Politics of the European Union: Literature Review

Politics of the European Union: Literature Review Nugent, N. (2003) The Government and Politics of the European Union, Palgrave. Nugent offers an analysis of the European Union in a historical context. He argues that many of the problems that sceptics tend to rely upon as criticism for EU membership were, in themselves, already present before the integration of the EU actually occurred. Many critics assume that the EU has significantly eroded and displaced the sovereignty of states. Nugent, however, posits that this occurred much earlier, and that integration into the EU cannot solely constitute the basis for erosion of sovereignty in nation-states. He suggests, in a historical analysis, that â€Å"the member states of the EU were seeing their sovereignties being steadily eroded long before the EC / EU was established† (1), and the rest of the book is informed by this view. He argues that the EU plays only a minor role in eroding state sovereignty, as broader economic factors such as movements in financial markets, multinational corporations and the general side-effects of dominance by the U.S. tend tow ard this model. In fact, Nugent suggests that the EU may in fact help to preserve autonomy in some ways because it provides a voice, albeit one marred by bureaucracy and corruption, that can compete economically with America and the emergent China. Nugent looks at the question of the EU in a historical way. He provides a historical analysis of state relations prior to the instigation of the EU. In this analysis, he insinuates that, while prior to the war states were notably more different in economic, cultural and in political ways, the period after the war signalled a significant shift in the ways the European states tended to interact. The integration of the EU was therefore defined by these factors, and present criticisms about the overwhelming bureaucracies that operate in Brussels merely represent something that is necessary. Bache, I George S (2006) The Politics of the European Union, 2nd Ed., Oxford University Press The Politics of the European Union provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of the operative and dynamic processes that determine how the EU functions from day to day. While some historical analysis is supplied, the focus is also focussed upon certain key issues in government. The book is split into five discrete sections. The first section looks at the theories of European integration, and essentially provides the background as to why European integration should (or shouldn’t) happen, dependent upon a number of different views. It also looks at how the European Union should be organised based upon these theories, and looks at ways in which the European Union should go in the future if it is to be adherent to these particular theories. Part two looks at the history of the European Union, and upon how certain developments in European politics led to the integration of the EU. Part three provides an atomised look at the various member states of the EU, with a particular fo cus upon Germany, France and Britain. Although other member states are mentioned in a brief chapter, the absence of analyses of other significant countries in the EU, and more detailed analysis of Eastern European, Spanish and Scandanavian member states gives the book a certain biases toward the previous three countries. Part four provides an interesting analysis of how the various institutions of the European Union operate, with a focus upon the nuts and bolts of the day to day functioning of policy change and implementation, rather than more detailed historical analysis. Finally, Part 5 looks at how the EU has implemented certain policies and why, ranging from its policies on agriculture, on the single market, on the monetary union and on external relations. Overall, the book provides a good textbook overview of the basic functioning, purpose, and theory behind the EU. Bomberg, E Stubb A. (2003), The European Union: How Does it Work?, Oxford University Press Again, The European Union: How Does it Work? provides an interesting and detailed analysis of the various ways in which the European Union has come to be what it is, and also focuses upon the institutional, theoretical and historical factors that have determined how and why it operates. The book is organised in a similar way to the previous book, insofar as it focuses first upon the historical and theoretical basis for European Integration, and then looks in more detail at the various policies that have been implemented, and the member states that act as players in the EU. Of particular importance is the analysis of how member states operate within the complex framework of the EU. Bomberg and Stubb concentrate upon the complexities of the EU, and try to rationalise the often overwhelmingly complicated issues at stake, using simple logical statements. They argue that, far from being an institution racked with bureaucracy which serves neither the interests of the EU nor the interests o f individual states, that the mechanisms and institutions in place create a series of checks and balances that allow the opinion of every participant state and political parties that operate within these states to function more appropriately. They argue that â€Å"What emerge as national interests from domestic systems of preference formation remain central to how the EU works†, and also suggest that what is implemented officially is also affected by considerable and sophisticated â€Å"horizontal networking† behind the scenes. This tendency to look at the actual, rather than the theoretical or institutional realities of the EU is a strength of this book, however, this intrinsically makes the project of the book more ambiguous and difficult to pinpoint. Rather than providing a coherent overview of the surfaces of the European Union, the book delves into the complexities and the awkward issues that inform and orient decisions surrounding policy, power and practice. Describe how Politics comes into the Process of European integration The process of European integration is a very complex one, and if a nation state chooses to integrate itself into the complex political arena of the European Union, one has to consider the effects that this will have upon the given state internally, and externally. In essence, the integration of European states means that a given state will take its interests from the domestic front and into the European Union. As Bomberg and Stubb (2003, p. 70) comment, â€Å"once a state joins the Union, politics may begin at home but no longer end there. National politics, polities, and policies become ‘Europeanized’.