Department of International Relations and European Integration

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Departamentul de Relații Internaționale și Integrare Europeană este domeniul fondator al SNSPA. Departamentul de Relații Internaționale și Integrare Europeană a fost gândit în aşa fel încât sa asigure o strânsă legătură între pregătirea teoretică și practica executată în sfera politicii externe, de securitate sau apărare, dezvoltând soluții capabile să realizeze conexiunea dintre zona academică și cea de expertiză. Departamentul de Relații Internaționale și Integrare Europeană organizează programe masterale în domeniul relațiilor internaționale, diplomației, studiilor de securitate și studiilor europene, care permit angajarea în domenii diverse, în spațiul public, dar și în cel privat. Corpul profesoral al Departamentului de Relații Internaționale și Integrare Europeană este format din cadre didactice cu o îndelungată expertiză în domeniul relațiilor externe, diplomație, instituții de securitate națională, organizații nonguvernamentale internaționale, reputați practicieni sau personalități ale vieții publice românești și europene.

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Regaining financial stability : taming financial markets is a must - a focus on NMSs
(Institute for Economic Forecasting, 2011-06) Dăianu, Daniel
The need for a radical overhaul of the regulation and supervision of financial markets has been acknowledged in all advanced economies. And yet, there still is a line ofreasoning which argues that the main source of the current financial crisis is the cheap money of the past, which would have caused large global imbalances as well.But another, that I share, is that something wrong has been occurring with overall financial intermediation in recent decades. This is like saying that structure has been no less important in derailing economies than misconceived policies and unavoidable cyclical dynamics. By structure we mean the configuration of rules and practices in the realm of regulation and supervision, on one hand; and the evolution and practices of financial institutions, including securitization and the growth of the so-called shadow banking sector (which has escaped regulations), on the other hand. Structure has, arguably, influenced policies in view of the relative neglect of systemic risks and the almost blind belief, by some, in the self-regulatory virtues and clairvoyance of financial markets. For a long time financial stability was relegated, de facto, to a second tier policy priority – especially in advanced economies. The current crisis has brought this concern back, with vengeance, and relates it to structure. The “great moderation” reveals itself as a “great misperception” period, which compels a rethinking of regulations and practices, of monetary policy itself (of inflation targeting, too), of the linkages between various domains of economic policy. Nothing seems to be certain any longer, in an increasingly stochastic world. Just think about the huge difference between how Spain and Ireland were judged before and after the eruption of this crisis – with a sharp deterioration of public finances and drastic economic downturn.
The Role Of The European Union In The Wider Black Sea Region
(Turkish Policy Quarterly, 2011-09) Aurescu, Bogdan
The article deals mainly with the importance of EU involvement in the wider Black Sea region, the main European policies and initiatives related to this region (the Black Sea Synergy, the European Neighborhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership, the EU Strategy for the Danube region), as well as regional initiatives and priorities in the fields of energy and security. Regional cooperation issues are also approached from a bilateral perspective: the role played in this strategically important area by Romania -gate of the region to the EU and Turkey- gate of the region to the rest of the world.
Book review : Theorizing medieval geopolitics: war and world order in the age of the Crusades
(Routledge, 2012) Miroiu, Andrei
International Relations (IR) scholars' interest in medieval politics varies between enthusiasm and neglect. After a serious debate between neorealists, Marxists and constructivists in the 1990s, a relative silence fell on the subject. The victory of constructivists, who argued that the medieval state—if such entity even existed—was an altogether different polity from its modern incarnation and therefore not really interesting for understanding contemporary processes, seemed definitive. In this climate, Andrew Latham's thesis in Theorizing medieval geopolitics comes as a necessary and interesting reinterpretation aimed at restarting the debate and at introducing new questions and avenues for research.
Tax Policy under the Curse of Low Revenues: The Case of Romania (Part I)
(Institute for Economic Forecasting, 2012-03) Dăianu, Daniel; Kallai, Ella; Lungu, Laurian
The Romanian tax revenue-to-GDP ratio has been far below the average level of both the European Union and the New Member States for many years. The decade long growth cycle hid significant structural imbalances in the public budget. This paper attempts to identify reasons why tax revenues in Romania are the lowest among the EU-27 countries. It takes a broader perspective by looking at the main sources of tax revenues over the last two decades. Implications of the policy regime change following the introduction of flat tax in 2005 are considered. It also does a few comparisons with other countries from Central and Eastern Europe by looking at the main tax revenue components.
