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- Volume 28, Issue 2, 2015
International Journal of Iberian Studies - Volume 28, Issue 2-3, 2015
Volume 28, Issue 2-3, 2015
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The changing role of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union: Setting the context for the study of the Iberian cases
Authors: Alice Cunha and José M. MagoneAbstractThis introductory article sets out the European Union context of the special issue. Its main purpose is to present an overview of the changing role of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. After a brief introduction, the first section discusses the theoretical approach applied in the study of rotating EU Council Presidencies primarily, historical, rational and sociological institutionalism. All these aspects are inherent in the relatively informal structure within the Council of Ministers. Subsequently, an abbreviated account of the evolution of the rotating presidency is provided. This is followed by a section analysing the main functions of the presidency and how the Iberian presidencies have used these functions. The template employed is relatively simple; later articles in the special issue may use it to the degree it is relevant to their focus. It has been argued that until the Lisbon Treaty came into force in 2009, the rotating presidency could be used to enhance a countrys global image, mainly through the external representation role assigned to the institution. The Portuguese presidency of 2007 was probably the last such presidency. As a consequence of the reforms undertaken throughout the new millennium intended to help the EU adjust to enlargement, the presidency has lost visibility. The Spanish presidency of 2010 can been identified as the first in which perceptions of the old and new rotating presidency roles conflicted with each other, leading to failure in many areas. The article finishes by describing the principal aims of the special issue and summarizing the individual contributions.
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Spain at the helm: The Spanish presidencies of the Council of the European Union
Authors: A. Fernández Pasarín and F MorataAbstractSince its accession to the European Community (EC) in 1986, Spain has presided over the Council of the European Union (EU) on four occasions. The first presidency took place in 1989, only three years after its entry into the EC. The second term was in 1995, after the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the EU. The third occurred in 2002, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the United States. Last but not least, the country’s fourth presidency was in 2010, following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. This article examines and compares these four Spanish experiences at the helm of the EU. It sheds light on constancy and change in terms of priorities, strategies and institutional constraints, both at the domestic and European levels, and demonstrates the extent to which the presidency is a lens through which the evolving nature of Spain’s commitment to European integration as a whole can be captured.
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Bilateralism in the Spanish presidencies of the Council of the European Union: Alliances for the development of European foreign policy
By Laia MestresAbstractOne consistent strategy of Spain’s European policy has been bilateralism, that is to say, the development of intense relationships with certain other member states in order to gain influence in decisions regarding the process of European integration. In addition, finding allies has proven essential for the success of Spanish proposals in the European Union (EU), especially during the four Spanish presidencies of the Council of the EU. In this sense, successive Spanish governments have promoted a bilateral rapprochement with the EU’s large member states (France, Germany, Italy and secondarily the United Kingdom) through regular meetings with their governmental leaders. One of the fields where Spain’s bilateralist strategy has been more active is European foreign policy, which has become a privileged sphere for the analysis of the power of states within the EU. This article will look at the four Spanish experiences of holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council and compare the different bilateral strategies developed by each Prime Minister in office.
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From apprentice to partner: The 1992 Portuguese Council presidency
By Alice CunhaAbstractPortugal joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986 and, after a relatively small six-year apprenticeship period, in which the country met the accession terms and started learning the Community policy-making processes, held its first Council’s presidency in 1992. This article analyses broadly the performance of the first Portuguese Council’s presidency, from the point of view of both Portuguese history and the history of the EEC/European Union. It highlights the distinctive features of the Portuguese presidency, and provides an overview of the presidency’s programme and its ensuing results. It also shows how Portugal handled the early years of membership and presidency planning, while running the presidency provided an opportunity to show its European political skills and enhance its state image.
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The Portuguese presidency of the EU in 2000: An ambitious enterprise
More LessAbstractFollowing its EU presidency in 1992, Portugal served a second term in 2000. Originally designed as simply a transition to the more important French term in the second half of the year, it ended up producing the Lisbon strategy for the socio-economic development of the European Union. This article describes how seriously the Portuguese government took the presidency and how its ambition at the right moment helped to create the Lisbon strategy. The article also shows how the institutional structures of the presidency were upgraded and transformed in order to allow the presidency to run smoothly. The simplicity of the national EU coordination system was a further factor contributing to the smooth operation of the 2000 presidency. The article particularly emphasizes the institutionalization of the structures used to manage European Union affairs. The main argument of this article is that there is a learning process for countries that are in charge of the presidency. After the first presidency of 1992, Portugal learnt how to deal with the constraints but also opportunities that the rotating presidency offered and was able to be more ambitious by becoming the main architect of the Lisbon strategy and the attached open method of coordination (OMC). Both have become established innovations of the European integration process.