† As such, the externalisation of internal quandaries that, previously were a matter for the sovereign state, now have to be considered as an integral, institutional and political whole. While Nugent argues in The Government and Politics of the European Union that sovereignty was being eroded anyway before the processes of European integration took place, the polit ical processes that operated within nation states to deal with problems concerned with globalisation were not. A political climate emerges in the process of European integration as a result of conflicting or combined interests that interweave. Such issues as the integration into the single market, the single European currency, and agricultural policy levelled to prevent the overt exploitation of free markets and the production of substandard goods. The question of governance is also a complex political one regarding the EU, and the question of who governs shines light upon how politics tends to function and become a part of the process of European integration. The policy process of the EU is extraordinary in global political affairs, because it is not governed by a central body, moreover, it is governed by a series of nation states Stubb and Bomberg (2003, p. 148) comment that â€Å"No state or other international organization makes policies through such a complex, transnational process in which politicians, officials, and interested groups from across a continent interact to shape – sometimes to prevent – shared policy outcomes.† As such, politics becomes intertwined into European integration because of the melange of interests that operate under the umbrella of state, governmental, or political interest. Because no state, political or official group is in overall control of the policy making process, poli tics is essentially a part of European integration because it is via the institutions and the backroom political wrangling that the European Union makes its overall policy and political decisions. The political process in Europe enters the system through a variety of means. While supranational organisations tend to confirm political issues, it is often left to the member states and elected representatives of these states to conduct policy based upon how they would like political developments to proceed. The EU is an example of â€Å"networked governance†, and the ways in which the member states, individuals, pressure groups and other officials interact in the EU act to determine overall political policy. While a coherent political policy based upon the interests of these states tends to be cumbersome and bureaucratic, this is how politics tends to become instigated into the process of European integration. By becoming a member of the European Union, states have to recognise that their own sovereignty has been reduced by a political process that operates within a more European context. What are the challenges facing European integration today? The EU faces a number of significant challenges as it changes to adapt to new economic, political and supranational factors that determine and legitimate its efficacy as a political institution. Firstly, the expansion of the EU poses significant challenges for both existent member states and those that are new to the European Union. For instance, the integration of Eastern European member states such as Poland and the Czech Republic have proven to be controversial issues, because both these countries have a significantly different economy than those that are currently established. The challenges that face the EU is to consider the political climate of these emergent countries while making sure that the interests of those states currently in the European Union are considered. The policy processes and changes that take place in the European context must juggle these interests, while remaining firm to previous trade policies. As such, in the words of Bomberg and Stubb (p. 71), expansion and continued expansion into Eastern Europe and possibly Turkey and Cyprus, facilitates the importance of tolerance within the European Unions institutional framework: â€Å"managing difference is thus a key challenge to the Union.† Secondly, the economic challenges facing the European Union on a global basis will undoubtedly prove to be extremely important, especially following the successful implementation of the Euro into economic affairs. The EU is a significant global player on the economic field, and trade with the emergent countries of China and India as well as with established superpowers such as America and Japan have to be considered very carefully if successful relations are to be established. The presence of global aid programmes and other benevolent factors such as an easily mobilised team of peacekeepers is also an issue that is linked indirectly to processes of globalisation. The recent crisis in the Balkans was marred by the inability for the EU to make a coherent decision on troop assignment to the region. As such, issues of defence and aid may prove to be one of the central challenges facing the EU in the future. The relationship between the EU and the states outside of the EU may prove essential to determining a process whereby aid or trade can be granted to developing countries in a system of integrated change. The EU’s response to global crises has been far from efficient in recent years, and changes in the dynamic of the EU, which includes its expansion into regions of Eastern and Central Europe have further exacerbated tensions on this issue. While the EU have always been relatively generous in the giving of aid to other countries, the general trend posited in the WTO report is that the giving of aid is simply not enough to resolve problems on a global scale. Instead, the EU have to implement foreign trade more effectively into its policy, and, because of varying interests from its different participants, this may prove to be a stumbling block for more successful European integration. Lax spending programmes and bureaucracy concerning the giving of foreign aid may also hamper deve lopments in the global context: â€Å"the Commission had far to go before it escaped charges that it was the ‘worst development agency in the world’ (Bomberg Stubb 2003, p. 204). Does spill-over imply that there are no limits to the number of policies that can be dealt with at the European level? The concept of â€Å"spill-over† is defined as a process whereby the integration in one sphere of policy begets a residual impact in other spheres of policy, and creates a more generalised integrated series of policies in all areas of the European Union. For instance, the integration of agricultural policy in Europe tends to affect the internal policies of that sovereign state in ways that harmonise it with other nation states. Naturally, this facilitates the integration process because it allows for discrepancies and disagreements between various regions, officials and member states to be ironed out more generally. As such, it can be argued that this concept of ‘spill-over’ allows for significantly greater integration to occur, and the gradual homogenization of European member states may provide a forum by which all member states operate on a very similar basis. Therefore, by this method, all