https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483 fr https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=316 Depuis le début des années 1950, le régionalisme international est considéré comme un phénomène structurant des relations internationales, ainsi qu’un vecteur de développement socio-économique et d’insertion dans la mondialisation. Cette tendance connaît, néanmoins, en Afrique et ailleurs, des difficultés qui peuvent parfois mener à une véritable crise du régionalisme. Le présent article a pour but d’étudier la crise du régionalisme en Afrique centrale sous l’approche de l’institutionnalisation de la Communauté économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique centrale (CEMAC) et de la Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique centrale (CEEAC) qui, bien qu’étant des organisations assez différentes, connaissent toutes les deux une crise institutionnelle profonde. Il s’agira ainsi d’étudier les causes des difficultés qu’éprouvent ces deux organisations régionales à se stabiliser et à remplir convenablement leurs missions. Cela permettra non seulement de comprendre pourquoi les principales thérapies retenues par la CEMAC et la CEEAC telles que les rénovations, réformes, restructurations, relances ou rationalisations, n’ont pas produit les résultats escomptés, mais également de proposer des pistes de réflexion. Pour ce faire, cet article se propose d’aller au-delà des théories classiques de l’intégration régionale et de mobiliser le néo-institutionnalisme, notamment pour ses dimensions historiques et ses choix rationnels, comme outil d’analyse. Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=316 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=318 En matière de gouvernance du numérique, l’Union européenne (EU) tend à affirmer une voie alternative aux modèles américain et chinois qui constitue une nouvelle pierre à l’édifice d’une progressive autonomisation numérique de l’Union. La présente recherche tente d’en esquisser les contours au travers de l’analyse du Digital Markets Act (DMA), entré en vigueur le 2 mai 2023. Cette régulation vise à rétablir un juste jeu de la concurrence entre les plateformes afin de permettre la croissance des entreprises européennes pourvoyeuses de services similaires aux « Big Tech » américains et chinois. Basée sur une revue de littérature ainsi qu’une analyse de documents officiels de l’UE, cette étude démontre que si l’Union accuse un certain retard en matière d’innovation technologique, elle tente aujourd’hui de promouvoir un modèle de gouvernance numérique aligné avec ses valeurs et intérêts. Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=318 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=326 In this latest exploration of the intricacies of global governance, the author employs a multidisciplinary approach to challenge the conventional state-centric paradigm. His aim is to provide a comprehensive framework that acknowledges the complexities inherent in world affairs. The central concept introduced is ‘heterarchy’, defined as “the coexistence and conflict between differently structured micro- and meso-quasi-hierarchies that compete and overlap not only across borders but also across economic-financial sectors and social groupings” (p. 1). Building upon the theoretical framework of Global Political Economy (GPE), the book delves into the dynamics of transnational decision-making, with a particular emphasis on its heterarchical settings. It raises crucial questions about the influence and empowerment of strategically positioned agents, both in the private and public sectors, within the context of multi-nodal competing institutions with overlapping jurisdictions. As a consequence, the book explores how these dynamics may undermine state capabilities, potentially allowing networks and sectoral differentiation that shape transnational policy-making. The book is divided in two sections. The first section invites scholars from various disciplines, including political science, history, anthropology, and other branches of the social sciences, to engage in a discussion about the transition from postinternationalism to a society guided by heterarchy. This discussion draws on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=326 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=327 This book edited by Liridon Lika presents a comprehensive and multidimensional analysis of the foreign policy and bilateral relations established by the young Republic of Kosovo, which celebrated its 15th Independence Day in February 17, 2023. The book is designed to scrutinize Kosovo’s foreign policy and its bilateral engagements, with a specific emphasis on its connections with twelve countries that have historically maintained diplomatic relations with this state. To maintain a coherent and structured approach, each chapter meticulously delves into the diplomatic relations of one particular country spanning the years from 1999 to 2023. This examination includes both the pre-independence period (1999-2008) and, more notably, the post-independence era (2008-2023) with a focus on the following states: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Structured around the central objective of identifying the factors that have influenced Kosovo’s foreign policy and its relationships with the aforementioned countries, this book aims to address the dearth of academic literature concerning Kosovo’s foreign policy, moving beyond the conventional examination of the roles played by internal and external actors in state formation, state-building, recognition, and membership in international organizations. Consequently, this volume holds considerable value for students of Balkan polit Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=327 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=314 Covid-19 became a global public health problem of enormous dimensions. Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments reacted to prevent the spread of the virus unilaterally in most cases, but some responses were proposed at the regional and subregional levels. The region saw the pandemic emerge in a context of ideological polarization between governments, as a bad omen for its numerous and overlapping regional groupings, which already showed weaknesses and limitations. However, the broad impact of a public health crisis could give regional organizations the opportunity to push for the achieving of a collective agreement that might drive the process further. This paper focuses on the response of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and Central American Integration System (SICA) in the face of the pandemic and beyond. Our main argument is that the public health crisis of Covid-19 entailed a potential for the relaunch of regionalism improving cooperation, unity and other advanced forms of regionalism. Case studies indicate that the active regional response to the coronavirus owed much to previously installed institutional and political capacity. In CARICOM and SICA, the political will of the presidents coincided with a semi-autonomous activation of the institutional response, leading to optimal results. Still, political leadership may compensate for institutional weakness. The experience of CELAC revealed that leadership in agenda-setting with a technical focus can help promote dialogue and cooperation in a context of ideological polarization. Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=314 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=309 Homogeneity and geographical proximity alone are not sufficient in yielding effective regional cooperation. South Asian regionalism is an apt example. While the continuous and emerging inter-state conflicts, internal domestic challenges, and increasing footsteps of China into South Asia had already affected the geopolitical scenario and the process of regionalism in South Asia, the US-China rivalry has further complicated South Asian regionalism. Against this backdrop, the hopes and aspirations of landlocked countries like Nepal to draw benefits from the regional and sub-regional forums have been severely paralyzed amidst the foreign policy securitization of great powers and regional powers. India’s response to regionalism in South Asia is driven by two factors: isolating Pakistan and containing China. At the same time, Beijing, and Washington intend to lure the South Asian countries through aid and assistance. As such, the strategic interests of great powers in the region have incapacitated regionalism in South Asia. Despite being the incumbent chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Nepal is not in a position to propel the organization ahead. It is not only because of Nepal’s small state syndrome but more because of varying degrees of great power contestations in the region. Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=309 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=297 In the past two decades, the European Union (EU) has confronted numerous crises that have jeopardized the legitimacy of its institutions and its actions, threatening the EU’s domestic and international legitimacy. However, crises also present opportunities for the EU to assert itself by implementing effective policies, fostering cooperation among Member States, and bolstering its legitimacy as a significant actor and crisis manager. Normative ideas aligned with society’s values and interests have emerged as helpful tools for framing and justifying policy choices in a way that can increase public support and the EU’s legitimacy. Such ideas are disseminated through leaders’ discourses, particularly on social media, as part of a soft power strategy aimed at attracting, rather than coercing, both domestic and international audiences. Analyzing leaders’ discourses offers critical insights into the use of soft power within international institutions and its potential to shape perceptions, ultimately strengthening their legitimacy. This paper examines the soft power references to the normative ideas of unity, solidarity, and values incorporated in the Twitter communications of three prominent EU leaders – Ursula Von der Leyen, Charles Michel, and Josep Borrell – during the Covid-19 and Ukrainian crises. The analysis reveals that these leaders delivered a coordinated discourse, using cross-pollinated soft power references during these crises. This approach demonstrates their efforts to turn crises into opportunities that strengthen the EU’s legitimacy and relevance, contributing to a more resilient future. This study contributes to advance academic understanding of the EU’s soft power strategy, legitimation discourse, and crisis management. Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=297 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=305 Introduction L’Amérique latine souffre d’un régionalisme, foisonnant et inabouti. L’un des derniers paradoxes en date, révélateur de cette réalité, est le projet de concert régional anti-inflationniste lancé le 5 avril 2023, au Mexique, par le président Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Rendez-vous avait été pris en mai, à Cancún, pour concrétiser le projet. Cette rencontre a été reportée à une date ultérieure, non précisée. Les institutions de coopération latino-américaines abondent. Leur nombre n’a cessé de s’allonger au fil des ans. Au point qu’il est parfois difficile d’en établir une liste exhaustive. Cette abondance coopérative contraste avec la situation constatée en l’Europe. Tout en effet, pour reprendre une terminologie en usage outre atlantique, se résume sur le « vieux continent », aux avatars du Marché commun, devenu au fil des ans, Communauté européenne, puis Union européenne (UE). Sa structure est complexe, diversifiée, en expansion, jugée parfois excessive. Mais in fine renvoie à un tronc resté unique. Si l’on évalue les fruits portés par les constructions régionales d’Amérique latine, foisonnantes, à celles d’Europe, en singulier, on note une différence perceptible, au premier examen. La floraison des organisations latino-américaines, est très souvent restée en état végétatif. Tandis que le côté européen vit au quotidien les retombées d’acquis collectifs, en devenir permanent. Comment comprendre ce paradoxe ? Le sens commun suggère diverses réponses, qui se révè Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=305 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=283 L’article propose, à l’aide de données chiffrées récentes, d’analyser les conséquences directes et indirectes de la pandémie de Covid-19 sur les populations de migrants économiques en provenance de trois des cinq pays d’Asie centrale, le Tadjikistan, le Kirghizstan et l’Ouzbékistan installés en Russie et contribuant par leurs envois d’argent à une part considérable du PIB de leurs pays respectifs. Il s’intéresse au remodelage du paysage migratoire des Centrasiatiques en Russie depuis le début de la pandémie de Covid-19 en janvier 2020 jusqu’à la crise migratoire inverse suscitée par le déclenchement de la guerre contre l’Ukraine par le régime actuel de la Fédération de Russie. Il propose une analyse de l’articulation entre le phénomène des « mobilités empêchées » et celui des temporalités perturbées qui permet de mieux cerner l’impact socio-économique des crises en cours et le développement de nouvelles formes de vulnérabilités. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=283 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=292 In recent years, residence by investment schemes (RBI), so-called “golden visas”, and citizenship by investment schemes (CBI), so-called “golden passports”, have been established in several countries around the world. They are legal mechanisms of states that allow third-country nationals to obtain a residence permit or citizenship in a host country on the basis of a significant financial investment in his/her territory under less stringent conditions than under the standard procedures. Although this topic has received global attention, we analyse, in this article, the present issue in the European Union (EU) regional context. From the beginning, these schemes have been a point of contention between the EU institutions and the Member States that operate them. Such practices are generally perceived as opening up a privileged path for the richest third-country nationals to the EU territory and EU freedoms with an impact on all EU Member States. Due to the problems related to these schemes, combating RBI and CBI has become an EU agenda. Ever since the establishment of golden visas and golden passports policies in some EU Member States, they have been subject to external influence, not only by pressure from the EU but also by other circumstances (home affairs and public opinion in Member States, Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) with a direct impact on their functioning and their very existence. This article primarily identifies these circumstances and analyses their implications for RBI and CBI schemes in the EU. At the end of the article, we conclude that in the regional context of the EU, the policies of golden visas and golden passports are in crisis and their existence in their current form is under threat. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100 https://popups.uliege.be/2593-9483/index.php?id=292