Clingendael

REVISED STRUCTURE OF THE CLINGENDAEL INSTITUTE IN 2012

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0100

The Clingendael Institute welcomes the new year in a different set up. As of January 2012, the European Studies, Diplomatic Studies and Security and Conflict Programmes formally no longer exist. Read more�

Training Effectieve Belangenbehartiging in de Europese Unie, 21 en 22 maart 2012

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:34:52 +0100

Nog enkele plaatsen vrij

In maart 2012 vindt een nieuwe editie plaats van de succesvolle training Effectieve Belangenbehartiging in de Europese Unie van Instituut Clingendael. In het programma ligt de nadruk op het bekwamen in de soft skills voor effectieve belangenbehartiging; lobbyen, representatie en onderhandelen. Daarnaast is er in het programma aandacht voor de Brusselse en Nederlandse besluitvorming, de werkprocessen en cultuur van de Europese instellingen, het uitwisselen van ervaringen in de Europese lobby en het opstellen van een plan van aanpak op basis van het eigen dossier. Read more�

Lunch Seminar �The European economy in search of growth�, 27 February 2012

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:22:29 +0100

For several years the European Union has been focusing on solving the crisis, but now the European economy has to get back on track. The European leaders will discuss this at the Spring European Council of 1-2 March. This meeting will evolve around the European Semester, the monitoring of the economic policies of the member states. Read more�

The Emerging EU Diplomatic System: new special issue of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:21:14 +0100

In its first issue of 2012, co-edited by Petar Petrov, Karolina Pomorska and Sophie Vanhoonacker, the Hague Journal of Diplomacy brings together a series of articles by scholars and practitioners highlighting different dimensions of the post-Lisbon EU diplomatic system. Working on the establishment of a more coherent and effective European foreign policy appears to be difficult, not in the least because decision-makers cannot agree on whether the staff should come from the Commission, the Council Secretariat or the national capitals. However, several of the contributors warn against too hasty conclusions and point to the need to give the new service the time to get up and run properly. The question remains whether in a rapidly changing international and diplomatic context the EU can afford to wait. In short, the newly established European External Action Service suffers from the behaviour of member states and the different EU-institutions, as they have mainly been preoccupied with defending their institutional interests. Read more�

CIEP Briefing Paper: Germany�s Energiewende: Redefining the Rules of the Energy Game

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:33:17 +0100

German energy policy is increasingly being influenced by a diverse and growing group of renewable energy supporters. They pursue a transition towards an energy system predominantly based on renewable energy. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, these actors became dominant in Germany�s energy policy arena. Consequently, the Energiewende, as the transition has been coined, has been taken up as a broad societal challenge, pursued by parties across the political spectrum and actively supported by a large part of the German public. Read more�

PINPoints #37 Network Perspectives

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:59:56 +0100

In this issue: I. William Zartman with negotiations in transitions based on the current research project of PIN into the internal negotiation processes of the Arab Spring and Mark Anstey on understanding evil, based on his work for the new PIN Book The Slippery Slope to Genocide and the upcoming PIN Research Reconciliation as Preventive Negotiation. Furthermore, four articles, based on the PIN Roadshow in Tashkent late October 2011, describe respectively the difficulties for regional cooperation in Central Asia (Paul Meerts), the limits of negotiations for Post-Soviet states due to a lack of two level games within the countries (Mikhail Troitskiy), the EU negotiation culture and the options it creates for non-Member States while negotiating with the EU (Wilbur Perlot) and regional nuclear free zones (of which Central Asia is one) as a way to reach a nuclear free world (Mordechai Melamud). Furthermore, Paul Meerts and Wilbur Perlot shine a light on the costs of the handshake Nicolas Sarkozy refused to give to David Cameron and I. William Zartman discusses talking with the Taleban. Read more�

The Political Economy of State-building in Situations of Fragility and Conflict: from Analysis to Strategy

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:41:33 +0100

Fragile states have been at the heart of Western development and security strategy for over a decade. Bringing together the findings of five case studies of states that show clear signs of illegitimacy or a weak capacity to govern, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kosovo and Pakistan, this paper examines the roots and dynamics of state fragility by placing the spotlight on the way political power works. The paper highlights the aspects of political economy that give rise to weak or fragile state institutions, freeze or reverse attempted reforms, create public insecurity and paralyse economic development. The paper concludes with suggestions that may help guide a pragmatic and realistic approach. Above all, donors must be constantly sensitive to the structures of power, interests and incentives that can capture and subvert new formal governance arrangements. Read more�

CIEP Briefing Paper: �Iranian Game: Multiple Layers�

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:07:06 +0100

Iran is back, and with a vengeance. Despite temporal excitement from the Arab Awakening, the structural realities of Iranian nuclear ambitions were never going to go away. It�s not crunch time yet, but regional and external policy makers in the Middle East need to pose a very serious and very fundamental policy question: are they ultimately happy to live with a nuclear armed Iran or not? Read more�

Februarinummer Internationale Spectator

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:05:17 +0100

De financieel-economische crisis heeft in het bijzonder het zuiden van Europa getroffen. In deze aflevering van de Internationale Spectator een drieluik over de zuidelijke rand van de EU, met bijzondere aandacht voor Itali� en Portugal. Ook drie artikelen worden gewijd aan de internationale betrekkingen in het digitale tijdperk, waarbij internetvrijheid, cyber warfare en de nawe�en van WikiLeaks centraal staan. Paul Hoebink vraagt zich in de openingscolumn af of Nederland zich in Europa niet isoleert met zijn ontwikkelingssamenwerkingsbeleid. Verder een analyse van de superlange kabinetsformatie in Belgi�, een discussie over de verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen George W. Bush en Barack Obama wat betreft hun buitenlands beleid, een filmrecensie over een Amerikaanse klokkenluider in Bosni� en een viertal boekbesprekingen. �Zijn er grenzen aan het �superpower�-denken van Nederland��, vraagt Ren� Cuperus zich af. Read more�

Expert meeting on Chinese Consular protection system

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:57:00 +0100

On February 1st Dr. XIA of the China Foreign Affairs University visited Clingendael to talk about the recent development of China�s consular protection system. This expert meeting was organized by Clingendael Asia Studies and brought together academics and practitioners in the field of consular affairs. China's consular protection cases are closely related to domestic developments and confront the national government with difficult puzzles. Read more