policy decisions can be discussed in the European Union. However, this system of spill-over is not without its flaws or its criticisms. For instance, political processes in some powerful member states that feel directly affected or marginalised by processes in the European government may not succumb to the integrative factors of spill-over, and regional, geographical and political factors still require consideration. While domestic policy is further eroded by the concept of spill-over, some tenets of policy that impede upon concepts of sovereignty, or perhaps indirectly attack or influence one particular region or nation-state operating within the framework of the European Union may disallow an invasive series of policy making decisions to be integrated into the European agenda. While a great many issues have been affected by the concept of spill-over, and the general process of unification that occurs as a result of spill-over into other policies on a European level tend toward a process of unification, some policies still remain too sens itive or regionalised to implement into European political processes. Bibliography Bache, I. George, S. (2006), The Politics of the European Union, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press. Bomberg E. Stubb A., ed. (2005), The European Union: How does it work?, Oxford University Press. Nugent, N. (2003), The Government and Politics of the European Union, Pelgrave.

China Trade from Early 17th Century to Mid 19th Century Essay

Around 17th and 18th century, Western countries were extremely eager to reach the profitable Chinese market due to its privileged geological location. Although China had traded their riches with Europe along the Silk Road for centuries, Chinese government were afraid that the sea trade to the south would potentially corrupt their â€Å"imperial kingdom† and further try to conquer the country. From 1700 onwards, the government established a set of rigid restrictions imposing the practice of Co-hong to confine foreign trades and merchants in Canton. However, by late 18 century, the trading system seemed to change. The British commenced the opium trade, which created a steady demand among Chinese addicts and further solved the chronic imbalanced trade. As the Opium War broke out with Britain, China was no longer on the top of the world. The Celestial Empire not only was forced to be subservient to British trading regulations, but also somewhat became a semi-colonial country. The East India Company founded in 1600 that held a monopoly in east India by the British government was rapidly enlarging its global trading influence in China. By sending a company trader to address their concern regarding to the unreasonable restrictions on trade in Canton, the representative James Flint was arrested and imprisoned for being breaking the â€Å"Canton trading law†. This incident showed China’s superior attitude toward Westerners and how they manipulated the trade irrationally in their best interest disregarding the concerns of foreign traders. The growing number of foreign traders in the late eighteenth century strongly threatened the Qing. They feared that the trade with foreign merchants would give the opportunity for Westerners to corrupt China; therefore, a set of laws that was so called â€Å"Canton system† was established. The system restricted all European trades to only one port Canton and foreign merchants were forbidden to abode in the city except trading season. Moreover, the Europeans had to obey the licensed Co-Hong merchants, of who were responsible for controlling the trading behavior in Canton. As a result, these complex and irksome rules created a tension between foreigners and Chinese merchants, British traders especially. In 1792, a British ambassador Lord George Macartney set sail to China hoping to seek the approval of the Qing Emperor to loosen some of the trading restrictions to the British traders. Yet, the letters to the Emperor was unreservedly rejected; the response was fairly disappointing. Emperor Qianlong’s edicts to George III in response to McCartney’s demands on English traders showed his arrogant and condescending attitude toward the British. â€Å"As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for you country’s manufacturers. (105 Cheng and Letz with Spence) Furthermore, in his second edict, he stated, â€Å" But your Ambassador has now put forward new requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne’s principle to â€Å"treat strangers from afar with indulgence† and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the world over. † (106 Cheng and Letz with Spence) He describes foreigners as â€Å"barbarians, which showed how he disrespected all Westerners and measured China as the most superior in the world; other countries would have obey Chinese â€Å"law†. British viewed Qing’s legal code as unreasonable and perceived the Chinese officials as obstinate governance, which further exasperated the existed tension between the two nations. Meanwhile, a network of opium was widely distributed throughout China. In order to pay for the tremendous demand of Chinese tea, silk and porcelain pottery in Europe, Britain and other European nations determined to import the one product which became the factor that corrupted the Imperial Empire: opium. Opium addiction level arose in a short period of time, which affected not only the imperial troop but also the governmental officials. Thus, Emperor Daoguang appointed Commissioner Lin to confiscate opium from English ships and refused to pay indemnity to the British traders. The efforts of the Qing dynasty to coerce the opium restraints resulted in the trading conflict, which had already existed for decades between Britain and China triggered the Opium War in 1840. Lord Palmerston’s dispatch to the Emperor of China was a message to inform the Qing that Great Britain would no longer be submissive. The British government therefore has determined at once to send out a Naval and Military Force to the Coast of China to act in support of these demands, and in order to convince the Imperial Government that the British Government attaches the upmost importance to his matter, and that the affair is one which will not admit of delay. † (125 Cheng and Letz with Spence) The dispatc h simply showed the Britain’s intentions to use force to protect its subjects in China, Canton in particular. After the damaging defeats in the war, the first unequal treaty, Treaty of Nanjing was signed after the War, which awakened China from its fantasy of superiority. In the Treaty, China opened several ports and exposed its markets to Western merchants, which turned the central kingdom into a semi-colonial country. Consequently, the role in the national economy had reversed. China was now forced to obey all the demands in the Treaty of Nanjing signed with the British. China was no longer the â€Å"Celestial Empire†; inversely, it was slowly sliding down from the top of the world.

