerine dek pek çok temel konu alanın uzmanlarınca hazırlanmış makaleler ile tartışılmaktadır. Altı kısım olarak hazırlanan kitapta öğrencilerin çalışmasını destekleyecek ileri okuma listeleri de sunulmuştur. Kitabın ana temaları BİRİNCİ KISIM: Göç ve Temel Kavramlar, İKİNCİ KISIM: Kuramsal Açıklamalar, ÜÇÜNCÜ KISIM: Göç, Güvenlik, Biyo-politika, DÖRDÜNCÜ KISIM: Türkiye ve Göçler, BEŞİNCİ KISIM: Politika ve uyum ve ALTINCI KISIM: Güncel Tartışmalardan oluşmaktadır.
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The monograph discusses up-to-date issues concerning the acculturation of a Middle Eastern group in a European country. The book is based on research conducted by the Author in 2014 in the Assyrian/Syriac diaspora in Sweden, within the framework of the “Defining and Identifying Middle Eastern Christian Communities in Europe” project. Assyrians/Syriacs (Assyrier/Syrianer) began to arrive in Scandinavia in the late 1960s, fleeing the wars and meagre economic prospects in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Today, they constitute an active diaspora which contributes in various ways to the development of its new homeland and numbers around 150 000 people. The Author describes Swedish migration and integration policies, the history of the Assyrian/Syriac community in the Middle East, the phases and forms of institutionalisation in Sweden, internal dynamics as well as the group’s relations with external actors and its transnational links. One of the main findings of the book is that the ethno-national identity of this community was largely constructed in the Swedish diaspora and is considerably more complex than it had previously been described in research. The identity in question is not a single construct, but rather a few – if not a few dozen – variants, although polarisation resulting from the divide between Assyrians and Arameans/Suryoye/Syriacs is visible.
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