Ph.D Dissertation Projects
Normative Power Europe, Higher Education and the International Identity of the EU
Hila Zahavi
My research examines the interests of the EU in the external dimension of the Bologna Process. The research claims that the EU uses the Global Strategy (external dimension) of the Bologna Process to strengthen certain elements in its own internal and external policy. The research reveals the manner in which the EU uses the Global Strategy of the Bologna Process to enrich and strengthen its non-military modes of power, such as soft power, civilian and normative power, shedding light on the connection between the Bologna Process' Global Strategy and the foreign relations of the EU. Using the Othering theory, the paper further demonstrates how the external image of the EU, affected by these non- military modes of power, is translated into self-image, and thus, shapes and affects the creation of a European identity for the citizens of the EU.
Capacity building in the european neighborhood as an expression to Normative Power Europe: cross border health security as a case study
Lia Moran-Gilad
My research builds on the theoretical framework of Normative Power Europe (NPE). According to NPE, the EU exerts its power in international relation by setting norms which are then diffused via different mechanisms to other players. I am focusing on the capacity-building activities carried out by the EU in its neighboring countries, under the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). I argue that EU capacity-building in the ENP is a diffusion modality of Normative Power that has not yet been studied as such. By combining methods such as content analysis, database interrogation and face-to-face interviews with EU and Israeli policymakers and technical officers, I examine the issue of capacity building and the perceptions of Normative Power in EU-Israel relations. In the final stage of my research I will analyze Cross-Border Health Security as an empirical case-study of EU Normative Power.
Territorial Identity Promotion in Multi-Scaled Contexts: assessing the role of knowledge policy in Wallonia and Quebec
This study assesses the link between higher education and research policy and territorial identity promotion in multi-scaled contexts. Specifically, the research examines the manner in which political actors utilise the knowledge policy sphere to cultivate and foster territorial identity. The focus in on the subnational scale, highlighting the cases of Wallonia and Quebec, two subnational entities within larger multinational federations
Israel and EU relations: economic and legal aspects
Yuval Reinfeld
My PhD research aims to deepen the understanding of EU-Israel relations from a legal perspective. Among other things, I will explore the status of the legal standing (Locus Standi) of the State of Israel in international law and in particular, I will examine the right of the State of Israel and its participation in legal forums and tribunals within the European Union (eg, the European Court of Justice, other European Tribunals and the legal forum of the association agreement).I will explore the European Union and Israel's approach to holding a legal forum apart from the European Court of Justice, while giving an in-depth examination to the possibility of establishing a unique legal tribunal between the parties within the framework of the Special Privileged Partnership (SPP model).
In this study, I will examine the development of European jurisprudence at the national and supra-national levels, including an examination of the European Court's reasoning and decision-making arguments, the arguments it relies on, as well as the methodology of the interpretation behind European jurisprudence and the legal discourse that contributes to EU political development in the foreign relations arena. In addition, I will examine the operative decisions of the EU institutions themselves regarding relations with Israel and the rhetorical development of the policy of differentiation, along with the development of Israeli case law since then and the operative decisions of the Israeli government. At the same time, it is necessary to examine the reasons why the Association Council has not complained ever since, a council whose function is not only to provide an effective and reciprocal institutional solution between Israel and the EU, but also to provide a proper legal solution to the disputes that arise between the parties.