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Painting the CFSP in national colours: Portuguese strategies to help shape the EUs external relations
More LessAbstractThe agenda-setting power of the rotating Council presidency presented successive Portuguese governments with an opportunity to externalize the country’s core foreign-policy priorities onto the European level. As such, Portugal’s presidencies of the Council of the European Union have been particularly instrumental in formalizing relations between the EU and the Lusophone world. The first and second EU–Africa summits, the first EU–Brazil summit, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Commission and the Executive Secretariat of the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP), and the closer association of Cape Verde to the EU, all occurred while Portugal held the rotating Council presidency. This article discusses the strategies, challenges and successes of the three Portuguese presidencies (1992, 2000 and 2007) in shaping the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It also explores the options available to Portugal in the post-Lisbon era, where the rotating Council presidency’s agenda-setting powers are considerably reduced with regard to CFSP matters. Both prior to and since the Treaty of Lisbon coming into force, Portugal’s strategy has been to stress its historic links to Africa and Brazil, as these relations constitute Portugal’s contribution to building the CFSP, furthering its core national foreign-policy priorities by putting its position in the Lusophone world at the disposal of the European Union’s external action.
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Is Spain different? The political, economic and social consequences of its crisis1
More LessAbstractI apply the well-known slogan ‘Spain is different’ to the consequences of the country’s economic, political and social crisis in order to try to gauge the extent to which the crisis has been different to that in other euro zone countries. The most notable difference is the disproportionate rise in the unemployment rate which more than tripled from a low of 8 per cent in 2007. One major factor behind this is Spain’s economic model, excessively based on the labour-intensive construction sector. The bursting of the property bubble as of 2008 had a huge impact. Other factors are the influx of immigrants: Spain received more immigrants per capita in the ten years before its crisis than any other country except the United States. Many of them worked in construction; indeed without them the boom would not have been possible. Remarkably, Spain does not have a party along the lines of Britain’s UKIP. Political discontent with the two-party system has been largely channelled into the leftist Podemos.
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Understanding local democracy in Catalonia: From formally institutionalized processes to self-organized social referenda on independence
By Lluís MedirAbstractThis article identifies and describes key aspects of two movements that sought to empower local democracy in Catalonia from 2008 to 2010 and they are useful to understand the political process leading to the informal referendum on independence held on 9 November 2014. First, it analyses the institutional actions of the Catalan government to promote local democracy in 2008. Second, it focuses on the organizational processes of the local referenda on Catalan independence held in 2010, conducted exclusively by self-organized and ideologically oriented citizens in each locality. In 2008, there were 874 instruments created by local governments to promote the participatory process, while from 2009 to 2010 more than 500 localities held local referenda on independence. Both movements are extensive enough to be interpreted as an important turning point in recent Catalan history. This article will link both processes by highlighting their main features, tracing their historical roots and explaining their relationships, in order to gain a better understanding of the political conditions that finally led to the government-organized independence referendum in 2014.
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Reviews
Authors: Eamonn Rodgers, Monica Threlfall and Chiara TedaldiAbstractThe War and its Shadow: Spain’s Civil War in Europe’s Long Twentieth Century, Helen Graham (2012) Brighton, Portland and Toronto: Sussex Academic Press (in collaboration with the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Iberian Studies), xiv+250 pp., ISBN: 9781845195196, h/bk, £60
Majority-Minority Relations in Contemporary Women’s Movements: Strategic Sisterhood, Line Nyhagen Predell i and Beatrice Halsaa (2012) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 352 pp., ISBN 9780280540, h/bk, £61
El Documental Cinematográfico y Televisivo Contemporáneo. Memoria, Sujeto y Formación de la Identidad Democrática Española, Isabel M. Estrada (2013) Woodbridge: Tamesis, ix+196 pp., ISBN: 9781855662513, h/bk, £60.00
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Volumes & issues
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Volume 37 (2024)
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Volume 36 (2023)
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Volume 35 (2022)
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Volume 34 (2021)
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Volume 33 (2020)
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Volume 32 (2019)
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Volume 31 (2018)
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Volume 30 (2017)
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Volume 29 (2016)
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Volume 28 (2015)
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Volume 27 (2014)
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Volume 26 (2013)
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Volume 25 (2012)
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Volume 24 (2011 - 2012)
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Volume 23 (2010)
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Volume 22 (2009)
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Volume 21 (2008)
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Volume 20 (2007)
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Volume 19 (2006 - 2007)
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Volume 18 (2005)
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Volume 17 (2004)
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Volume 16 (2003 - 2004)
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Volume 15 (2002 - 2003)
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Volume 14 (2001)