Eastern Neighbours Research Articles

Harnessing the Real Estate Market for Equitable Affordable Housing Provision through Land Value Capture: Insights from San Francisco City, California

Affordable housing remains a serious problem in many countries. Even as the housing affordability crisis deepens, most cities continue to exhibit robust real estate markets with high property prices. The low-income and poor households are unable to access affordable housing and remain excluded. This paper draws from empirical research conducted in the city of San Francisco and focuses on the application of Land Value Capture (LVC) through increased Inclusionary Housing (IH) requirements after plan changes that increased density potential in San Francisco’s Eastern Neighbourhoods to evaluate its effects on the goals of increasing both affordable housing and social inclusion. Findings reveal that the increased inclusionary requirements used as LVC mechanism enabled 76.2% of all the affordable housing units produced in the Eastern Neighbourhoods to be produced by market-rate developers in 2011–2015 as compared to the rest of San Francisco, where 35.5% of the affordable units were produced from the market through inclusionary policy during the same period. The study demonstrates that upzoning underutilised land coupled with a well-planned LVC mechanism can help harness the strength of the real estate market and increase both affordable housing production and social inclusion.

Hierarchical Bayesian modeling for the spatial analysis of robberies in Toronto, Canada

This paper investigates the geographic variation of robbery risk in Toronto, Canada. A hierarchical Bayesian modeling approach is used for estimating the relative risk of robberies across Toronto’s 140 neighbourhood districts in 2017. The association between robbery risk and various socio-economic explanatory variables (i.e., business density, education and income levels) are analyzed using a Poisson-based spatial regression model. Markov Chain Monte Carlo model fitting is utilized for the estimation of relative risk and associated regression parameters. Results reveal that elevated levels of robbery risk are predominant in the eastern, north-western and southern neighbourhoods of Toronto whereas, lower risk areas are situated in the central neighbourhoods. Across all neighbourhoods, there was a geographical difference in robbery risk, ranging from 0.17 (95% CI 0.05–0.38) to 4.87 (95% CI 4.22–5.55). Education and income variables had a negative association with robberies at posterior probabilities of 96.9% and 85.5% respectively, whereas business density had a positive association with robberies at a posterior probability of 100%. Hence, neighbourhoods with higher amounts of businesses, lower education levels and lower household incomes tend to have a higher mean amount of robberies in Toronto and thus higher associated risks.

Corporate social responsibility: Polish experience and Ukrainian perspectives

Global issues of 21 century, such as ecological concerns, depletion of natural resources, informatization, transition to the machine production and switch to the predominance of intellectual work have led to the changes in the social role of large business. Best world practice along with UN recommendations strongly support the development of socially responsible business. Global network of multinational companies allows them to predetermine political and social situation in many countries sometimes more effectively than traditional politics. Positive correlation between business performance and purchasing power of citizens accentuate the importance of investment into social development. Consequently, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes one of the cornerstones of sustainable development. This paper aims to describe basic principles of CSR and its historical development, to analyze pros and cons of different approaches to CSR and discuss the perspectives of its implementation into Ukrainian economy using Polish experience. E. Garriga and D. Mele in their article «Corporate social responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory» managed to perfectly describe almost all theories of CSR, allowing many scientists to use their results. In spite of positive social influence of CSR, its impact on economic still remains unclear. It may be connected to the relatively short follow-up for the tracking of economic changes and the difficulties for the estimation of such complex phenomenon. Transitional Ukrainian economy just have started the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sometimes it lack the deep understanding of what that means and how that works. Polish experience may become a good example for eastern neighbor`s companies and government, and help to build new relations between large business and society.

EU's development policy vis-à-vis Ukraine after the Euromaidan: securitisation, state-building and integration

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on key trends in EU development policy regarding post-Euromaidan Ukraine against the background of the EU's commitment to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The trends considered include comprehensiveness of the policy response, stronger coordination and coherence, security-development nexus, and policy securitisation, as well as values in development policy. This article touches upon the interplay of the EU's foreign, security, and development policies in the Eastern Neighbourhood; the role of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the implementation of SDGs; and the role of development policy in the EU's Integrated Approach to External Conflicts and Crises.

