Werner Weidenfeld and Wolfgang Wessels (eds.)
Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2016
Baden-Baden: Nomos 2016
ISBN 978-3-8487-3200-5

The Yearbook of European Integration from the Institute for European Politics has closely documented and analysed the process of European integration since 1980. For the eight time in a row Oliver Schwarz portrays in his contribution the latest developments in the EU's accession candidate Macedonia.

On Tuesday, the 15 November, Oliver Schwarz visited the Reinhard und Max Mannesmann Gymnasium in Duisburg-Huckingen. There he discussed the development and future of the European integration process with secondary school students.

From 7 to 10 September, Oliver Schwarz will participate at the ECPR General Conference in Prague. In the panel on "The Crisis of Democracy Promotion: The Rhetorics and Practice of the EU's Democratization Policy in Its Neighbourhood" he will discuss on his paper "A force for the good? Assessing the EU’s normative power in the Western Balkans". For more information on the General Conference, please click here.

Two steps forward one step back: what shapes the process of EU enlargement in South-Eastern Europe?
Journal of European Integration
DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2016.1203309

Which factors shape the process of EU enlargement in South-Eastern Europe? This question continues to be a puzzling subject of scholarly debate. A set of hypotheses can be derived from current literature on EU enlargement. Broadly speaking, these hypotheses fall into two general categories: internal and external factors. Building on these factors, the analysis elaborates on the idea of different paths of EU enlargement, adopting a qualitative comparative perspective. More specifically, the study applies fuzzy-set QCA to eight candidate states from South-Eastern Europe. The results show that the factor of political transformation is a necessary condition for EU enlargement in South-Eastern Europe. However, political transformation is not individually sufficient for the outcome of enlargement, but only in conjunction with other factors. The results also demonstrate that what explains the lack of enlargement process is not automatically the negation of the conditions that explain progress in enlargement.

On 21 June, Dr. Kerim Kudo (KAS, Berlin) will give a speech on the topic "Bosnia and Herzegovina between religious nationalism and European perspective". The event is organized by the Southeast Europe Association (SOG). All people interested are welcome. For more information, please click here.

On 14 June, Thomas Bickl (EPP press speaker, Brussels) will give a speech on the topic "The border conflict between Croatia and Slovenia: The EU headlocked by a bilateral conflict?". The event is organized by the Southeast Europe Association (SOG). All people interested are welcome. For more information, please click here.

Oliver Schwarz will present his latest research on "The management of citizenship and migration in Europe and beyond: A qualitative comparative analysis" at the 11th ECSA-C biennial conference in Halifax on 9-11 May 2016. For more information, please click here

(Non-) Compliance with EU norms, rules and values

Consultation hours

With the beginning of summer semester, consultation hours of Oliver Schwarz will take place in LF 321 Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. beginning on 13 April and ending on 13 July. To make an appointment, please click here.

From 21 to 23 March, Oliver Schwarz will participate at the PSA Annual International Conference in Brighton. In the panel on "International Norms and Norm Diffusion" he will discuss on his paper "A force for the good? Assessing national compliance with core norms of the European Union". For more information on the PSA Annual International Conference, please click here.

From 10 to 11 March, Oliver Schwarz took part at the symposium "The Crisis of Democracy Promotion" at the University of Groningen. There he presented his latest research on "A force for the good? Assessing the EU’s normative power in the Western Balkans".

On 3 March, Oliver Schwarz will participate at the public panel discussion "Egoism instead of solidarity - Is the EU breaking over the current refugee crisis?". For more information on this event, please click here.

Public lecture on EU enlargement

On 21 January, the final event of the debating project "NRW debates Europe" will take place. Oliver Schwarz will chair the debate on social Europe as well on a European army. For more information, please click here.

On 12 January, Julia Klein from the Institute for European Politics (IEP) will give a speech on the topic "Turko-scepticism in the EU vs. Euro-scepticism in Turkey". The event is organized by the Southeast Europe Association (SOG). All people interested are welcome. For more information, please click here.