UNISCI Discussion Papers

Editor's note

2015-05-06T09:53:50+00:00

Mesa, Beatriz (2013) "La Falsa Yihad, El negocio del narcotráfico en El Sahel"

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Medina Ortega , Manuel (2014): "El derecho de secesión en la Unión Europea"

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González del Miño, Paloma (2014) (ed.): "Tres años de revoluciones árabes"

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The US and Turkey in Search of Regional Strategy: Towards Asymptotic Trajectories

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Security relations with the US have been critical for Turkey. Cold War strategic imperatives dictated typical bandwagoning policies, although disagreements and frictions were present at times. In the 2000s, a combination of domestic developments and rapidly changing regional security patterns has resulted in a more assertive Turkish regional security policy, which for many represents a departure from traditional Kemalist principles. This article attempts to assess the current course of Turkish regional security engagement and the extent to which relations between the USA and Turkey are subject to major change. The analytical context accounts for the impact of domestic, regional and global levels. The empirical focus is on Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian sectarian conflict and on the trajectory of the bilateral relations with Israel.

A Coherent Strategy for a Changing Region?: The Obama Administration Foreign Policy and the "Arab Spring"

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The Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration has been clearly affected by the process of change in the Middle East known as Arab Spring. The debate about the nature of the Strategy of the president for that region has been added to the previous debate about the mere existence of an Obama doctrine, as the region has turned to be the main battlefield of the ideological groups of the American Foreign Policy: realists, neoconservatives and liberal interventionists. The need of balancing the strategic and security interest with the promotion of values such as the liberal democracy or the human rights has been followed by some kind of return to a realist strategy, of limited intervention, founded in core strategic interests and different solutions for different contexts. The contemporary conflict in states like Iraq or Syria, presents enormous uncertainties which should be confronted in the short term.

Official Discrepancies: Kosovo´s Independence and Western Europe´s Rhetoric

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This article examines approaches and official discrepancies characterising Western European rhetoric with regard to the Kosovo status question. Since the early 1980s, Kosovo has been increasingly present in European debates, culminating with the 1999 international intervention in the region and subsequent talks about its final status. Although the Kosovo Albanians proclaimed independence in February 2008 and the majority of EU Member States decided to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, Western European rhetoric has been rather divided. This article shows that in addition to five EU members who have decided not to recognise Kosovo from the very beginning, and thus are powerful enough to affect its further progress, both locally and internationally, some of the recognisers, although having abandoned the policy of “standards before status”, have also struggled to develop full support for the province – a discrepancy that surely questions the overall Western support for Kosovo’s independence.

Slovakia 1939 – 1945: Statehood and International Recognition (de iure or de facto statehood?)

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The world is entering a new phase in its international relations. In Eastern Europe new political entities have emerged. The article deals with the case of Slovakia in the period 1939 – 1945, an example of a de facto State that emerged during a time of instability in Europe. Slovakia 1939–1945 held many characteristics of a de iure State such as a wide international recognition. From a formal point of view it could thus be described as a de iure State, however, the article shows that it is not possible to characterise it in this way and slightly amends the criteria for accepting de facto States. The case of Slovakia 1939 – 1945 shows how vulnerable small States can become and how quickly recognition can be granted as well as withdrawn.

Franco-British Diplomacy in the Face of War

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Franco-British Diplomacy in the Face of War

Ramón Serrano Suñer at the Helm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Spain Becomes a Member of the Axis and Losses its Neutrality

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Ramón Serrano Suñer at the Helm of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs: Spain Becomes a Member of the Axis and Losses its Neutrality

The attack in the Begoña Basilica

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The attack in the Begoña Basilica

The Backbone Plan: Spain under a double threat of invasion

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The Backbone Plan: Spain under a double threat of invasion

The Iberian Peninsula in the Allied Military Planning

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The Iberian Peninsula in the Allied Military Planning

The First Agreement between the New Spanish State and the Holy See on the 7th June 1941

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The First Agreement between the New Spanish State and the Holy See on the 7th June 1941

Franco´s Spain and the Jews

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Franco´s Spain and the Jews

The Late Reorientation of the Spanish Foreign Policy towards the Allies in World War II

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The Late Reorientation of the Spanish Foreign Policy towards the Allies in World War II