Annual and seasonal distribution pattern of rainfall in Iran and neighboring regions

In this study, the trend of southwestern Asia’s rainfall (4152 stations) was investigated in two annual and monthly scales during the statistical period of 1970–2014 using non-parametric Mann–Kendall test with complete removal of the self-correlation structure. The results of the study of annual rainfall’s trend in South West Asia indicated that of the studied countries, the trend of rainfall in two countries, namely Iraq and Iran, was more critical than other countries and showed an approximate drop of 1.2 and 1.03 mm, respectively, in total annual rainfall year on year. All the regions of these two countries were studied and showed a declining trend of rainfall on an annual scale, and due to the rainfall shortage, these countries can be considered to be facing crisis. The results of annual and seasonal rainfall distribution in the studied area showed that, apart from winter, all of the studied scales during the period of 2005–2014 have shown a regular distribution of rainfall from 1970 to 1997, which is due to the declining trend in monthly rainfall and changes that reduce the monthly rainfall as a result of the regular distribution of rainfall between seasons and years. Moreover, the results indicated that in winter, rainfall distribution in Iran and its eastern neighbors were more irregular during the statistical period of the study, which could be the result of a rainfall disorder affecting these countries in the past decade. The irregular distribution of rainfall causes rainfall to be unevenly distributed across the seasons, which will then cause extreme rainfall.

Wysoka przedstawiciel Federica Mogherini. Jej rola i osiągnięcia w unijnym sąsiedztwie

Federica Mogherini, a top diplomat of the European Union (EU), has strengthened coordination over EU external affairs but has not managed to make a significant impact in Europe’s closest neighbourhood. She succeeded in the speedy launch of the EU naval operation in the Mediterranean and the development of partnerships with several Sub-Saharan countries concerning migration, but in the case of the conflicts in Libya and Syria, the EU remained dependent on UN-led mediation. In relations with the eastern neighbourhood, Mogherini was side-lined by the Member States, which did not perceive her as an honest broker on Russian affairs. The next High Representative should make improvements in these areas while also following Mogherini’s path of close cooperation with the European Commission and other stakeholders.

The Eastern Partnership: Geopolitics and policy inertia

On the eve of its tenth anniversary, the EU’s Eastern Partnership seems to be drifting towards placing greater emphasis on differentiation and stabilisation than on reforms. This contrasts with the transformative ambitions displayed by the EU when it launched this new initiative in 2009. These ambitions have produced mixed results and were partly abandoned in the 2015 European Neighbourhood Policy Review. Since then, policy inertia seems to have prevailed. This exposes the EU to the risk that its relations with its eastern partners will become increasingly geopoliticised. This might lead the EU to lower its transformative ambitions even further. And this, in turn, could throw into question a fundamental aspect of its foreign policy identity, the EU’s role as a transformative power. In other words, such a development might not only weaken the EU’s role in its eastern neighbourhood but also undermine the added value of its foreign policy.

Ukraine and the Big Moral Divide: What Biased Media Coverage Means to East European Borders

ABSTRACT Geopolitical shifts and the changing significance of borders in the EU’s neighbourhood are usually understood as a matter of international power politics. Factors that accompany geopolitical impact on borders, such as media coverage of geopolitical change, often appear as secondary or irrelevant. However the recent Ukraine conflict revealed the contrary as pro-EU attitudes were strongly supported by ‘western’ media. Therefore this paper seeks to clarify the role of news media in creating perspectives and attitudes on geopolitical shifts and the significance of European borders. Empirical evidence on the coverage of the evolving Ukraine crisis by German news sources portrays the media as promoters of biased framings and imaginaries which suggest that the EU be a potential conflict party in the newly evolving geostrategic confrontation in its eastern neighbourhood. The findings indicate that during critical periods of the Ukraine crisis media reports combined rising euphoria about Europe and ‘the West’, as defenders of the ‘good cause’, with excessive moral polarising and the discursive normalisation of a rhetoric of escalation. Imaginaries of a bipolar world (The West against Russia) and a new Cold War prepared the ground for a new understanding of European borders and neighbourhood relations as being manipulable at will.

The Unintended Consequences of a European Neighbourhood Policy without Russia

ABSTRACTAfter Russia’s retreat from the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU’s policy towards its eastern neighbours was split up. The internal unintended consequence of the EU’s choice to leave its policy unaltered was a tension between the objective of privileged relations with ENP countries and a promise to recognise the interests of Russia as an equal partner. Externally, the unintended outcome was that this fostered two opposing strategic environments: a cooperative one for the EaP and a competitive one with Russia. In terms of the management of unintended consequences, the EU has actively sought to reinforce its normative hegemony towards EaP countries, while at the same time mitigating certain negative unintended effects.

