Euroopa Liidu - Venemaa uuringud – Student works. Kuni 2015.

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Shaping identities through the spatio-temporal fusion : the case study of Kaliningrad
(Tartu Ülikool, 2012) Gadioli, Ginevra; Pääbo, Heiko, juhendaja; Masso, Anu, juhendaja; ; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
The effect of modernization on the representation of women in parliament - a case study of Estonia
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013) Drews, Kathrin; Marling, Raili, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
This study aims at analyzing the issue of under-representation of women in the Estonian parliament (Riigikogu) with the help of Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris and Christian Welzel's approach of modernization. The analysis of the situation in Estonia, as a unique case makes it possible to test the theory in use. The empirical analysis consists mainly of data derived from semi-structured interviews with experts in the eld of gender equality in Estonia. As Estonia has yet to emphasize the importance of gender equality, today, women are still highly under-represented in the Riigikogu. The main results show that while the scholars claim that cultural barriers constitute the main hurdle for women to enter the political sphere, in the case of Estonia, the socioeconomic situation and institutional barriers clearly keep women from the possibility to participate in politics. Further, instead of religion as main cultural in uence, in Estonia the cultural heritage is largely de ned by the society's Soviet past. The overall conclusions state that while the theory at use seemed to be applicable universally, in the case of Estonia it cannot be applied fully, as crucial in uences are not taken into account by the theory.
Influence of EU common energy policy on Lithuania’s energy security after the treaty of Lisbon
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013) Jatkauskaitė, Justina; Belyi, Andrei, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
The Treaty of Lisbon brought many innovations into the European Union’s agenda, one of which is related to energy policies. The treaty came into force in 2009; until now there has been no evaluation of its practical implementation, especially concerning those member states that are particularly sensitive to all the changes that take place in the energy sector. The thesis “INFLUENCE OF EU COMMON ENERGY POLICY ON LITHUANIA’S ENERGY SECURITY AFTER THE TREATY OF LISBON” analyses the influence of post-Lisbon European Union common energy policies on Lithuania’s energy security. Using Rational Choice Institutionalism as a theoretical approach, the evaluation of the implementation of EU energy policies is done looking at how it minimizes energy security risks in its member state. The Traffic Light Model is used to produce the necessary classification of risks. The research is carried out using secondary data resources, document analysis and expert interviews. It can be observed that post-Lisbon policies have had a positive influence on Lithuania’s energy security; even the policies that are imposed by the Union are in accordance with Lithuania’s objectives. However, the result would be more tangible if Lithuania managed to take advantage of all the opportunities presented by the EU.
The political environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding power-sharing governance
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013) Pejic, Aleksandar; Eidlin, Fred, juhendaja; Pääbo, Heiko, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
This study assesses trends of the political environment of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) between the period of 2004 and 2012 pertaining to contentions of two differing models of conflict regulation, the consociational and integrative, which apply to BiH. As each model has contentions pertaining to voting patterns, political elite behaviour, and on the workings of institutions, this study conducts an analysis through the assessment of election results, compliance with power-sharing arrangements and the nature of coalition building, and the workings of a consociational institution to reach its findings. The current system is deemed as being largely ineffective. In addition, since there is pressure to introduce more integrative measures to the power-sharing structure in BiH, the aim is to assess how the trends in the political environment have fared from the period a similar study was conducted in order to reach recommendations on whether or not to further support the utilization of consociational elements. The analysis in this study portrays that the trends hold more true for the contentions pertaining to the consociational model. Although the findings are not conclusive at first, new developments further favour the consociational model. Also, integrative measures were found to be the source of the problem when analyzing compliance with power-sharing arrangements. Therefore, the suggestion conveyed is that instead of diverting away from the use of consociational elements there should be an encouragement to improve them.
Russia’s soft power: the case of Moldova and Armenia
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013) Liik, Kristina; Nielsen, Kristian Lau, juhendaja; Säre, Margit, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
The concept of soft power has become an increasingly popular topic of debate since the early 1990s. A countries’ attractiveness can bring about wanted results without the use of hard power, consequently being an important attribute to a countries ability to influence the target. Equally important however, is the targets perception and the context of the relationship, making it hard to “touch” the intangible soft power and to measure it. Current thesis examined Russia’s soft power in the case of Moldova and Armenia with an aim to show how, how do they vary and what might be the reasons. The results revealed that while Russia has significant leverage in terms of culture and values, the use and perception of policy is different and brings about different results. While Russia uses hard policy in order to influence Moldova thus undermining its soft power, in Armenia, Russian military presence empowers Armenia and contributes to the perception of Russia as the security guarantor. The thesis confirmed the importance of image and perception and the distinction of how soft power is used: when soft power was used and perceived as controlled, soft power over someone type of way, it had a more undermining effect than when soft power was used to contribute to the empowerment of someone.
