Stronger Europe?

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Stronger Europe? The Future of European
Integration in Light of the New Dynamics of a
Changing Global Arena

• István Tarrósy, Ph.D., assistant professor
• University of Pécs, Faculty of Humanities
• 8. DRC Summer School, Vienna, 7 July 2011

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Our ever so globalising, transnational world

• Interwoven with all sorts of interconnected and
  interdependent relations of all sorts of actors.
• Formerly inter-state international relations
  based on a state-centric approach are replaced by
  transnational interactions of different players.
• Attention is shifting to transnational and
  transgovernmental societies which take the form
  of boundary-crossing networks amongst
  individuals and NGOs.

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John Burtons cobweb (1972)

• A world society with sub-national and
  supranational levels of interactions.

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States remain important actors, but!

• IR are not limited at all to governments
  state-level entities!
• Each government interacts with a diverse range of
  non-state actors.
• Peter Willetts (2001) Better understanding of
  political change is obtained by analysing the
  relations between governments and many other
  actors from each country.
• New types of powers and powerholders are present

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An example The rise of China and India on
African soil

• Not at all a new phenomenon
• Historic ties between China, India and Africa
• Coupled with constant migration from Asia to
  Africa
• Trade but not just trade!
• Africas exports to China increased at an annual
  rate of 48 between 2000 and 2005, two and half
  times as fast as the rate of the regions exports
  to the US and four times as fast as the rate to
  the EU over the same period
• (Broadman 2008 95)

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The importance of the Silk Road
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Indian migration to Africa
Source Chaliand, Gérard Jan, Michel Rageau,
Jean-Pierre (1994) Paris Éditions du Seuil. p.
66
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Chinese routes to Africa
Source http//www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcus
e/classes/2c/lectures/06L11ChinaJapan.htm
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Alternative ways of development

• Complex transformations are fore/seen in the 21st
  century
• A multipolar global order with emerging powers of
  the Global South and their different models of
  successful development ? e.g. BRICS countries
• We can witness the retreat of the Washington
  Consensus its rather poor record in Africa
  (CheruObi 2010 1)
• Beijing Consensus (Ramo 2004), Southern
  Consensus ? non-prescriptive, no uniform
  solutions, pragmatic ? the new physics of power
  and development

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The Chinese Way?
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Africas century finally?

• NEW self-definition, self-determination,
  self-reliance ? Mbeki Africa define yourself!
• Strategic thinking alternative ways and choice
• Regional co-operation
• Continent-wide integration (?) ? African Union
• Inter-regional ties
• The new triangle of development Africa
  Persian-gulf Asia ? what this holds for the
  entire future global system

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And Europe? Is this Europes century?

• With the latest economic and financial crisis
  European citizens also experienced how vulnerable
  they and their societis are.
• A number of topical issues for the present and
  future of Europe include
• - to find an exit from the economic crisis
• - to figh unemployment in an appropriate and
  efficient way
• - to strengthen cultural diversity and
  regionalism
• - to develop a forward-looking and comprehensive
  European immigration and asylum policy
• - to address energy security, illegal migration,
  the fate of the multicultural social model, the
  competitiveness of the EU on a global scale
• SO, HOW STRONG IS EUROPE FROM WITHIN AND FROM
  A MORE EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE?

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Some of the crucial topics to get strong(er)

• EDUCATION
• 4,000 institutions over 17 M students 1.5 M
  staff
• Although Europe remains one of the best places
  in the world where to study and do research, new
  trends in the labour market change the demands on
  university graduates. (de Quirós, 2011 14)
• MIGRATION
• 200 M immigrants in the world today (40-50 M
  illegal), 62 M refugees (estimated)
• Causes
• 1. Political factors elite changes, the old
  elite needed to flee
• 2. Social factors ethnic, religious conflicts,
  hampered civic liberties
• 3. Economic factors better living conditions,
  higher standard of living (immigration within
  countries, e.g. in China, the U.S.)
• 4. Environmental/ecological factors ecological
  scarcity (water, land, desertification), floods,
  climate change as such

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Hungary

• Legal migrants compared with total population c.
  2 (approx. 197,819 legal above this 25
  illegal) in 2010, according to the Central
  Statistical Agency, more than half living in
  Budapest and the Central Hungarian region.
• Constant increase in 2001 only c. 110,000
• Legal migrants from the EU c. 60 (two thirds
  are Romanian/Slovakian Hungarians), outside the
  EU c. 40 (c. 70,000 80,000 persons)
• The majority of non-EU Hungarians in Croatia,
  Ukraine, Serbia
• Africans in Hungary in 2010 2,513 persons
• What aims/objectives for migrating to Hungary?
• Finding a job
• Family reunification
• Studies
• Others
• Employed mainly in the sectors of building
  industry, metal industry, machine industry
  (engineers), health care, trade, hospitality,
  education, NGOs

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Statistics 1.
Source Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH)
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Statistics 2.
Source Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH)
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Statistics 3.
Africans in Hungary by regions (persons)
Source Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH)
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General characteristics

• From 49 African countries most of them from
  Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Camerun, Algeria. The rest
  of the countries represented by 4-5.
• Only one quarter is female, but the number of
  children is the highest among them.
• Africans in Budapest are active, have a lively
  big community, with cultural, music, etc.
  Events.
• Most members of the older generations got their
  degrees in Hungary and stayed in the country as
  doctors, engineers (state scholarships of between
  1960s 1980s) the younger ones were more
  entrepreneurial in their approach.
• After the regime change it has been more
  difficult for Africans to come to Hungary (no
  scholarships, no jobs, racism, xenophobia in the
  EU HU considered as one of the most xenophobic
  countries)
• At present the most active migrant NGOs are the
  Africans! (from HR to sports, culture). Unique
  African sub-culture in Budapest with one common
  platform for African migrants (no real
  domination of any of the African nations/ethnic
  groups!)

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Regional co-operation, the future of EU
Enlargement

• Continuous enlargement
• But more careful steps ? institutions,
  capacities, competencies, national and
  supranational developments
• It is highly probable that in the coming decades
  a European Union with about 35-38 members may be
  emerging (Palánkai, 2011 63).
• Eastern enlargement ? new type of quality!
• Process of deepening
• Internal cohesion
• External convergence
• Macro-regional co-operations

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Thank you for your attention!