Problem suwerenności Polski w okresie przemian Polskiego Października i kampanii przed wyborami do Sejmu PRL w 1957 roku

The aim of the article is to indicate the impact of the political thaw in the Polish October on discussions and dispute over the sovereignty of the PRL. Raised to power on a wave of political thaw, the team headed by Wladyslaw Gomulka was aware of the consequences of Poland’s belonging to the Soviet empire. For the new leader of the PRL, increasing the sovereignty of the country was the same as the autonomy of Polish communists within the so-called socialist community, in accordance with its ideological conditions, as well as without undermining the Kremlin’s dominant position. It was in such a spirit that one should understand Gomulka’s political actions regarding the Hungarian issue and the negotiations that the Polish side had with the Soviet Union on economic problems, the issue of stationing Soviet troops in Poland, and the repatriation of Poles from the USSR. As a result of these talks, relations with the eastern neighbor were regulated in more formalized and legal terms, which in the eyes of a significant part of society was an increase of the independence of the PRL from the Kremlin. They were generally aware that under the current conditions, no more could have been obtained. Nevertheless, the issue of the sovereignty of the PRL was present during the campaigns before the elections to Parliament in January 1957. Many candidates for deputies, including party members, raised during the meetings with voters the issue of Poland’s dependence on the eastern neighbor, and also raised the subject of the revision of eastern borders and the trade with the USSR, at that time unfavorable for PRL. Anti-Soviet moods, which were particularly worrying for the authorities, also made them-selves known in the army.

Стратегічна комунікація ЄС як засіб у боротьбі з дезінформацією.

The article analyzes one of the directions of the European Union strategic communications aimed at debunking fakes and disinformation. Strategic communications belong to the innovative tools of the EU foreign policy, aimed at interaction in the format of both strategic partnership with international actors and regional cooperation with European countries. The East Stratcom Task Force has been created precisely for the East Neighborhood countries to cooperate with the East Europe states and to better inform on the EU in these countries. The Task Force analysts see their mission in explaining and promoting the European Union's policy in the Eastern Neighborhood, as well as correcting disinformation. The Task Force reports and analyzes the trends of disinformation, explains and debunks disinformation messages and raises awareness of disinformation produced by the Russian Federation and Russian-language media.EUvsDisinfo is the publicly available international disinformation database which provides weekly reviews of the Task Force and presents analytical articles on this issue. In particular, analytical materials emphasize that the Kremlin campaign for disinformation uses diversification of channels, messages depending on the target audience. However, all messages have a common goal that is to weaken the West, discrediting the idea of European integration, and to strengthen the Kremlin, promoting the convictions and values of the Russian Federation.Disinformation is used by the Kremlin as a means of acquiring power in both Russian and foreign policy. The Task Force analysts conduct a comprehensive analysis of disinformation messages and demonstrate that disinformation cannot only be a way of intimidating and demonstrating power; it can also be ridiculous, mischievous, when its creators, trying to mislead the audience, are mistaken and exposed.Being aware of the acuteness of the disinformation threats, the European Commission has set up a high-level group of experts whose mission is to provide advice on policy initiatives to counteract false news and disinformation online.

Armenia Caught Between (In-)Compatible Legal Orders: Paths of Competitive and Cumulative Integration

In 2013, Armenia abandoned the plan to sign the Association Agreement and to establish a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU. Instead, it acceded to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Against this U-turn in Armenia’s integration agenda, this contribution critically investigates the (in)compatibility of participation in the European and the Eurasian legal orders. While the customs union-based regional integration processes preclude Armenia’s participation in both, the authors argue that the strict dichotomy of having to choose one or another transnational legal order and the subsequent legal and political divisions harm Armenia and hamper the achievement of objectives inherent to the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood. It will be argued that this dichotomy may be overcome by a rapprochement between the EU and the EAEU, potentially through contractual relations. Moreover the creative ways in which the EU already provides for differentiated integration could be adapted to enable Armenia reconcile legal approximation with the EU with its engagement within the Eurasian region.

A Step-by-Step Revision of the Treaty of Versailles? Gustav Stresemann’s Eastern Policy

Gustav Stresemann, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and German Foreign Minister of the 1920s, is well-known for the international cooperation of the Weimar Republic with Europe’s great powers. He simultaneously pursued a peaceful modification of the eastern boundaries of Germany, while accepting the reality of the Versailles system. This paper analyses the change in Germany's relations with her eastern neighbours, as well as Stresemann’s intentions to achieve border revisions and to support German minorities abroad. It is especially exciting to consider the purposes of the German approach to the Soviet Union in Stresemann’s program, and if this could have been used to force concessions from the West. The study also sheds light on why Stresemann overestimated the revisionist potential of the Locarno Treaties, and on the remaining possibilities of border revisions that existed at the end of his six-year tenure as Foreign Minister.