Humanizing globalization: practice of multi-stakeholder global regulatory standards in the globalized world : the case of extractive industries transparency initiative
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013) Vekua, Sopio; Makarychev, Andrey, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
Multilateralism, once viewed as a mechanism of global governance, recently came under criticism due to its incapacity to address global problems of social justice. It is argued that more deliberative and multi-stakeholder processes are needed in order to lead the world towards more ethical development. The purpose of the study is to examine deliberation process within the multi-stakeholder global regulatory initiative, and assess the normative capacity of its multi-level system of regulation to emerge as an important determinant of global politics. To do so, the study will examine the practice of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative at different levels. The main characteristic of this type of regulation is that civil society is recognized as an equal partner in decision-finding and decision making processes. By linking theories on humanizing globalization with practice of EITI, the study argues that, an answer to the increasing need for humanizing globalization lies in global civil society which provides a way to supplement ‘traditional’ democracy and creates foundation for global deliberation. Global civil society through the mechanism of multi-stakeholder global regulatory standards make international society more susceptible to normative changes and helps foster social dynamics at all levels. However, sometimes corporate and governmental actors at national level implicitly challenge the appropriateness of international norms. For this reason, it is maintained, that in order the EITI to meet its aim and objectives and the multi-stakeholder global regulatory standards to provide more legitimate, ethically grounded and “globally just” alternative to current intergovernmental forms, a better mechanism for safeguarding deliberative practices is necessary.
European legal and political mechanisms in promotion of freedom of expression in the norm-violating state: case of Russian Federation
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013-06-27) Chanadiri, Alexander; Mälksoo, Lauri, juhendaja; Kurs, Eveliis, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
The purpose of this thesis is to explain the essence of European legal and political mechanisms in promotion of human rights, particularly freedom of expression in the Russian Federation. The confrontation between Europe and Russia over the practice of this commonly accepted liberal democratic norm has become vigorous since the adoption of ECHR in 1998 by the latter. This study emphasizes analysis of obligations taken by Russia under international law and European legal and political instruments for monitoring the compliance. Deriving from the theory of international socialization developed by Thomas Risse, Stephen Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink the research tries to contribute into the understanding of the process and applicability of the theory to powerful norm-violating state. This is done through consideration of the ECtHR case law and evaluation of international political pressure generated by transnational advocacy networks based on particular case studies.
Normative media indicators: content analysis of media sustainability Index reports on Russia from 2001 until 2012
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013-06-27) Arst, Ingvar; Pääbo, Heiko, juhendaja; Lõhmus, Maarja, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
There are lots of methods and tools worldwide that are measuring and evaluating variety of fields and standings. The most prominent tool is an index that indicates or measures certain values, producing a discourse in a given field. This is a normative approach, establishing a standard by stating relating or deriving norm. The current thesis sets its focus on Media Sustainability Index (MSI) reports on Russia from 2001 until 2012. The aim of the thesis was to investigate how this particular index influences and controls the production of discourse in 21st century global world with specific focus on how human factor, panelists and moderators have an influence on the final outcomes. The research assumes that an index is a utility tool that enables to promote Western values and stabilize hegemony struggles. The research is following Post-Structuralism paradigm, therefore at first it is important to examine the object itself and then the systems of knowledge that produced the specific object. In order to examine the object and the knowledge of MSI reports on Russia, the research conducted content analysis with 215 markers that registered actors, actions, panelists, citations, highlights, contexts, tonality, and temporal spatial division. Findings from content analysis were divided among three modules that distinguish structural and contextual characteristics, which describe and interpret production and dynamics of MSI reports on Russia from 2001 until 2012. The third module focuses on the citations and highlights that are textual tools, which most clearly depict panelists and moderators input for the final outcome. The research is concluding that content and context of MSI reports promote Western values like rule of law and freedom of speech by the norm how it is perceived in the US.
