THE ROLE OF THE EURO IN STRENGHTENING THE EUROPEAN IDENTITY
Mihai Ovidiu CERCEL | National University of Political Sciences and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
In the history of Europe, there are only a few symbols that are common to all 27 EU countries: the Greek and Roman legacy, a common Christian religion, a shared bulk of common values and beliefs. The paper evaluates if Euro as a common currency should be considered as a symbol who may contribute to the European construction process and the role of symbols in the consolidation of a European collective identity. Our hypothesis is that the existence of a bulk of common symbols – among which the Euro currency is one of the most visible, shared widely by EU citizens – will consolidate the process of European construction. The lack of a common identity is often used by extremist parties as an argument in favor of Euro-pessimism and a return to nation state welfare. Our paper highlights the subtle links between money, collective identity and European integration. The results show a link between the rise of awareness concerning a European identity and the adoption of Euro. Fostering European symbols such as a single currency is contributing to create the conditions that allow the emergence of a sense of collective belonging, the European common identity.
KEYWORDS
European construction; European identity; national identity; national symbols and values; symbolism of currency.
DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING: LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM POLAND
Andrada Elena DĂNILĂ | University of Bucharest and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration Bucharest/Romania
Quentin LAUNAI | Political Science Institute of Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble/France
Larisa Nicoleta PĂTRAȘCU | The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
Democratic erosion, also referred in the academic literature as democratic backsliding, occurs when the democratic institutions, instruments, and mechanisms that a state possesses start to lose their functionality, thus resulting in weaker democracies, making them vulnerable to become an authoritarian or illiberal regime. Considering the rise of populist and nationalist tendencies displayed throughout Europe in recent years, this article focuses on Poland, addressing three principal aspects: What changes can be identified and traced in Poland that led to democratic erosion? Were there any precursors or facilitators to this erosion? How does the opposition respond to the process of democratic erosion? In order to answer these questions, we turned to the existing literature, as it offers the necessary complex understanding of the current dynamic. We analysed different democratic indexes that allowed us to compare multiple indicators and we followed the chain of events that contributed to creating the context for illiberal actors to enter the political scene. Some of the problems this article addresses are related to the effect Poland’s democratic backsliding has in matters such as the electoral process, government functionality, civil society, individual rights, school system, justice and media, and the overall welfare of the population. Our research brings forward the role that the socio-cultural and economic characteristics of the population have in the tailoring of Poland’s political path centred around the changes between 2015 and 2021.
KEYWORDS
Civil society; democratic erosion; election; nationalism; Poland; populism.
THE IMPACT OF EU’S ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION IN ITS PERIPHERY
Mihai DĂNILĂ, PhD Candidate | National University of Political Studies and Public Administration,Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
The European Union’s desiderate of fully decarbonization until 2050 led to the adaptation of a comprehensive regulation that set ambitious environmental targets. EU’s vision regarding the energy transition is very well expressed through its programs and policies. Currently, European Green Deal and NextGenerationEU mechanism are ambitious strategies that can make the EU’s desires for a sustainable future reality. The first strategy intends to transform the European Union into a modern, green, and competitive economy and to decouple from fossil fuels. The second case refers to the recovery plan that follows to restore the EU’s economy affected by the Covid pandemic. This plan, recently adopted, among his directions, had proposed reforms that make possible the green transition. How do these efforts affect the EU’s neighbourhood in their climate action? Is there substantial evidence that shows the European Union’s influence in shaping the environmental regulation of EU’s neighbours?
This article aims to answer these questions using a comparative analysis that includes two EU neighbours, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. This analysis follows to measure the influence of the EU’s environmental efforts among its neighbours and explore those factors that favor this process. The results of the comparative analysis will be interpreted using the theoretical framework from the Europeanization literature.
KEYWORDS
EU Neighbourhood; Europeanization; Environmental Policies; Environmental Public Policies; European Neighborhood Policy.
THE FIGHT AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE IN LATIN AMERICA USING DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS
Alexandru Mihai GHIGIU, PhD, Lecturer | National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to address the problem of violence against women, and femicide in Latin America through an analysis of the feminist social movement #NiUnaMenos. We are trying to bring a new perspective on the societal efforts to fight violence against women in Latin America, and emphasize the important role of social media in raising awareness about this terrible phenomenon. #NiUnaMenos is a somehow recent social movement that can offer powerful insights concerning this contemporary phenomenon but also the extent to which it fits into the traditional theories of social movements.
The work is focused on how this movement has evolved from a local to a regional and international phenomenon, bringing as arguments empirical, quantitative and qualitative methods. Compared with previous social initiatives, the new social media instruments, such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitter, changed the way in which these protests were organized and greatly spread their demands and objectives.
KEYWORDS
#NiUnaMenos; digital; gender violence; social protests.
MASS-MEDIA AS A CIVIL-DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISM IN ROMANIA
Emilian-Alexandru IONIȚĂ, PhD student | National University of Political Science and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
The scope of this article is to contribute to the relatively neglected topic of mass media as an oversight mechanism of the intelligence sector in post-communist settings by focusing on the case of Romania. I use prior research in intelligence studies and build up an analytic framework for the assessment of the effectiveness of mass-media, understood as, on one hand, the ability to generate changes (ranging from adjustments in leadership to thorough democratic reforms) and, on the other hand, to ensure that the operational capacity of intelligence services is not significantly impacted by public disclosures if information related to its specific activity. The framework considers several variables that, according to literature, limit the effectiveness of mass-media in post-communist contexts – namely the authoritarian past (seen as a source of bias against intelligence services in general); access of the media to relevant resources (expertise and information); the independence of the journalists involved; the legal levers at their discretion. I test the framework by describing how these limitations manifest in the Romanian context, and how they impact mass-media performance in three recent scandals of the national intelligence sector.
