Jean Monnet Activity Report 2013-2014

 

Information and Research Activity ‘Towards a More Resilient European

Neighborhood: Security Cooperation and the Management of Current and Future Threats in Europe’s Strategic Orbit’

 

To maintain security for its member states and citizens is clearly one of the fundamental purposes of the European Union, especially if security is defined as a low probability of damage to acquired values. The European Union prides itself in being a community founded on shared values among its members, and its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) frequently refers to a ‘vision of a ring of countries, sharing the EU’s fundamental values and objectives’, while realising that the ‘degree of commitment to common values’ may differ across the different partner countries (European Commission, 2004). With its focus on Europe’s evolving security landscape, the Jean Monnet Information and Research Activity ‘Towards a More Resilient European Neighborhood: Security Cooperation and the Management of Current and Future Threats in Europe’s Strategic Orbit’ bridges a gap in knowledge and understanding of current and new threats in Europe’s strategic orbit and contributes to development of research-led teaching in European Security Studies by considering theoretical and practical issues relating to security cooperation between the EU and its neighbourhood. 

The aim of this project was to increase the quality of higher education in the field of European integration in the area of European security and contribute to the development of research-lead teaching in Ukraine by promoting independent and critical thinking, empowerment of the academics as agents of change and applying new research and teaching tools from an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. As a part of our continuity project (Jean Monnet Spring Seminar on European Security, 2008 – p/t) this project offered an interdisciplinary program featuring a variety of lectures, seminars, panel discussions, briefings and simulation games in the field of European Security.

The project Towards a More Resilient European Neighborhood was implemented in Ukraine in the period between September 1, 2013 and August, 31, 2014. The project’s ambition was to contribute to overcoming considerable shortcomings and gaps in EU and NATO member states and the European Neighborhood countries, in particular, in Ukraine, in the systematic study of early-warning, conflict prevention and management tools as well as crisis management and cooperation mechanisms.

During the project implementation in Ukraine we have faced dramatic events and processes, started from the mass protests in Kiev (‘the Euromaidan’), annexation of the Crimea by Russia and war in Eastern Ukraine. Ukraine became the main flashpoint on the map of the Eastern Neighborhood and the main corner-stone and challenge to the European security architecture after the Cold War. Under such conditions, the Informational and Research Activity ‘Towards a More Resilient European Neighborhood: Security Cooperation and the Management of Current and Future Threats in Europe’s Strategic Orbit’ aimed at in-depth and broad and theoretically well-grounded understanding of current and future threats and challenges that the EU faces in its neighborhood regions, and is particular well-timed.

 At the core of the project’s concept was the spirit of a truly interactive and  meaningful collaboration between representatives of academic, policy and civil society communities from EU and NATO member states and the European Neighborhood countries through active exploitation of already existent early warning and conflict prevention systems and creation of new strategic forecasting, analytical scaffolding and preventive mechanisms based on synergy of independent and critical thinking and applying new research and teaching tools from an interdisciplinary and cross cultural perspective.

Text of the report is 2014_Jean_Monnet_Information_and_Research_project_.docx

The program of the event is /2014_NATO_Jean_Monnet_ASI_Final_Program.docx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR INSTITUTIONAL STUDIES

in partnership with

University of Birmingham, UK

European Security Journal, Routledge

and financial support of Jean Monnet Program, European Commission

invite you to take part in online Delphi survey as a part of the

2014 Jean Monnet Spring Seminar on European Security

‘Towards a More Resilient European Neighborhood: 

Security Cooperation and the Management of Current

 and Future Threats in Europe’s Strategic Orbit’

Dear colleagues, 

The fourth Jean Monnet Spring Seminar on European Security, a continuity project sponsored by Jean Monnet Programme,

European Commission, implemented by International Association for Institutional Studies 

and co-directored by Prof. Tetyana Malyarenko, Donetsk State University of Management, Ukraine

and Prof. Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK, will take place in May 2014.

This year’s research project will assess new security threats and cooperation challenges between the EU

and the European Neighbourhood at four different levels of analysis: the local, state, regional and global. 

The goal of the research component of this project is to provide a broad and theoretically well-grounded understanding

of current and future threats and challenges that the EU faces in its neighbouring regions (the Southern neighbourhood,

the Balkans, the Eastern neighbourhood and Russia). The research project is aimed at creation of a pan-Europe participatory

e-based foresight platform in order to assess current and new threats for European security and cooperation challenges between

the EU and the European neighbourhood. Through a participatory approach, the project will facilitate the emergence of policy

recommendations that focus on a new comprehensive concept of the ENP that can link internal and external dimensions

of EU security and enhance EU’s ability to work with its neighbours and partners.

The research project will run one year and consist of three phases. 

In the first phase (November 2013 – March 2014) we will bring together a wide group of international experts

and stakeholders through an e-based platform to participate in the Delphi survey. About 200-250 experts will be involved.

Statements/questions for the international Delphi survey will be produced by a core group of experts responsible for specific

geographic regions (Prof. Sven Biscop - the EU; Prof. Tetyana Malyarenko and Prof. David Galbreath – the Eastern Neighbourhood;

Dr. Stefan Meister and Dr. Sergey Markedonov – Russia; Prof. Stefan Wolff - the Southern Neighbourhood;

Prof. Florian Bieber – the Balkans) in cooperation with other experts. 

In May 2014 International Association for Institutional Studies will host the 2014 Jean Monnet Spring Seminar on European Security

entitled ‘The ENP at 10: Lessons for Managing Current and Future Threats in the European Neighbourhood’ (phase 2). 

The input generated at the first phase will be discussed and refined at the second phase which initiates a debate on European security

by bringing stakeholders from across Europe and the Neighbourhood together in a research seminar attended by about

100 international experts and junior faculty, creating an opportunity for in-depth discussion and follow-up interviews with relevant experts. 

Phase 3 (May 2013 - August 2014) will focus on the identification of interdisciplinary research needs in the area of European Security Studies.

The main outcome of phase 3 will be the publication of a special issue of the Routledge academic journal ‘European Security

(editor-in-chief David Galbreath, guest editors: Sven Biscop, Tetyana Malyarenko, and Stefan Wolff)

and a comprehensive hand-book ‘European Security in an Era of Complex Challenges’ (edited by Tetyana Malyarenko)

to be published in Ukrainian and Russian for universities in Ukraine and the CIS.

 

To apply as an expert for participation in the online Delphi survey, please submit the following information

to Tetyana Malyarenko tatjana@dsum.edu.ua by 5 November 2013:

 

A)      Your contact details.

B)       A CV with a list of publications.

C)       Information about your region of expertise.

D)      An indication whether you are interested in participating in the Jean Monnet Spring Seminar in Kiev in May 2014

      with a presentation and/or in submitting an article for one of our planned publications.

 

Thanks to generous funding from the European Commission, we are in a position to offer a number of travel

and accommodation grants for participation in the Jean Monnet Spring Seminar in Kiev in May 2014.

 

Sincerely Yours,

Tetyana Malyarenko

Stefan Wolff