The ambivalent role of the EU in the Western Balkans - "limited europeanisation" between formal promises and practical constraints : the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(Institutul European din România (IER),, 2012-03) Bărbulescu, Iordan Gheorghe; Butnaru Troncotă, Miruna
It became a shared opinion among European policy-makers to state that without a serious commitment from the European Union (EU), the Western Balkans (WB) will find itself increasingly isolated from the unfolding developments around it and this may endanger the stability of the entire continent. The scope of this paper is two folded: first, to examine the role of the EU in the WB with a focus on democratic institution-building; second, taking Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) as a case study, the article aims to determine whether there is a need for a new theoretical framework in order to more accurately define the specific process of the Europeanisation in the WB. In this regard it proposes the term "limited Europeanisation". The main theoretical aim of the article is to identify some clear-cut criteria of this phenomenon in the last 14-year evolution of BiH in relation with the EU.
European Union a polity in search of a mission?
(Ecozone Publishing House, 2012-04-22) Ungureanu, Radu-Sebastian
The unique features of the European Union generate permanent political and theoretical debates; the fact is unsurprising, since simply describing this entity is a challenge. Despite the impressive literature on the topic, there is no widely recognized understanding of EU‟s nature as a polity. The paper considers that the most appropriate term from the usual political vocabulary to designate it is that of „empire‟. EU is based on an imperial myth, comprises many former imperial powers, can be considered an empire, but does not display the behaviour and ideology expected from one. The article suggests that the answer for this dissonance can be found in considering that the defining feature of a given empire is its „mission‟ – the ideological project that legitimizes and guides it. From the theoretical position of social constructivism, the paper investigates the characteristics of EU‟s mission as an innovative polity.
Tax Policy under the Curse of Low Revenues: The Case of Romania (Part II)
(Institute for Economic Forecasting, 2012-08) Dăianu, Daniel; Kallai, Ella; Lungu, Laurian
It is an acknowledged fact that the tax revenue to GDP ratio in Romania is extremely low. This article suggests several ways through which budgetary revenues can be increased and, in the process, strengthen fiscal consolidation. Increasing tax collection rates, combating fiscal evasion and bringing parts of the shadow economy into the open would repair a fractured sentiment of fairness in the Romanian society. In particular, the results in this paper show that public sector revenues could rise by the equivalent of 4% of GDP if only half of the informal economy were to be brought to light.
EURO zone crisis and EU governance: Tackling a flawed design and inadequate policy arrangements (an essay)
(Akademiai Kiado, 2012-09) Dăianu, Daniel
This paper focuses on the roots of strain in the European Monetary Union (EMU). It argues that there is need for a thorough reform of the EU governance structure in conjunction with radical changes in the regulation and supervision of financial markets. The EMU was sub-optimal from its debut and competitiveness gaps did not diminish against the backdrop of its inadequate policy and institutional design. The euro zone crisis is not related to fiscal negligence only; over-borrowing by the private sector and poor lending by banks, as well as a one-sided monetary policy also explain this debacle. The EMU needs to complement its common monetary policy with solid fiscal/budget underpinnings. Fiscal rules and sanctions are necessary, but not sufficient. A common treasury (a federal budget) is needed in order to help the EMU absorb shocks and forestall confidence crises. A joint system of regulation and supervision of financial markets should operate. Emergency measures have to be comprehensive and acknowledge the necessity of a lender of last resort; they have to combat vicious circles. Structural reforms and EMU level policies are needed to enhance competitiveness in various countries and foster convergence.
EU’s “laboratory” in the Western Balkans : experimenting europeanization without democratization : the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(Asociación Española de Ciencia Política y de la Administración (AECPA), 2013-03) Bărbulescu, Iordan Gheorghe; Butnaru Troncotă, Miruna
The article will explore some potential causes of this limited process of Europeanization and its overall impact on the malfunctioning of Bosnia. After a short conceptual overview inside the Europeanization literature and its connection with democratization, the analytical section of the article will focus on the particular case of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The main question to be tackled is: How democratic is the Europeanization process in Bosnia and who should be held accountable for the outcome after almost two decades-long effort? The subsequent analysis will try to bring a potential answer to this concern, using the intricate case of the Europeanization of BiH as an illustration for the ambivalent role of the EU in the Western Balkans (WB) with the scope of pointing out some lessons which were not fully drawn from this process. The main conclusion is that the mixed strategy of EU that induced both external pressure and local ownership under the EU conditionality created institutional blockage and a democratic deficit.