Ukraine's attitude towards European integration since the 2010 presidential elections: through the lenses of rationalism and constructivism
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2013-06-27) Underwood, Mark; Nizhnikau, Ryhor, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
This study focuses the issue of Ukraine‟s attitude towards European integration since the 2010 presidential elections. It looks at speeches and articles from Ukrainian officials about European integration. Using constructivism and rationalism as lenses, we are able better understand Ukraine's attitude towards European. The periods preceding the 2010 presidential elections have been studied by Kratochvil and Tulmets (2010) and state the period from 2006 – 2010 is a period of strongly rationalist modes of argumentation between EU and Ukraine. The research question is: how has Ukraine‟s behaviour concerning European Integration changed since the 2010 presidential elections? This study is important because the presidential elections in 2010 marked a change of president, government, as well as potential change in foreign policy in Ukraine. The first chapter gives an introduction and looks at the methodology used in the study. The second chapter looks at what literature is available on the topic of European integration and gives a brief overview of the European Union's attitude towards Ukrainian integration. It also looks at the theoretical framework the case study will use, which is an adaptation of Kratochvil and Tulmets' original study. The third chapter includes the case study which starts by giving a brief background to Kratochvil and Tulmets' findings and follows on with the post-presidential election analysis. Finally conclusions are drawn finding that Ukraine‟s attitude towards European integration has most stayed the same, with a focus on rationalist modes of argumentation. Similar to the before the elections, officials have also moved back to constructivist modes occasionally. The biggest change which was seen was Ukraine new ability to use Russia and the Customs Union as leverage, or as an alternative to EU integration, to European integration in an attempt to speed up the EU‟s integration with Ukraine.
Coming to terms with communist past: comparative study of lustration policy in the Czech Republic and Poland
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Kupatadze, Tamta; Pettai, Eva-Clarita, juhendaja
Transitional or retroactive justice is chosen by political elites of countries in transition to come to terms with past. Lustration is a non-criminal measure of transitional justice. The Czech Republic and Poland both initiated lustration policy in the post communist period. The difference between these countries is that the former approved initial lustration act in 1991while the latter adopted lustration bill only in 1997. The laws were temporarily limited yet, both Czech and Polish legislators decided to engage with lustration once again after the initial laws had expired. The thesis offers a double layered comparative study of lustration policy in the Czech Republic and Poland. The first part focuses on initial lustration policy and highlights a) the factors which influenced the decisions whether to adopt or not lustration laws soon after the regime change and b) the factors that determined the nature of original bills. In the second part this thesis will explore various explanatory variables to explain the wave of late and renewed lustration initiatives in both countries. The analysis reveals that the decisions whether to approve or not lustration acts in the early years of post communist period were influenced by various past factors: the lack of legitimacy of the post Prague Spring government; the crisis in other communist countries; the loss of strengths of the ruling forces in Czechoslovakia, the weakness of the governing forces in Poland; Solidarity’s attitude towards regime change. The difference in nature was a result of different factors of present: the collapse of two governments and the communist return to power in Poland, the tendency of misusing past in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, the need to safeguard democracy/or the desire to discredit political opponents as well as the memory of post Prague spring regime as illegitimate and the memory of negotiated transition in Poland as a mistake explain the decision about the wave of new and renewed lustration in both countries.
Highly-skilled migration: Estonia's attraction policy and its congruence with the determinants of 'talent mobility'
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Ortega Prudencio, Leonardo Daniel; Solvak, Mihkel, juhendaja; Philips, Kaia, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
In recent years, the phenomenon of highly-skilled migration has increasingly attracted the attention of both academia and policy makers around the world. The potential of the highly-skilled to positively impact economic development in the receiving country has led to a ‘global race for talent’, with countries competing for attracting the ‘best and brightest’. To further develop its knowledge economy, Estonia appears not to want to be left out of this race, as it has recently take active steps to attract the highly-skilled. The aim of this thesis is to provide an insight and a better understanding at Estonia’s current immigration policies and measures in the specific context of attracting highly-skilled third-country nationals in light of the theoretical determinants of ‘talent mobility’ – a proxy for highly-skilled migration. A combination of secondary research, interview analysis with highly-skilled migration stakeholders and a short quantitative analysis on issued temporary residence permits in Estonia were the methodological backbone of the work. The resulting outcome from the empirical analysis shows that Estonia, despite having a very clear objective on the attraction of highly-skilled, does not have a comprehensive policy on this topic, but it has instead a set of independently-carried policies and scarcely coordinated measures in this area. The theoretical determinants of ‘talent mobility’, in line with neoclassical economics paradigm, seem to be only partially addressed by the Estonian immigration policies and measures for attracting highly-skilled third-country nationals. Beyond the results, the author also contributes to this topic by discussing some policy implications and issues recommendations that could help better address these determinants through immigration policies and measures
A normative assessment of the legal philosophy of the european union using the grundnorm theory of hans kelsen
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa Kolledž, 2014) Vern-Barnett, Adam; Laffranque, Julia, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž;