10 Years of Eastern Partnership: The Scenarios for the Further Development of the Initiative and the EU Eastern Neighbourhood Policy

The article suggests that ten years after the Eastern Partnership initiative was founded, its format and structure do not allow to draw full potential of the states that seek European Union membership. The author emphasizes that the change in the EU’s approach to the Eastern Partnership countries will make it possible to ensure the accomplishment of the fundamental mission of the European Neighbourhood Policy, namely peace and prosperity in the region. The European Union has already done quite a lot in this regard. Expanding the EU’s social rights as part of the Europeanization process will provide a more stable and favourable environment in the Eastern Partnership countries and reduce migration flows therefrom. The main efforts of the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries in the near future will be focused on solving domestic political, social and economic problems. In this case, Ukraine and the region as a whole will appear on the European Union agenda in terms of security issues. The biggest success story of the European Union is its enlargement policy, which can force enemies to negotiate and find a compromise, as well as motivate political leaders to take risks for the implementation of European integration reforms. This policy does not apply to Eastern Partnership countries. The author concludes that the neighbourhood policy has already exhausted its potential, and in order for the dialogue within the Eastern partnership not to descend to the solution of technical issues of the European Union Association Agreements implementation, it is necessary to offer an attractive model of cooperation that would provide support for pro-European reforms in the Eastern Partnership countries. Keywords: European Union, Eastern Partnership, politics, bilateral dialogue.

Die Europäische Union, die Östliche Partnerschaft und „Assoziierung Plus“: zur Debatte über die Einbindung assoziierter Nachbarn unterhalb einer EU-Mitgliedschaft

This article takes up the European Neighbourhood Policy-related debate on the future design of the association policy of the European Union (EU) towards the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). It pursues two objectives. First, it examines - apart from a brief discussion of the origins and genesis of the concept of “association plus” in the context of the wider EU neighbourhood framework - how the intra-EU discourse on the future of the EaP has evolved and changed in recent years and which propositions are nowadays at the core of the debate. Secondly, it analyses these propositions, mainly revolving around the integration of EaP countries into the emerging Energy and Digital Union and the Schengen Area as well as the creation of bilateral customs unions, in what regards opportunities and challenges for the eastern neighbours. The article argues that “association plus”, as demanded by the European Parliament and some EaP countries, would generate considerable financial and political costs even for those eastern neighbours that have implemented significant reforms and that it seems acceptable only if it were explicitly declared as an intermediate step towards the granting of an EU membership perspective.

Hungarian experience in the development of euro-regional cross-border cooperation

The article is devoted to the experience of Hungary in the development of Euro-regional cross-border cooperation. It is clear that the aim of the Euro-regions of Hungary was to achieve a high level of cooperation. These are European territorial dimensions, where there is rapid and branched communication, a competitive economy, where the role and importance of the periphery are diminished, there is an extensive network of social and cultural ties, and that the multiethnic population in these border regions is particularly important. without conflict. At the formation stage, the Hungarian Euro-regions sought to adapt as effectively as possible the specific Western European model of the Euro-region. Interestingly, this was done very quickly compared to the Western European regions where the euro-regions were subject to time-checks. Particular attention was paid to the dynamics of the development of the Hungarian Euro-region of Western Pannonia. The Western Pannonia Euro-region was created on the then-eastern border of the EU, so the experience of Euro-regional cooperation gained by Hungary's western border regions is of considerable interest to Ukraine. Hungary's accession to the EU is functionally gradually changing the Euro-region of Western Pannonia, that is, changing the territorial development plans of the Euro-region. Given the geographical location of the Western Pannonia Euro-region, this Euro-region served as a model for cooperation between EU and non-EU border regions. It should also be noted that funding for joint cross-border projects is important. From the point of view of economic development of the border areas, the high, dynamic development of the economy and the activity of economic ties were still characteristic of the whole Euro-region. The study focuses on the Eastern Partnership initiative. Particularly noteworthy is the Eastern Partnership initiative put forward in May 2008 by Poland and Sweden, which proposed a deepening of relations with eastern neighbors covered by the European Neighborhood Policy, including Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership is, in essence, a continuation of the Neighborhood Policy, ie it means that no EU member states are currently expected to enter.

