Bullettin n. 1/2011
June 2011
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Gavin Rae
    On the Periphery: The Uneven Development of the European Union and the Effects of the Economic Crisis on Central-Eastern Europe
    in Global Society , Volume 25, Issue 2 ,  2011 ,  249-266
    This paper analyses the issue of European Union (EU) enlargement in light of the present global economic crisis. It asserts that the eastern expansion of the EU occurred within the context of the historically uneven development between Eastern and Western Europe. This was temporarily disguised by the positive socio-economic performance of the new EU states, following their entry into the EU. This gave credence to the rationalist assertion that EU expansion was in the interests of all the EU countries and in particular benefited the new member states from Central-Eastern Europe (CEE). Growing imbalances within the CEE economies have been exposed by the global economic crisis, with the new eastern economies suffering the most during the downturn. A contradiction of this situation is that EU membership provides the CEE economies some form of protection in the world economy. Also, these countries have often been at the forefront of supporting further European integration in recent years. It is therefore likely that the CEE states will be most supportive of deepening Europe's policies of integration and convergence, with some of the richer Western European countries seeking their restriction.
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