EuroMeSCo Policy Brief no. 51 “Walking a Thin Line: The Role of Think Tanks in Arab Transitions and Foreign Support” by Pol Morillas has just been published. To read the Brief go to EuroMeSCo portal.
EuroMeSCo Policy Brief “Walking a Thin Line: The Role of Think Tanks in Arab Transitions and Foreign Support”
“The Moral Enigma of an Intervention in Syria: A Just War Analysis” by Niamh Maria O’Sullivan, The Moral Enigma of an Intervention in Syria: A Just War Analysis Niamh Maria O’Sullivan, IAI Working Paper, 22 August 2012
Few issues in international politics have sparked more debate this year than the events unfolding in Syria. What began 17 months ago as peaceful marches seeking reform has brought Syria to the brink of a civil war that threatens to stop the Arab Spring dead in its tracks. As the death toll rises and accusations of crimes against humanity mount against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ruling Ba’ath Party, many are calling for an armed intervention to put an end to the Assad regime’s widespread human rights abuses. Finding the right way forward for Syria, however, is proving elusive and so we turn to philosophy and, in particular, to Just War theory for guidance. Though often criticized as a soft or unrealistic approach to foreign policy, principles like just cause and proportionality guide our way through the moral enigma that has confounded the international community since the uprising began. The answers are far from easy. As the battle for Syria rages on, the most ethical, and difficult, thing to do might just be to stay out.
Please read the entire working paper here.
TEPSA FIIA Seminar on Northern Europe and the Arab Spring: Normative Leaders or Opportunistic Bystanders? 21 May 2012, 16:30h-18:30h
EU foreign relations are traditionally characterized by a strict division of labour. When it comes to the Arab World, southern European countries have usually taken the lead, while northern European countries have stayed on the sidelines. The Arab Spring has demonstrated some of the problems of this divide, but also increased the visibility and interest in the region amongst northern European countries. This seminar will look at the role three key northern European countries – Germany, Poland and Sweden – have played during the Arab Spring and how they view the future of Euro-Mediterranean affairs. It will also discuss the nature of north-south divisions in EU institutions.
The seminar will take place at Finland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union, Rue de Trèves 100, Bruxelles.
Please click here to read the programme. Please register by sending an email with your name and affiliation to Marine•Jacob©tepsa•be by Thursday 17 May the latest.
TEPSA Danish Pre-Presidency Conference Report, 8-9 December 2011 and Recommendations to the Danish Presidency
The Danish Pre-Presidency Conference was organised by the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen last 8-9 December.The Opening Plenary Session presented the Priorities of the Danish Presidency and the Presidency Recommendations by TEPSA.
The Conference notably included the following panels: Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, Differentiated Membership of the EU, The EU budget: a Driver for Growth and Europe 2020?, The Future of the Euro, The EU and the Arab Spring.
Those key issues were presented by members of the Danish government and analyzed by invited speakers and panelists, top officials and scholars from across Europe.
During the Pre-Presidency Conference TEPSA presented the Recommendations to the Danish Presidency. Please click here to read the recommendations to the Danish Presidency. The report of the Pre-Presidency Conference is downloadable here.
TEPSA-Sciences Po Conference on the Arab Spring: managing tensions and crisis inside and outside the EU, 15 March 2012
TEPSA in cooperation with Sciences Po Paris and the EXACT project will organise a conference on 15 March 2012 from 11:00 to 12:30 followed by a lunch at the Fondation Universitaire, rue d’Egmont 11, 1000 Brussels.
The conference will start with a keynote speech from Zaki Laidi, Sciences Po Paris, providing an analytical angle on the European Union’s role and the issue of EU governance in this context. Peter Frisch, Senior political economist, Maghreb, European External Action Service will present the implications and challenges for the EU. TEPSA EXACT Marie Curie Researchers Nicole Koenig and Marlene Gottwald will discuss this issue based on their policy briefs.
Please download the conférence’s report here.
Round table Conference: Democracy promotion East and South after the Arab Spring on 1- 2 December 2011
Re-evaluating the EU’s Engagement with Authoritarian Regimes
The Conference will take place on 1-2 December 2011 at the Maastricht University, Brussels Campus, Avenue de L’Armée / Legerlaan 10, 1040 Brussels and is organised by Maastricht University, the Trans-European Policy Studies Association and the Institut für Europäische Politik.
The popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Syria in 2011 not only present new challenges for EU policy towards the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), but also underline the need to re-evaluate the EU’s engagement with authoritarian regimes more generally. The conference aims to analyse what paradigms and strategies have guided EU policies towards authoritarian regimes over the past decades, and the factors which explain the strengths and limitations of EU democracy promotion in authoritarian countries, in addition to presenting concrete policy recommendations for future EU policy towards authoritarian regimes.
Workshop contributions offer historical and theoretical reflections, alongside empirical case studies analysing EU policy towards authoritarian rule in (i) the MENA region: Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan; (ii) Eastern Europe: Belarus, Ukraine, South Caucasus and (iiI) Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan.
The conference intends to bring together senior members of the Brussels diplomatic community, European institutional decision makers, academic scholars and relevant stakeholders, to provide a comparative perspective on EU relations with authoritarian regimes on its Eastern and Southern rim in an objective minded, academic setting.
To download the programme please click here.
Round table Conference’s Report: Democracy promotion East and South after the Arab Spring on 1- 2 December 2011
Re-evaluating the EU’s Engagement with Authoritarian Regimes
The Conference took place on 1-2 December 2011 at the Maastricht University, Brussels Campus, Avenue de L’Armée / Legerlaan 10, 1040 Brussels and was organised by Maastricht University, the Trans-European Policy Studies Association and the Institut für Europäische Politik.
The popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Syria in 2011 not only presented new challenges for EU policy towards the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), but also underlined the need to re-evaluate the EU’s engagement with authoritarian regimes more generally. The conference aimed to analyse what paradigms and strategies have guided EU policies towards authoritarian regimes over the past decades, and the factors which explained the strengths and limitations of EU democracy promotion in authoritarian countries, in addition to presenting concrete policy recommendations for future EU policy towards authoritarian regimes.
Workshop contributions offered historical and theoretical reflections, alongside empirical case studies analysing EU policy towards authoritarian rule in (i) the MENA region: Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan; (ii) Eastern Europe: Belarus, Ukraine, South Caucasus and (iiI) Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan.
The conference intended to bring together senior members of the Brussels diplomatic community, European institutional decision makers, academic scholars and relevant stakeholders, to provide a comparative perspective on EU relations with authoritarian regimes on its Eastern and Southern rim in an objective minded, academic setting.
To download the report please click here.