European Union in the Age of Neo-Liberalism
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration - Department of International Relations and European Integration, 2013-07) Caradaică, Mihail
This paper belongs to the area of critical studies of European Integration and tries to analyse the super-structural dimension of European Integration and to identify its role in two areas of policy outputs. The theoretical approach is neo-gramscianism, which is focused on social forces agency in the process of integration and super-structural dimension of European Single Market. Since 1980, the interests of big capital, gathered in the European Round Table, shaped a neo-liberal dimension of the European economy, adapting it to the context of globalisation. But this neo-liberal project was also able to capture social-democratic, trade union and centrist demands into a neo-liberal European order, called by Bastiaan van Apeldoorn "embedded" neo-liberalism. This European model has also his limits because it puts the interests of capital in front of social policies through the assurance of market efficiency by EU, leading to a neoliberal hegemony. My purpose here is to see if neoliberal hegemony in European Union has a real impact on policies outputs, analysing the Eastern Enlargement and Europe 2020 Strategy.
book review: Regional and International Relations of Central Europe
(Cambridge University Press, 2013-09) Miroiu, Andrei
As many scholars interested in European affairs have noticed, academic as well as general interest in Central (and, one may add, Eastern) Europe has dropped markedly after the turn of the century. There is little doubt that this is due to the perceived stability of the area in the aftermath of the accession of its states to the European Union and NATO and the cooling down of violent conflicts in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. A new major project on the topic was justifiable merely for this reason, but the current massive crisis in Europe, with its questioning of the basic assumptions of further economic and political integration inside the EU, provides a pressing necessity for such a book.
Which way Goes Romanian Capitalism? - making a case for reforms, inclusive institutions and a better functioning European Union
(European Institute of Romania, 2013-12) Dăianu, Daniel; Murgescu, Bogdan
This paper examines the Romanian economy and its version of capitalism from a long-term perspective and in a broad context. It focuses on economic prospects in the face of a legacy of backwardness and the endurance of domestic weaknesses, in the context of the Great Recession and the eurozone crisis. Romania has a pressing need to mobilise its internal resources and absorb EU funds on a much greater scale so that it can enhance economic growth and mitigate external shocks. To this end, Romania needs to undertake thorough reforms in the public sector, combat rent-seeking and waste, foster domestic savings. The functioning of institutions and of taxation should convey a sense of fairness to citizens. Romania needs to rethink its growth model. Romania must improve its education system by increasing the level of resources assigned to education and creating coherent policies to strengthen institutional capacities and to improve quality standards. The Romanian economy would benefit significantly from EU policies that are more responsive to the economic and social fractures revealed by the current crisis. Not least, financial markets have to be tamed in Europe and elsewhere if they are to serve economies.
The Formation of the Juncker Commission and Its Impact on the Western Balkans
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration - Department of International Relations and European Integration, 2014) Butnaru Troncotă, Miruna
2014 can be considered a new turning point in international relations and EU studies, as it was overall a very politically engaging year, both for historical memory and for present times. First, there was the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. Second, it brought a brand new institutional reshuffling in Brussels. Following the May parliamentary elections, the EU appointed its new leadership for the next 5 years. And third, there was the spread of violence, insecurity and political turmoil in Ukraine, Gaza and Iraq/ Syria. In this intricate context, all eyes are again on the EU and its capacity to face these geopolitical challenges. One of the biggest changes brought by the newly announced Juncker Commission is the way it has restructured the foreign policy component. Before the official announcement, when some of the Commission plans leaked the press, many were speaking about the possibility for the enlargement portfolio to be completely dropped off. In reality it was not, but the message is still not very encouraging for the Western Balkans. The aim of the article is to assess the main pros and cons referring to a possible disengagement of EU in the already delayed Europeanization of the Western Balkans. The main points to be taken in consideration are: the reasons for EU to take such a decision based on the limited progress of the countries, the foreseen impact of this decision in the next 5 years and the risks for a re-emergence of violence and instability in the troubled region.
Military Operations in Romanian Anti-Partisan Warfare, 1944-1958
(Taylor & Francis LTD, 2014-02) Miroiu, Andrei
Romanian anti-communist armed resistance has received relatively little attention outside the country, despite its resemblance to other small, diffused, headless insurgencies being fought in the first decades of the twenty-first century. This article deals with military operations mounted against the partisans, with a special focus on tactics such as cordoning, checkpoints, patrols, sweeps, ambushes, and informed strikes. Based mostly on primary sources, it highlights success and failure against determined and elusive guerrillas.
Neo-Gramscian Approach on Europeanization
(Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, Nicolae Titulescu University, 2014-07) Caradaică, Mihail
This paper belongs to the area of critical studies in European Integration and I will try to demonstrate that the concept of Europeanization is not able to capture the nature of social change which occurs in member states. Nowadays, this concept is largely used by scholars to describe all of the economic, political and social changes that are taking place in national domestic policy under the influence of the European Union, understood as a distinct polity. In other words, this approach of Europeanization is limited only to the European geographical space and, as a consequence, it cannot capture the wider context in which the European Union exists – globalization and the nature of world order. My aim is to analyse the concept of Europeanization through the neo-gramscian theoretical framework and to see if it can be overlapped with the process of European integration. I will do this by assuming a historical materialist view on the European integration process and international relations which will help me understand these changes through the Marxist perspective of structure and superstructure. Those concepts are mutually constructed in the neo-gramscian approach and they are represented by the agency of social forces and its superstructural dimension – the neoliberal ideology according to Baastian Van Apeldoorn, Andeas Bieler, Adam David Morton or Stephen Gill
Book review: Flogging the geopolitical horse. Alexander Dugin. 2015. Last War of the World-Island: The Geopolitics of Contemporary Russia, Arktos Media Ltd., 166p, ISBN: 978-1-910524-40-4.