This thesis assesses the normative basis of the law of the European Union according to selected theories of legal and ethical philosophy. Firstly it employs the methodology of legal theorist Hans Kelsen, who envisioned a legal order as a hierarchy of norms with a central norm or Grundnorm at the peak of this hierarchy. Ten such norms are identified within the EU Treaties and related documents, and encompass values such as the ‘promotion of peace’, the ‘rule of law’ and ‘democracy’. However, an examination of the jurisprudential approach of the Court of Justice, which occupies a prominent place in the constitutional law of the EU legal order alongside the Treaties, suggests that the Grundnorm of the EU law is of a functional nature, and is chiefly concerned with the establishment and maintenance of the European Common Market. An assessment of this Grundnorm using the contrasting ethical theories of Kantianism and utilitarianism suggests that the legal philosophy of the European Union is thus consequentially ethical, as the European Common Market brings many benefits, but it is not primarily governed by the protection of deontological values, with these values consistently subordinated to the Common Market Grundnorm. It is then suggested that the functional basis of this Grundnorm will create problems for the ethical legitimacy of the EU legal order in the longer term; it has been constructed in this way by the Court of Justice due to the identity crisis of the Community as caused by the on-going democratic deficit. Thus an ideal Grundnorm for the EU legal system should have a core basis in ethical values, especially those relating to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Soft power and great power identity in Russian discourses
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Pukeliene, Marina; Morozov, Viacheslav, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
The EU accession and transitional criminal justice in Serbia and Croatia
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Teshigahara, Risa; Pettai, Eva-Clarita, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
The international mechanisms to pursue the legal accountability of the past atrocities evolved from the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials to the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). As a result of such development, the post-Cold War international tribunals appear to hold particular characteristics; they impose a legal obligation for states under their jurisdiction to cooperate and they are dependant on such state cooperation to fulfil its legal mandate. To secure such cooperation, third party coercion appears to be effective as a determining factor of the state’s behaviour in the face of legal obligation. In this scope, former Yugoslavian states offer a significant example. In 1993, the United Nations (UN) established the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as an international court to prosecute those who were most responsible for the massive human rights violations committed during the bloody Balkan Wars in the1990s. In the due course of its operation, the political pressure from third party actors, most notably the EU, played a vital role to yield a significant outcome of the tribunal’s mandate. This study is to address such impact of the EU accession conditionality on the politics of Transitional Criminal Justice in post-conflict Croatia and Serbia. For this purpose, the author conducted the comparative analysis of those two cases with a scope of the Most Similar System Design (MSSD). She combined several qualitative methods, such as content analysis, secondary analysis and interviews with experts, to trace the evidence showing the changes that occurred before and after the EU’s imposing its political pressure. The outcome of this study showed that the EU accession conditionality could facilitate positive and stable development in the overall cooperation with the tribunal, while such external pressure had a counterproductive effect at the level of domestic war crime prosecution. Therefore, the findings of this study contain a warning that partial involvement of a third party in the area of Transitional Justice could result in an undesirable outcome.
The use of cultural memory in reinforcing contemporary russian patriotism on the example of film Stalingrad (2013)
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa Kolledž, 2014) Roop, Laura; Pääbo, Heiko, juhendaja; Blobaum, Robert, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
Investigating the features of three Italian populist parties (lega nord, forza Italia, 5 star movement) in terms of leadership and party claims
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Kvirkvelia, Nino; Braghiroli, Stefano, juhendaja
The General Italian elections in 2013 offered interesting outcomes, which were assessed as the continuation of populist success which started from the early 90s when the major Italian populist parties Lega Nord and Forza Italia appeared on the political field. Populism in general represents a multifaceted concept and the nature of it varies according to a number of dimensions. As Paul Taggart emphasizes, considering the different ways in which populism is studied1, it represents a “highly chameleonic” phenomenon.2 The scholarly attempts to define populism as a concept offered a diverse and at the same time contradictious interpretations, which often consider populism from the different perspectives3. Italy is one of the relevant cases for the discussion of populism. The mentioned phenomenon has historically been successful in different regional contexts and managed to flourish in Italy as well in the early 90s. This period left remarkable trace in the history of the mentioned country, because exactly the Second Italian Republic witnessed the emergence of the three influential populist movements such as Lega Nord, Forza Italia and 5 Star Movement, which played and are still playing a significant role in the modern Italian politics. Numbers of works are dedicated to the study of the circumstances which are vulnerable for populist emergence; however less attention is paid to the analysis of how particular populist parties reflect the idea of populism in general. Moreover, the peculiarities of Italian populist movements are not thoroughly explored, especially considering the General elections of 2013 and the new political actor, 5 Star Movement. The following thesis aims to understand the nature of the three Italian populist parties and to find how they correspond to the major features of the populism phenomenon. Based on the existing literature regarding populism, the author of the following work identified two general (leadership and political claims) and six specific (Strong appeal to people, Charismatic leadership, Active use of media, anti-elitist, anti-establishment, anti-party rhetoric) features of populism and according to the mentioned features analyzed three Italian populist parties. Considering the main findings of the research, Italian populist parties correspond to the majority of populist features, however still there are differences according the specific nature of the political organization.
