Workshop 4:

New Geopolitical Era for CEECs?The Danubian Region in IR 20 Years

after the Fall of the Iron Curtain

Application of IR Theories to the Geopolitical Changes in the Danubian Region

Ivan DIMITROV

• Theory as a tool of political science• To what extent IR theories are applicable to

CEECs– Major challenges:• West – East reorientation of foreign policy in the CEECs• Democratisation of the society• Liberalisation & economic transformation

• Inadequacies for explaining the course of events

Basic elements of the actual regional security environment within CEE

Georgeta CHIRLESANDumitru CHIRLESAN

• Goals: – Make a comparative analysis of NSS in 5 CEECs and search

convergence with the ESS– Focus on current & future security environment in the

CEECs• Levels of analysis:– evolution

• When these documents were issued & adopted• Adoption mechanisms• Precursory documents• Connection with the moment of receiving the invitation to join

NATO– Analysis of the documents’ structure– The content of the strategy

• Conclusions of the survey:– Although similarities, particularities and differences

were identified in relation to the five security strategies, the authors maintain that there is a good compatibility of the analysed documents, a common view in approaching the security issues and the ways of ensuring it at national and regional level The five countries describe the same major threats – terrorism, the proliferation of WMDs, regional conflicts, failed states and non-democratic regimes, organized crimes, they share a common vision of the international order which is based on effective multilateralism, they all place NATO ont he first place in ensuring the collective defence

– Besides, the coherence with the ESS is a solid one: HU, CZ and SK have NSS which are profoundly coherent with the ESS, the nuances appearing only to those component which do not contradict the EU idea of security. Although PL and RO developed in a different manner their security documents, they are spinning on similar orbits around the ESS.

– the five states analysed in the present study have security strategy with common and also divergent elements.

– the common denominator conferring them the characteristic of a distinct group is given by their vision upon the preferred international order

• the international legislation must reflect the changes in the character of the threats to security, must be adapted to the new changes;

• the role of the UN Security Council is seen as important but not as primordial or major;

• NATO is considered the most important security guarantor. By taking into account both the common points and also those in which the five strategies are divergent, the authors highlight that basically the five documents reflect the same general vision on the concept of security, with “soft” and “hard” accents, depending on the regional context elements.

Visegrad Group – an experience of regional cooperation in CEECs

Roland NACSA

• Structure: a cooperative forum• Main objective: to enhance integration to

European institutions (EU and NATO). Once achieved, it had to be redefined

• Importance: – sub-regional cooperation– Convergences & Divergences

• Opportunities– Enhanced cooperation may decrease the need to

big States of the EU– An example for Danube region?

Ethnic relations in Romania: The prospects for a new accommodation

Vassilis PETSINIS

Since the late 90s, the politics of interest seem to have superseded the politics of ID in Romanian political discourse. This development has resulted from a combination of catalysts, internal as well as external. With regard to the former, the popular mistrust towards Romania’s mainstream parties has often prevented these parties from forming a majority government in their own right. This prompted their leaderships to assess the prospects for alliances with smaller political actors, including the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (DUHR).

Meanwhile, the DUHR leadership started viewing their entrance to the halls of power as a good opportunity to realise, at least, their main aims. As part of the whole process, both sides have opted for a milder approach to the relations between the Romanian state and the Hungarian minority. As far as the external catalysts are concerned, the impact of Romania’s entrance to the EU has been critical upon releasing the tensions between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians.

These processes, at the elite level, have been facilitated by certain social realities in these areas where Romanians and ethnic Hungarians coexist. In Transylvania, there may not exist an articulate notion of regional ID. Nevertheless, the awareness of a shared regional heritage seems to have established some common values and provided a common cultural substratum for Romanians and ethnic Hungarians.In an overall assessment, it would not be an exaggeration to speak, at least temporarily, of a ‘Romanian success’ in the field of managing the ethnic relations.

Water ways: 20 years of the close cooperation in Danube region

Victoriia Liepkova

• Marine Strategy for the EU– Vital environment component of the future

maritime policy– objectives:• Protect more effectively the marine environment in

Europe• Achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine

waters

• Importance of the strategy:– Establishment of European marine regions on the

basis of geographical and environmental criteria– All member States are required to develop

strategies for their marine waters (and cooperate)– These strategies may help the definition of good

environmental status at regional level

• Reviews of the strategy will help countries:– To improve their management of the environment

by establishing baseline conditions and recommending better policy implementation and performance;

– To promote continuous dialogue between states by sharing information on their policies and experiences;

– To stimulate greater involvement of the public in environmental discussions and decision-making

In addition to continuing and intensifying the above-mentioned tasks, the Strategy will provide Danube region countries with the opportunity of continuously assess the need for further action in the environmental field, with a viw to contributing to cleaner Danube.