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration - Department of International Relations and European Integration, 2015) Cucută, Radu Alexandru
A central bank’s dilemmas in highly uncertain times - a Romanian view
(Institute for Economic Forecasting, 2015-03) Dăianu, Daniel
This paper looks at policy dilemmas the National Bank of Romania has faced over the years, with the analysis framed in a European and historical context. Some of these dilemmas are of an older vintage, such as how to deal with massive capital flows, how to combat high inflation when resource misallocation is a very burdensome legacy and expectations of high inflation are well entrenched. Other dilemmas are pretty new, or have got salience during the Great Recession. Romania has had to undertake a painful correction of its large macroeconomic imbalances. "Light" inflation targeting has provided leeway for mitigating the fallout from the financial crisis, although high euroization has dented its efficacy. The specter of stagnation in the Euro Area, financial deleveraging, unconventional policies which are pursued by key central banks, the ongoing reform of banking regulation and supervision, a growing shadow banking, how will the Banking Union evolve, etc, make up a very complicated European context and pose a range of big challenges for the central banks of New Member States (NMSs).
Intelligence and intelligence operations in Romanian anti-partisan warfare, 1944-1958
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis LTD, 2015-05) Miroiu, Adrian
The Romanian anti-communist partisans constituted a small, scattered, diffused, and leaderless movement united only by nationalism and by the belief that armed struggle would contribute to the downfall of an illegitimate regime supported by a foreign power. This article provides an analysis of intelligence and intelligence operations used by the government to defeat these guerrillas, in a conflict that lasted a decade and a half. The sources for this study are mainly the collections of documents of Romanian secret police recently declassified and published.
Innovation in Retail: Impact on Creating a Positive Experience When Buying Fashion Products
(Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business and Tourism, 2015-05) Vasiliu, Cristinel; Cercel, Mihai Ovidiu
Innovation in fashion retail is critical in order to ensure competitive advantage in a constantly evolving market, in terms of consumer expectations. The modern customer is mobile, permanently connected to the Internet, well-informed about international trends, mindful of the quality of products, but more price sensitive and less loyal to a brand. The shopping experience provided by retailers is a crucial factor in purchase decision, encompassing all these variables in a complex concept of exogenous variable. As retailers' efforts to provide excellence in shopping experience are focused on operating costs and thus on the profit margins, it is important to consider and identify which are the most relevant variables that form the perception of excellence for Romanian customers, so that retailers can innovate according to their expectations. The purpose of this article was to highlight the role of innovation in creating a positive experience for consumers buying clothes, shoes and accessories. The approach was based on the conduct of exploratory research. The research. represented by five original objectives and as many different working scenarios. resulted in the identification of thematic outlined exploratory opinions, exploiting a first investigation of its kind in Romania, less Pearson coefficients used in the analysis of ordinal variables or hierarchical, but quickly assessed using SPSS, version 21. As a pioneering research emphasis was on identifying potential associations and quantified correlations and less on rigorous delimitation of exogenous or endogenous quality in general, leaving room for future studies, sharper and with a higher degree of representation. Thus, we could highlight some useful aspects of the investigated retailers, by the dominant character of interested customers' opinions according to their volunteer responses. Consumers are accustomed to using the Internet to obtain information; they rarely express opinions on social sites about the purchased goods, and are willing to receive information about special offers of the stores on personal mobile devices since the entry into the stores. Customers would also welcome separate exposure areas in selling space, where they can find products in promotional campaigns. Therewith, we could outline a primary profile of the ideal salesperson on fashion products, less rigorous but relatively consistent.
Book review : Dorin Dolghi and Octavian Țâcu (editors). 2014. The Security Dimension of European Frontier vs the Legitimacy of Political Priorities of EU and EU Member States. Eurolimes. Journal of the Institute for Euroregional Studies ”Jean Monnet” European Centre for Excellence, University of Oradea, University of Debrecen, volume 18, autumn, Oradea University Press, 235p, ISSN 2247/8450.
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration - Department of International Relations and European Integration, 2015-06) Butnaru Troncotă, Miruna

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