The EU, Civil Society and Conflict Transformation in Western Sahara: The Failure of Disengagement

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakim Darbouche ◽  
Silvia Colombo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Conflict Transformation ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
The Eu

Europejski Komitet Ekonomiczno-Społeczny Unii Europejskiej – organ reprezentacji funkcjonalnej czy instytucja fasadowa?

2016 ◽  
pp. 66-81
Author(s):  
Leszek Graniszewski
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Conscience ◽  
The Eu

In the article the author draws his attention to the differences between the position of the Committee as a social conscience of the EU (that has been declared in the treaties and declarations) and the practical possibilities to fulfil this role and its results. The analysis featured covers the structure and the manner of operation of the Committee, and, in particular, the functions actually fulfilled by the Committee in its role of the bridge between the EU and the organised civil society.

Conflict Transformation and Civil Society: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenc Kopecek ◽  
Tomas Hoch ◽  
Vladimir Baar
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Conflict Transformation

scholarly journals A People vs. Corporations? Self-determination, Natural Resources and Transnational Corporations in Western Sahara

2017 ◽  
pp. 15-66
Author(s):  
Raphaël Fišera
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Corporate Accountability ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
Playing Field

Since the mid-1970s, the Western Saharan conflict has defied both resolution and understanding, as an entire people, split between refugee camps in the Algerian desert and the Moroccan occupied territory, has been waiting for the international community to effectively enforce its right to self-determination. Through a combination of legal and geopolitical perspectives on the issues related to the exploitation of the rich natural resources in the last African territory still to be decolonised, this research paper will argue that transnational corporations (TNCs) can directly affect the welfare and the self-determination of a people, while the means to enforce corporate accountability remain limited and poorly adapted to the current global realities. The recent media campaigns led by NGOs against TNCs active in this area demonstrate the key role of global civil society in the emergence of corporate accountability and in reminding individuals, corporations and governments of their ethical and legal obligations towards indigenous peoples such as the Saharawi’s. This paper will first consider the historical and socio-economic context of the conflict and the importance of natural resources in this dispute (chapter I) before addressing the legal dimension of the exploitation of these resources by the occupying power and third parties (II). I will then argue that the decision of Morocco to involve Western oil and gas TNCs in the Western Sahara represents a complicating factor to the conflict and has created a new, corporate playing field for the conflicting parties (III). The last chapter of this analysis will address the current political and legal mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of such TNCs and assess whether campaigns by global civil society actors provide an effective, alternative avenue for corporate accountability (IV).Published online: 11 December 2017

scholarly journals PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OF UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION COURSE

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Anatoliy Krugashov ◽  
Andriana Kostenko
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Public Oversight ◽  
The Eu

Abstract. The article deals with the wide range of mechanisms in support of civil society institutions–government interaction in the context of developing and implementing European integration reforms in Ukraine. The authors identified 6 strategic documents and 20 areas of reform related to the process of European integration, as well as the key issues concerning implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The authors conclude that positive trends are visible in recent decades in the institutional development of Ukrainian civil society, which has become a driving force of the country’s European integration aspirations. In this setting, civil society institutions (CSIs) work with government agencies, engage in informal advocacy, conduct monitoring policies, perform and publish policy analysis and recommendations, and work with and lobby international agencies and other actors.

The Impact of covid-19 Measures on the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans and the Increase of Authoritarianism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Andi Hoxhaj ◽  
Fabian Zhilla
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article offers a comparative analysis of the covid-19 legal measures and model of governance adopted in the Western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) and its impact on the state of the rule of law, and ability of parliament and civil society to scrutinise government decisions. The article assesses the governments’ approaches to introducing and enforcing covid-19 legal measures, and shows examples of how covid-19 has exposed more openly the weaknesses in the existing system of checks and balances in the Western Balkans. The article offers new insights into how covid-19 presented a new opportunity for leaders in the Western Balkans to implement further their authoritarian model of governance in undermining the rule of law. This article offers suggestions on how the EU could respond, through its accession conditionality instruments and civil society, to redirect this trend towards more state capture.

The Institutional and Constitutional Aspects of the Arab Maghreb Union and the Dispute on Western Sahara as an Obstacle: What Role does the European Union Play in Promoting Maghreb Regional Integration?

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 284-318
Author(s):  
Mohamed Riyad M. Almosly
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
English Language ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Cooperative Methods ◽  
Single Approach ◽  
The Eu

The current era is witnessing a proliferation of challenges of a transnational character that do not recognize the geographical limits of sovereign States, such as human traficking and pollution. Therefore, States have to establish new regional cooperative methods to find effective solutions for these challenges. Although the Maghreb States (i.e. Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) have been suffering from the negative impacts of such challenges over the last few decades, they have not yet created an effective regional cooperative framework. In this respect, since its establishment in 1989 among the Maghreb States, the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU, Union) has not been successful in stimulating Maghreb regional integration. The current study addresses a topic that has not yet been fully exploited by legal studies in the English language. It examines, first, the genesis and institutional structure of the AMU as well as the constitutional aspects of the 1989 AMU Treaty; second, the role of the EU’s multilateral and bilateral instruments in promoting Maghreb regional integration; and third, the dispute on Western Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front and its effect on Maghreb regional integration. The article concludes that Maghreb regional integration has so far failed due to the institutional and constitutional limits of the AMU Treaty and the political division among the Maghreb States resulting from the Western Sahara conflict. In addition, the EU so far has not followed a consistent and single approach in promoting the Maghreb integration nor did it play any role in solving the dispute on Western Sahara.

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