KEYWORDS
Civil-democratic oversight; democratisation; intelligence agencies; mass media; Romania.
BANKING DISTRESS – A COMPARATIVE APPROACH OF TWO BUSINESS CASES IN THE BANKING SECTOR IN USA IN 2023
Bogdan MUNTEANU, PhD, Lecturer | Department of International Relations and European Integration, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest/ Romania
ABSTRACT
The aims of the paper are to explore the recent liquidity stress situations encountered by the regional banks in the United States of America (with a particular focus on Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, both headquartered in California) and to provide a descriptive viewpoint on the regulatory framework, prudentiality and financial management issues, including accounting aspects and corporate governance. The research methodology pertains to the cause-effect analysis and the dynamics of changes over time and to the synthesis of documented authentic public resources of information, giving substance to the main findings. The paper explores the causes and the consequences of the failing banks from the perspective of implications to the current regulatory environment and prudential requirements, with a view to the financial markets functioning. It analyses the business models and the root-causes that led to the recent distress in the first quarter of the year 2023 in the US banking system. The conclusions draw evidence on how clustered liquidity stress and fast-unfolding bank runs became risk factors, in a context where regulatory environment allowed for a more relaxed supervisory stance on banks and the rising interest rates in an inflationary economy affected the market value of financial instruments as means of liquidity in banks’ portfolios. Still, despite some particular situations pertaining to some US banks, the US banking sector remains resilient, with significant risk-absorbing capacities.
KEYWORDS
Bank Regulation; Bank Supervision; Corporate Governance; Banking Sector Resilience; Financial Management; Liquidity Crisis.
LOCKDOWN LIFE IN THE DIASPORA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ROMANIAN COMMUNITY IN THE UK
Andrada-Maria PETRACHE | National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
This research aims to shed light on the Romanian diaspora’s experience of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, a global pandemic experienced by all, yet not under the same restrictions or with the same challenges. It looks at how the Romanians rate their experience of the pandemic in the UK, while also considering the wider context of Brexit, by focusing on aspects such as level of satisfaction with governmental measures, the impact on their professional activity and the intention to return to their home country. Quantitative and qualitative questionnaires reveal that despite having gone through it far from their family and friends back in Romania, Romanians in the UK did not find the experience of the pandemic overwhelmingly negative, nor did it determine a trend of return migration, despite the broader, overlapping context of Brexit.
KEYWORDS
Brexit; Covid-19; diaspora; pandemic; Romania; UK.
MIGRATION BETWEEN LATIN AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES IN 2015-2018. DIFFERENCES IN IMMIGRATION POLICIES BETWEEN THE OBAMA AND TRUMP ADMINISTRATIONS
Stefanita PUIU | Centre of European Studies, National University of Political Science and Public Administration, Bucharest/Romania
ABSTRACT
The discussion about immigration to the United States of America was a vast and complex topic that has been extended over a period of more than two centuries. The view about immigration changed through the passing of time, however, in recent times it was a product of two very different ideals expressed between 2015 and 2018. This subject is extremely relevant because it comprises millions of lives that could have suffered a significant change due to the constantly shifting policies.
This paper aims to analyse the socio-political changes that have been generated by the creation and modification of immigration-related bills in the short, yet relevant period which comprises three years. The conclusions that have surfaced from this research are that the immigration policies were focused on stabilising the statute of immigrants before the Trump Administration. This administration modified them so to have a nationalist approach. It is important to state the negative impact that the immigration policies had upon the development of society because most recently the same bills that should create a stronger society have managed to divide it.
KEYWORDS
Illegal migration; Mexico; migration; policy-making; society; United States of America.
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S APPROACH TOWARDS THE ENTRY OF THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS INTO ITS TERRITORY
Sabiha SHALA, Assoc.Prof.Dr. | Law Faculty, University of Haxhi Zeka, Pejë/Kosovo
ABSTRACT
The topic related to the European Union (EU) rules on the free movement of persons is a dynamic one. Part of these dynamic EU rules are also rules concerning the entry of third-country nationals (TCNs) into the EU’s territory. The Schengen rules regulate procedures and conditions for entry of third-country nationals for a period of up to ninety days. These rules need to be developed and implemented in line with the fundamental human rights rules. The EU has been criticized for many years for its lack of democratization due to the fact that it did not give binding character rules of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. The aim of the present research is to analyse the development of Schengen rules for the entry of third-country nationals (TCNs) into the EU’s territory in light of their democratization and respect for human rights. The aim is achieved through a historical, descriptive, and analytical approach that allows using the existing Schengen rules for the entry of third-country nationals (TCNs), relevant scientific articles and official documents of the EU’s institutions. Analysis of these materials proves that EU member states enjoy wide discretion in respect of implementing the current EU rules as regards entry of TCNs into EU territory. As a result, TCNs obliged to have a visa in order to enter EU territory might be subject to unequal treatment.
KEYWORDS
Schengen rules; third-country nationals; human rights; EU.
BOOK REVIEW
Manuel DeLanda, 2016, Assemblage Theory, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN Paperback 9781474413633
Mihai Christopher Marian RADOVICI, PhD student
Bucharest University of Economics Studies, Faculty of International Economic Relations, Doctoral School International Business and Economics
Bucharest/ Romania