Страны Балтии и Россия в контексте украинского кризиса

The crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine still has a huge impact on the state of the world community. In particular, most sensitive to the events in Ukraine are Russia’s neighbors, – first of all, the Baltic States, which have recently gained political independence. In the historical memory of the Baltic peoples, the incorporation of 1940 and the subsequent Stalin’s repressions are preserved. The fear of the “big neighbor” is supplemented by genetic fear of disappearance from the world map typical for small ethnic groups. The situation is complicated by the presence of more than 300 thousands Russian-speaking residents in Latvia and Estonia, who are deprived of civil rights as “non-citizens”. At the same time, there are regions in these countries where the Russian-speaking population dominates, and the titular ethnic groups are a minority. In Latvia it is Latgale, where Russian-speaking make up more than half of the population, in Estonia – IDA-Virumaa with more than 80%. In the sphere of foreign policy of the Baltic States, the events in Ukraine confirmed the validity of the anti-Russian rhetoric of these countries’ ruling circles and gave an additional impulse to the promotion of new anti-Russian initiatives. There are two trends in domestic policy with a view to the Ukrainian crisis. National radical groups seek to take advantage of the political situation to reduce the influence of the Russian-speaking Diaspora. The attempts of its assimilation are activated, first of all, in the prohibition of the Russian language in the sphere of education. The most moderate part of the establishment is trying to correct the vices of the existing ethnic policy in order to avoid the growth of interethnic tension in societies, to minimize the risk of internal conflicts, taking into account, among other things, the historical experience and the factor of a transition period of the “great Eastern neighbor”. To a large extent, it is this dialectic that will determine the foreseeable future in the policy of the Baltic countries.

The European Neighborhood Policy: a perspective of the partner countries

Aim: The aim of the paper is an analysis and assessment of the partner-countries’ various positions and interests with regard to the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). The focus was put on expectations and reservations related to ENP in the partner countries. Design/ research method: The analysis is based on the subject literature related to the ENP. The paper comprises three parts. The first one depicts general geopolitical overview of the ENP. Second part concentrates on partner countries different approaches towards the initiative and the third section is an attempt to examine the neighboring countries’ conflicting visions towards the ENP. Conclusions: The widespread criticism of the outcomes of the ENP is a result of grave geopolitical turbulences, i.e.: the Mediterranean partners have experienced the Arab Spring uprisings and the Eastern neighbors have again found themselves in the orbit of particular interests of Russia. The partner countries’ visions and expectations towards the ENP are very diverse. Some of them seek to achieve economic benefits without closer political relations with the EU, others strive to achieve membership in the EU which is perceived as an inherent element of the process of successful reforms and systemic transformation. Value of the article: The paper addresses the problem of declining the ENP. The reason is twofold: contradictory interests of the partner countries and second, floppy engagement of the UE’s institutions in forging of the ENP policy. Limitations of the research: The analysis is limited to general political tendencies and line of actions addressed by the ENP partner countries. It resulted both from changes in the ENP agenda as well as international relations and internal turbulences in the regions.

The European Union’s Policy towards its Eastern Neighbours: The Crisis in Ukraine

The European Union’s neighbourhood is complex and still far from being stable. In Ukraine, significant progress has occurred in many areas of transition; however, much work remains to be done, especially in the field of regional development and governance where many legacies of the Soviet model remain. At the crossroads between East and West, Ukraine presents an interesting case of policy development as an expression of European Union (EU) external governance. This paper asks the question: why was the relationship between the EU and Ukraine fairly unsuccessful at promoting stability in the region and in Ukraine? What was missing in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine that rendered the EU unable to prevent a conflict on the ground? By identifying security, territorial, and institutional challenges and opportunities the EU has faced in Ukraine, this paper underlines the most important factors accounting for the performance of its external governance and crisis management in Ukraine.

The European Union’s Policy towards its Eastern Neighbours: The Crisis in Ukraine

The European Union’s neighbourhood is complex and still far from being stable. In Ukraine, significant progress has occurred in many areas of transition; however, much work remains to be done, especially in the field of regional development and governance where many legacies of the Soviet model remain. At the crossroads between East and West, Ukraine presents an interesting case of policy development as an expression of European Union (EU) external governance. This paper asks the question: why was the relationship between the EU and Ukraine fairly unsuccessful at promoting stability in the region and in Ukraine? What was missing in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine that rendered the EU unable to prevent a conflict on the ground? By identifying security, territorial, and institutional challenges and opportunities the EU has faced in Ukraine, this paper underlines the most important factors accounting for the performance of its external governance and crisis management in Ukraine.
 
 Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v12i2.1310