The Nordic, Baltic and Visegrád Small Powers in Europe

Höfundur: Hilmar Hilmarsson (Útgáfa: 1)
The Nordic, Baltic and Visegrád Small Powers in Europe

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This volume addresses and seeks to answer a number of questions on the current issues facing small states/powers in Europe. How can small European states survive and prosper within a multipolar world of great powers? What part should small states take in European integration? Are EU fiscal and monetary policies allowing for Keynesian economic stimulus when needed and are euro area convergence criteria viable as the world recovers from the COVID-19 crisis? Are small state alliances within the EU useful to counterbalance the influence of the larger EU member states? How far should EU and NATO expansion go? Should it include countries such as Ukraine? Can the EU rely on US leadership of NATO for its security? How should small states relate to great powers seeking to influence Europe, most notably the US, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation? Do smaller states need to choose a single ally among the major powers? Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author discusses issues of economic policy, international relations and politics, economic and political integration, as well as the effects of global and regional institutions, and priorities in bilateral development cooperation, demonstrating how policies are shaped by the interaction between small states (small powers) and large states (great powers).

Nánar um bókina

Útgefandi
Taylor & Francis
ISBN
9781000852134
Print ISBN
9781032080154
Format
ePub
Útgáfa
1
Höfundar
Hilmar Hilmarsson
Tungumál
English
Útgefið
2023-03-10
Prent takmörkun á líftíma
100
Prent takmörkun
2
Afritunar takmörkun
2

Kaflar

  • Cover
  • Half Title
  • Series Page
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Table of Contents
  • List of figures
  • List of tables
  • List of boxes
  • The author
  • Acknowledgements
  • Abbreviations and acronyms
  • Introduction
  • References
  • 1. The costs and benefits of European integration, and the challenges of NATO membership for small powers
  • European integration and NATO membership
  • Different levels of European integration
  • Some benefits and costs resulting from European integration
  • The euro area: costs and benefits of membership
  • Proximity with Russia and European integration
  • US-backed NATO security: the US security umbrella
  • NATO versus the Warsaw Pact
  • From unipolarity to multipolarity: the rise of China, Russian recovery post-Soviet Union and the Chinese-Russian partnership
  • Continued US dominance in Europe and European cooperation with China
  • Major powers in Europe, Germany and France
  • What does this mean for small states/powers in Europe?
  • The different approaches to European integration and NATO membership
  • The Nordic countries
  • The Baltic states
  • The Visegrád countries
  • References
  • 2. Participation in global and regional institutions and international relations theories
  • Participation in global institutions
  • Participation in regional institutions
  • Overseas development assistance
  • Participation and priorities in bilateral development cooperation
  • International organizations and the liberal world order
  • International relations theory: theoretical framework
  • The EU, NATO and liberalism
  • Realism versus liberal institutionalism
  • International institutions and small states/powers
  • References
  • 3. Some small power alliances in Europe
  • The Baltic, Nordic and the Visegrád groups
  • Nordic cooperation2
  • Baltic cooperation
  • Visegrád cooperation10
  • The Visegrád group today
  • The structure of Visegrád cooperation
  • The role of states in the international system
  • Meetings between the Nordic, Baltic and Visegrád groups
  • Siding with the US or China?
  • Lithuania’s tensions with Russia and China and the blind reliance on the US
  • Can the Baltic states rely on the US for their defence? Can they rely on the EU?
  • References
  • 4. Economic and social performance after the 2008–09 global financial crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Unemployment
  • Market economy versus Keynesian welfare state: the Nordic versus the Baltic model
  • The Nordic welfare model and collective risk sharing
  • The Baltic neoliberal revolt against the welfare state
  • Visegrád group
  • Social justice in the Baltic, Nordic and Visegrad countries
  • The performance of welfare systems: the Baltic States lagging behind
  • Income inequality, poverty and social exclusion in the Baltic, Nordic and the Visegrád groups during the past decade
  • Poverty or social exclusion?
  • Health care expenditure and COVID-19 cases and deaths
  • Concluding remarks
  • References
  • 5. Great powers influencing Europe in a changing world: From bipolar to unipolar to multipolar
  • From a bipolar to a unipolar to a multipolar world: how does this affect Europe?
  • China’s growing interest in Europe and the US pivot to Asia
  • Small states’ behaviour in a multipolar world
  • Small states’ strategy in a multipolar world
  • An Icelandic moment for Lithuania
  • References
  • 6. The US and its role in Europe: Is the transatlantic alliance viable and feasible?
  • US leadership role after the Second World War
  • The fall of the Soviet Union and US influence on the former Soviet satellite states and republics
  • The rise of China and a stronger Russia
  • How viable is the transatlantic link?
  • How should European small powers react to this change?
  • References
  • 7. The rise of China and its growing economic and political interest in Europe
  • The rise of China and the relative decline in US supremacy
  • Alliances against China
  • The China-Russia alliance
  • Some other major alliances with and without China
  • United Nations Security Council, NATO and the great power rivalry
  • How can Europe deal with this challenge? How should Europe manage its relations with China vs the US?
  • References
  • 8. Sharing a border with Russia: Ukraine and the challenge of EU and NATO expansion
  • Introduction
  • Ukraine
  • Post-Soviet Union economic performance and productivity
  • Internal and external (im)balances in Ukraine and Poland
  • Integration with the West with the support of the EU, NATO and the US, and the subsequent conflict with Russia and full-scale war
  • The effect of weak governance and corruption
  • Outward migration and unemployment
  • Discussion
  • Concluding remarks
  • References
  • 9. How can Europe move forward post-COVID-19 and Brexit?
  • Challenges ahead for the European Union
  • The euro and the fragility of some euro area economies
  • Fiscal discipline in the euro area
  • Populist movements and the migration crisis
  • Brexit
  • Can Brexit result in further disintegration?
  • More flexible fiscal rules in the euro area?
  • Fiscal deficit or general government net lending/borrowing
  • General government gross debt
  • References
  • 10. Dancing with giants: What can small powers do to maintain their economic and political sovereignty in a multipolar world?
  • Great powers in a multipolar world
  • Small states and small state alliances in a multipolar world
  • Why are great powers opportunistic and unreliable?
  • The risk of relying on great powers
  • References
  • 11. Conclusion and policy implications
  • The status quo scenario
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Opportunities
  • Threats
  • Pivot to China scenario
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Opportunities
  • Threats
  • Pragmatic scenario
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Opportunities
  • Threats
  • Security in the Baltic states, the Nordic countries and the Visegrád group: strengths and weaknesses
  • Baltic states
  • Nordic countries
  • Visegrád group
  • References
  • Index