The 2014 Isla Vista Massacre Essay - 612 Words

This past Friday of Memorial Day weekend 22-year old Elliot Rodger, son of the assistant director of The Hunger Games went on a rampage in the coastal town of Isla Vista, neighboring the UC Santa Barbara campus where six students were murdered in total plus multiple injured by who the media and any mainstream news station would label â€Å"a very lonely and mentally disturbed young man†. But you only have to watch his final YouTube video called â€Å"Elliot Rodger’s Retribution† to know that he knew exactly what he was doing. In this chilling video he sits in his black BMW expressing his clear superiority complex and sense of entitlement towards women. He lays out his final plan saying â€Å"On the day of retribution, I will enter the hottest sorority†¦show more content†¦At these camps, the vast majority of the female population will be deliberately starved to death [†¦] A few of them would be spared, however, for the sake of reproduction. These women would be kept and bred in secret labs†. If you Google Elliot Rodgers, majority of the articles will detract from the real issue, instead focusing on how Rodger’s might have had Asperger syndrome, and how this was the real cause of the premeditated murders. Obviously though, violent misogyny is not a symptom of mental illness. So it literally makes no sense to deny that systematic misogyny had anything to do with Elliot Rodger’s actions despite his explicit statements pointing out that it did. His emphasis on how unacceptable it is for himself to be a virgin at 22 years old reveals how bizarrely hyper sexualized American society is in comparison to other countries. In Asian or Africa 22 is a normal age to still be a virgin. Only in America is a young dude who has not â€Å"scored pussy† considered inadequate in the social rankings until he’s no longer a virgin. Only in America does it this urge a man to go on a shooting rampage just because he felt as if he didn’t achieve manhood since no one wanted to sleep with him. People do not want to admit that the basics of masculinity taught and deeply rooted into the men and boys in our culture are eliciting patriarchal violence, because if they did it would force them to change the way they think about their identity. White menShow MoreRelatedMass Violence And The Effects Of Mass Shootings981 Words   |  4 Pagesviolence created by criminals using guns. In the small town of Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Adam Lanza, killed students and staff members. Lanza took twenty students and six adults lives during the massacre. Lanza also killed his mother in her bed before going to the elementary school. Police said, gunman took his own life. He took out a handgun and shot himself in a classroom as law enforcement officers started to approach him. â€Å"The US media diagnosedRead MoreMass Violence And Mass Shootings980 Words   |  4 Pagesviolence created by criminals using guns. In the small town of Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Adam Lanza, killed students and staff members. Lanza took twenty students and six adults’ lives during the massacre. Lanza also killed his mother in her bed before going to the elementary school. Police said, gunman took his own life. He took out a handgun and shot himself in a classroom as law enforcement officers started to approach him. â€Å"The US media diagnosedRead MoreMass Murderers : A Diverse Group Of People1724 Words   |  7 Pagesof the Sandy Hook Shooting. Power/control killers are hedonistic, taking pleasure in their victims’ suffering, and may kill to satisfy some self-indulgent goal, like Capone in his Valentine’s Day Massacre that was speculated to have helped him retain territorial dominance (â€Å"St. Valentine’s Day Massacre†). Mission-oriented killers are murderers that believe they are cleansing the Earth, like the Boston Strangler who had presumed that the women he had killed were worthless. Similar to mission-orientedRead MoreThe Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting2067 Words   |  9 PagesThe reason for the numerous amounts of reformed gun laws in the past century are due to the United States history of deadly massacres. Gun violence has always been a hot topic because of constant crimes involving firearms over the years. Recent history has alluded even more debate to possibly create or reform even more gun laws. In the story of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the New York Times addressed what had happened. This shooting killed twenty six people, twenty in which were childrenRead MorePolice Shootings Of Sane As Well As Mentally Ill Suspects1808 Words   |  8 Pagesshould also begin to enforce the laws that are already in place. On the morning of 24 October 2014, 15-year-old Jayden Fryberg calmly walked into the Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria where his cousins were sitting, pulled out a Beretta .40 caliber handgun, and opened fire on Zoe Galasso, Andrew Fryberg, Nate Hatch, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, and Gia Soriano before killing himself (Washington Post, Oct 2014). The gun that was used was similar to the one that his father had given him for his birthday