NATO military interventions in Kosovo, Libya, Afghanistan and their impact on relations with Russia after the cold war
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Rogulis, Dovydas; McNamara, Eoin Micheál, juhendaja
This thesis seeks to find out how NATO military interventions in Kosovo, Libya and Afghanistan have negatively affected relations with Russia. In order to achieve the aim and hypothesis of the study, the critical geopolitical approach is chosen as a theoretical framework. A schematic critical geopolitics conceptualization of Gearóid Ó. Tuathail is used as the method of research. This thesis mostly pays attention to three essential parts of the critical geopolitics: “formal geopolitics” (analyses of think tanks, specialists, etc.), “practical geopolitics” (the decisions of policy makers, official statements, documents, strategies and speeches) and “popular geopolitics” (the discourse of the media and surveys). The combination of these three elements allows determining the certain NATO’s and Russian geopolitical discourses towards crises in Kosovo, Libya and Afghanistan. With regard to evidences of crises, NATO’s and Russian geopolitical discourses are assessed from very positive, positive, neutral, to negative and very negative. It provides an opportunity to see how both sides have scripted these crises and how in long terms NATO’s military interventions in Kosovo, Libya and Afghanistan have influenced relations with Russia in international order. Moreover, descriptive method, discourse analysis and a comparative approach are used to scrutinize Russian and NATO’s geopolitical discourses towards crises. The analyses of NATO’s and Russian geopolitical discourses show that the hypothesis different NATO and Russian geopolitical discourses towards crises in Kosovo, Libya and Afghanistan have led to reciprocal accruing disagreements is only partly correct. The crisis of Kosovo in 2008 marks the end of the Russian flexible policy towards NATO and marks a new beginning of a permanently hostile geopolitical discourse against NATO in Europe. NATO military interventions in Kosovo, Libya and Afghanistan have negatively affected relations with Russia mostly in Europe. Mutual cooperation and diplomatic disputes towards crises in Libya and Afghanistan are minor in comparison with the NATO-Russian relations in the European continent. Consequently, Russia concentrates most of its attention to the geopolitical tradition towards Europe.
The impact of religion on minority identity and community: a case study of russian orthodoxy and the russian minority in estonia
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Cleary, Elizabeth Ann; Kilp, Alar, juhendaja; Blobaum, Robert, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa Kolledž
This thesis seeks to contribute to the scholarship on this underdeveloped topic of how religion, minority identity, and issues of integration intersect by evaluating the questions of a) whether religion significantly fosters identity within minority groups, b) whether religious communities linked with specific minority groups help or hinder integration, and c) what level of importance religion has in the interplay of minority identity and loyalty to the state where a minority has long resided or claims citizenship. The case study of Estonia was chosen. Its large Russian minority, history as a former Soviet republic, and proximity to Russia make it a fitting choice for this topic, as does its religious landscape which provides an interesting field for examination. Home to two Orthodox churches (the Estonian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate and the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church) under two competing patriarchates (Moscow Patriarchate and Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), the churches have the potential to be alternative platforms through which ethnic-specific concerns and views are expressed and embodied. In order to answer the key questions of this study, statistical sources have been analyzed, providing a quantitative picture of both the minority and the religious composition of Estonia. Those numbers were enlivened with a qualitative look at minority issues, national historical narratives, and religious community relationships that still contribute greatly to the dialogue in Estonia today. Interviews with Estonian clergy, academics, nonprofit leaders, and government employees form a significant part of this research and are an important element of its contribution to current scholarly debates. Through this variety of research and sources, I argue that Estonia, even in light of its nonreligious reputation, does contain Orthodox religious communities that effect minority identity, both in terms of active members and those who purely claim to be Orthodox. The Orthodox churches provide a connection to ethnic and national loyalties and identities, inevitably becoming politically charged and thus making the churches occasional participants in the debates of large minority issues, especially those that implicate the involvement of the neighboring Russian Federation. Religion is effected in both escalating and deescalating political tensions. Churches, especially the Orthodox communities of Estonia, have the potential to be leaders in resolution, compromise, and cooperation among Estonians and Russians, but must be cultivated as such or risk being case into the role of entities of future division.
