Originally published in 2005. This comprehensive volume examines the issue of Europe-making related to the post EU/NATO enlargement and the post 9/11 situation. Dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism are raising important questions for various actors in Europe, in particular what these developments will mean for the future of regional cooperation and the development of a regional subjectivity. Such concerns have been further compounded by America's distinction between 'New Europe' and 'Old Europe'. The volume analyzes at both policy and conceptual levels how the dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism will impact on regional cooperation in northern Europe. It examines how events in northern Europe have helped shape the nature of European space, borders and governance, including how the EU, the US and Russia have each highlighted northern Europe as a special case to be utilized and learnt from in dealing with problems elsewhere in Europe and globally. Presenting original articles, the volume will appeal to scholars of regional politics as well as security, international relations theory and geopolitics.

This edited volume explores the idea of Europe through a focus on its margins. The chapters in the volume inquire critically into the relations and tensions inherent in divisions between the Global North and the Global South as well as internal regional differentiation within Europe itself. In doing so, the volume stresses the need to consider Europe from critical interdisciplinary perspectives, highlighting historical and contemporary issues of racism and colonialism. While recent discussions of migration into ‘Fortress Europe’ seem to assume that Europe has clearly demarcated geographic, political and cultural boundaries, this book argues that the reality is more complex. The book explores margins conceptually and positions margins and centres as open to negotiation and contestation and characterized by ambiguity. As such, margins can be contextualized in relation to hierarchies within Europe, with different processes involved in creating boundaries and borders between different kinds of Europes and Europeans. Deploying case studies from different places, such as Iceland, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the UK, Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Sicily, European colonies in the Caribbean and the former Yugoslavia, the contributors analyse how different geopolitical hierarchies intersect with racialized subject positions of diverse people living in Europe, while also exploring issues of gender, class, sexuality, religion and nationality. Some chapters draw attention to the fortification of Europe’s ‘borderland,’ while others focus on internal hierarchies within Europe, critiquing the meaning of spatial boundaries in an increasingly digitalized Europe. In doing so, the chapters interrogate the hierarchies at play in the processes of being and becoming ‘European’ and the ongoing impacts of race and colonialism. This timely and thought-provoking collection will be of considerable significance to those in the humanities and social sciences with an interest in Europe. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

This book is the first comprehensive study of how and why the European Union has enlarged to become northern Europe’s leading power. Pami Aalto presents a new approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy studies, showing how, since 1990, the EU has enlarged to include Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and also incorporated the former East Germany. He also examines how this northern expansion has led the EU to reflect on relations with Russia and its north-western regions. This unique study includes: a fresh approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy key empirical material, including hundreds of documents, interviews and field experiments in-depth case studies of relations between the EU, Nordic states, Baltic states and Russia with its north-western regions. This is essential reading for all students of European politics, Russian studies and international relations.

Continuity and Change in the Baltic Sea Region uncovers the Baltic States’ foreign policy transition from Socialist Republics to EU member-states. Situated between the Russian Federation and Northern Europe, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have had to manoeuvre within an often delicate sub-region. Since independence, the foreign policies of the Baltic States have been dominated by de-Sovietization and European integration. Lying at the crossroads between small state theory and identity politics, this analysis engages with the development of Baltic foreign policies as post-Soviet, small and transitioning states. The authors argue that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania dictated their early foreign policy agendas based on a process of identity construction and as a response to their regional environment. This process took the Baltic States from East to West in their foreign policy aspirations. Key factors in foreign policy making and implementation are discussed, as well as external factors that shaped Baltic foreign policy agendas. Overall, the book illustrates how continuity and change in the Baltic foreign policies has been shaped by both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors. It is a study in the foreign policies of transitioning states and in this regard illuminates a much larger research area beyond its geographic focus.

HauptbeschreibungGo North was the programmatic title of an international conference on Baltic Sea Region Studies that took place at Humboldt University of Berlin from April 4-6, 2005. It was hosted by the BalticStudyNet project, which is part of the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme for the global promotion of European higher education. In order to discuss the past, present and future of Baltic Sea Region Studies, the Berlin conference brought together about fifty government representatives and scholars from all Baltic Sea Region countries, including Russia, as well as from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. The basic idea of the Go North conference was to encourage a fundamental change of perspective - away from intra-regional and towards extra-regional and truly global approaches to the Baltic Sea Region: How is the Baltic Sea region perceived when viewed, let's say, from Australia? What, if anything, would a Chinese student find typical, extraordinary, or even unique when looking at the region? Why should a scholar from Mexico, South Africa or India wish to do research in and/or about the Baltic Sea Region? Consequently, third country views on Europe's North and the Baltic Sea Region were a feature of many of the presentations and panel discussions during the conference, which are documented in this volume.

This book examines how sovereignty works in the context of European integration and postcolonialism. Focusing on a group of micro-polities associated with the European Union, it offers a new understanding of international relations in the context of modern sovereignty. This book offers a systematic and comparative analysis of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), the EU and the four affected Member States: UK, France, the Netherlands and Denmark. Contributors explore how states and state-like entities play ‘sovereignty games’ to understand how a group of postcolonial entities may strategically use their ambiguous status in relation to sovereignty. The book examines why former colonies are seeking greater room to manoeuvre on their own, whilst simultaneously developing a close relationship to the supranational EU. Methodologically sophisticated, this interdisciplinary volume combines interviews, participant observation, textual, legal and institutional analysis for a new theoretical approach to understanding the strategic possibilities and subjectivity of non-sovereign entities in international politics. Bringing together research on European integration and postcolonial theory, European Integration and Postcolonial Sovereignty Games will be of interest to students and scholars of International Relations, EU studies, Postcolonial studies, International Law and Political Theory.

A watershed in efforts to integrate "Europe", the plans to widen the EU will inevitably conflict with forces for deepening integration. Focusing on economic factors, this volume explores the key questions of widening, including why the negotiations are likely to be contentious for all concerned.