Michelle Obama Staff Size and Salaries

Michelle Obamas staff consisted of 18 employees who got paid nearly $1.5 million in salary in 2010, according to the administrations Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff. The size of Michelle Obamas 2010 staff is comparable to the staff of former First Lady Laura Bush in 2008. Both First Ladies had 15 staffers directly under them, plus three more in the Office of the White House Social Secretary. The 15 employees who were members of Michelle Obamas staff in the Office of the First Lady were paid $1,198,870 in 2010. Three more staffers worked in the Office of the Social Secretary, which is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the First Lady; they earned a total of $282,600, the administrations Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff stated. Since 1995, the White House has been required to deliver a report to Congress listing the title and salary of every White House Office employee. List of Michelle Obamas Staff Here is a list of Michelle Obamas staff and their salaries in 2010. To see the annual salaries of other top U.S. government officials go here. Natalie F. Bookey Baker, executive assistant to the chief of staff to the first lady, $45,000;Alan O. Fitts, deputy director of advance and trip director for the first lady, $61,200;Jocelyn C. Frey, deputy assistant to the president and director of policy and projects for the first lady, $140,000;Jennifer Goodman, deputy director of scheduling and events coordinator for the first lady, $63,240;Deilia A.L. Jackson, deputy associate director of correspondence for the first lady, $42,000;Kristen E. Jarvis, special assistant for scheduling and traveling aide to the first lady, $51,000;Camille Y. Johnston, special assistant to the president and director of communications for the first lady, $102,000;Tyler A. Lechtenberg, director of correspondence for the first lady, $50,000;Catherine M. Lelyveld, director and press secretary to the first lady, $85,680;Dana M. Lewis, special assistant and personal aide to the first lady, $66,000;Trooper Sanders, deputy director of policy and projects for the first lady, $85,000;Susan S. Sher, assistant to the president and chief of staff and counsel to the first lady, $172,200;Frances M. Starkey, director of scheduling and advance for the first lady, $80,000;Semonti M. Stevens, associate director and deputy press secretary to the first lady, $53,550;and Melissa Winter, special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to the first lady, $102,000. Other Michelle Obama Staff The White House social secretary is responsible for planning and coordinating all social events and entertaining of guests - a sort of Event Planner in Chief for the president and first lady, if you will. The White House social secretary works for the first lady and serves as head of the White House Social Office, which plans everything from the casual and educational student workshops to elegant and sophisticated state dinners welcoming world leaders. In the Office of White House Social Secretary were the following staffers: Erinn J. Burnough, deputy director and deputy social secretary, $66,300;Joseph B. Reinstein, deputy director and deputy social secretary, $66,300;and Julianna S. Smoot, deputy assistant to the president and White House social secretary, $150,000. Melania Trump’s Leaner Staff According to the June 2017 report to Congress on White House personnel, First Lady Melania Trump maintains a significantly smaller staff than her predecessor, Michelle Obama. As of June 2017, only four people were listed as working directly for First Lady Trump for a total combined annual salary of $486,700. They were: Lindsay B. Reynolds -- $179,700.00 -- assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first ladyStephanie A. Grisham -- $115,000.00 – special assistant to the president and director of communications for the first ladyTimothy G. Tripepi -- $115,000.00 – special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff of operations for the first ladyMary†Kathryn Fisher -- $77,000.00 – deputy director of advance for the first lady As did the Obama administration, the Trump administration acknowledged several additional White House staffers beyond those listed in the report with the term â€Å"first lady† in their titles. However, even counting those employees, the total of nine for the current first lady compared to a high of 24 for Michelle Obama, Melania Trump’s total staff is relatively small. For sake of comparison, First Lady Hillary Clinton retained a staff of 19, and Laura Bush at least 18. Updated by Robert Longley