Constructing the external image of the European Union in the post-Lisbon environment: The official discourse of the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy / vice president of the commission
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2014) Demant, Bret; Morozov, Viacheslav, juhendaja; Ruse, Ilze, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Euroopa kolledž
This thesis aims to demonstrate how the institutional actor of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the Commission (HR/VP) contributed to the construction of EU’s external image during the period of January 2010 to July 2013. In order to deliver the research aim, the theory of Discursive Institutionalism (DI) is introduced along with the methodology of Dialectical-Relational Approach (DRA) of Critical Discourse Analysis. DRA foresees a three-level analysis guided by HR/VP-set three priorities for her time in office. After analysing semantic aspects of the six themes/concepts, inductively identified from the texts, the discourse analysis shows that the creation and the functioning of the European External Action Service (EEAS), as both a priority and a theme, became a common denominator with which all the remaining five themes and two priorities could be linked. It was depicted as a prerequisite to considerably enhance EU’s external performance, in fact it was depicted as an institution which delivers EU foreign policy altogether. Consequently, the relationship between the HR/VP discourse and the institutional practice of external representation is explained through DI theory. Firstly, it is argued that in the HR/VP communicative discourse the identified themes/concepts could be taken as the upgraded versions of role conceptions (established images of EU’s role and performance in international system). They were utilised as discursive tools to refrain from bringing attention to role prescriptions, i.e. the still prevalent institutional fragmentation in EU’s external policies the HR/VP is aware of while speaking on behalf of the Union. This makes understandable with which means it was possible to construct the EEAS as a source enabling advancements in the post-Lisbon EU’s external conductions. Secondly, the HR/VP symbolic act of setting three vague priorities in the communicative discourse enabled to depict this institutional actor as one of having true discretionary power to set goals for whole EU’s external action, which in reality is impossible according to institutional rules. Lastly, in the HR/VP communicative discourse links were made between the initially set guiding priorities, the EEAS and the EU’s foreign policy. The latter remains a clear discursive attempt to depict an institutionally inexistent phenomenon as something real and tangible. In sum, all the aforesaid allows to better understand how the EU’s external image was constructed during the period of interest.
Vulnerability of Estonian electricity system: economic impact assessment of a paramilitary conflict in Ida-Virumaa
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2015) Raamat, Mart; Vits, Kristel, juhendaja; Mäe, Andres, juhendaja
The intention of the thesis is to look at the functioning of the Estonian electricity system in a situation where a paramilitary conflict has forced the two biggest power stations in Estonia into a production halt. The hypothetical scenario that the thesis anticipates is developed on an assumption borrowed from literature on critical infrastructure: a government has to assure the functioning of important infrastructure object in the occurrence of a worst case scenario. Given the current unstable situation in international relations and considering opinions that the Russian government could test NATO’s integrity by inflicting a military confrontation in the Baltic States, the scenario which anticipates a regional military insurgence taking place in the eastern region of Estonia remains plausible. The goal is to assess the vulnerability of the Estonian electricity system with a purpose-built model which links the measure of vulnerability to economic losses of a country. The author builds on the general model developed by Edward Christie which intended to measure the economic losses in the case of a gas supply disruption. After making some critical amendments to Christie’s model, the author establishes a concrete function to calculate the economic losses in the occurrence of an electricity supply cut. After testing the model in the case of Estonia, the thesis concludes that due to the high level of interconnectivity and sufficient domestic production options, the losses for Estonian economy deriving from the supply cut are extremely marginal. Thus, the vulnerability of Estonian electricity system is low and can supply end-users even in the occurrence of the hypothetical event. The author suggests further work on the developed model by possibly adding the dimensions of electricity market prices, seasonal coefficients and most importantly, a refined relationship between the consumption and available supply capacity.

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