Research

The Research Programme on South Eastern Europe was a collaborative effort by two leading institutions, LSEE - LSE Research on South Eastern Europe and L'lnstitut franyais des relations internationales (Ifri). The Programme would not have been possible without generous support by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation to which we would like to record our lasting gratitude.

This programme was supported by the LSEE funding framework through the National Bank of Greece Research Fund. The programme was established in October 2012 and in its initial phase was expected to last for 12 months. Four research projects are running within the programme, concerning topical and pressing issues for the region’s labour market(s).

These are: (i) Employment polarisation under transition: changing occupational distributions and their geography; (ii) Non-standard forms of employment: determinants and impact on individual employment progression; (iii) Employment and skills: mismatch, activation and inclusion; and (iv) Impact of public sector employment on local labour markets.

The project Sharing Knowledge Assets: Interegionally Cohesive Neighbourhoods, SEARCH, was part of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme.

SEARCH focuses on the study of relations between EU countries and their neighbours, with particular attention paid to aspects such as movement of people, goods and knowledge to strengthen the ties between the European Union and surrounding nations, in Eastern Europe, the Near East and the southern Mediterranean region.

A research project on “Mapping of VET Educational Policies and Practices for Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion in the Western Balkans, Israel and Turkey” was awarded to LSE Enterprise in collaboration with LSEE in June 2012.

The aim of the project was to deepen our understanding of the main barriers and potential opportunities for building inclusive and equitable VET systems in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Israel. It provided new evidence on the role of VET in combating social inclusion and contributing to building more cohesive societies.

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This project was supported by the LSEE funding framework for the first stage of a new research initiative designed to explore the relationship between systems of welfare and minorities in South East Europe, with a particular focus on the Roma population. It began in September 2012 and was funded for 12 months.

The objective of the research programme was to investigate the impact of the Eurozone crisis in South East Europe and the development of pro-growth policies in the context of continuing EU integration through a set of integrated projects, building on previous LSEE research in this area. The research projects included in the programme investigate (i) the spill-over effects of the Eurozone crisis and the effects of anti-crisis policy measures with a focus on the relationship between institutions, policy and growth; (ii) entrepreneurship, externalities and growth focusing on innovative firms, enterprise zones, business-education linkages and inclusive growth in small and medium sized enterprises; and (iii) the political economy of public sector reforms in an age of austerity with a focus on health systems reform. The first project ran for twelve months from September 2012; the other two projects were carried out at a later phase of research. The programme was directed by Drs Will Bartlett and Vassilis Monastiriotis with research assistance from Helios Reveli.

In recent years the question of contested states – also known as de facto states or unrecognised states - has become increasingly significant. However, most attention has been focused on the efforts by these territories to cement their independence and gain recognition. What has not been studied is the way in which the states from which these countries have emerged try to prevent them from gaining legitimacy. Drawing on the cases of Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, this project examines the structural factors that shape recognition and explores the specific diplomatic, political and legal tools states have at their disposal to try to prevent recognition. LSEE Fellow: Dr James Ker-Lindsay, Eurobank EFG Senior Fellow on the Politics of South East Europe 

Project Outputs: This project resulted in the publication of a book by Oxford University Press with the further potential for the publication of one or more articles in peer reviewed academic journals.

This project sought to question the essentially normative basis/assumption of the impetus behind the enlargement process by focussing on South East Europe. It may be argued that in practice the accession process may lead to substantial ‘change’, whether this is defined as Europeanisation or transformation. But what this proposal wishesd to explore is the idea that many decisions to enlarge, taken by the EU and its member-state, with the focus on South East Europe, are driven by interests of specific member-states which supersede the normative premises inherent in the conventional wisdom. In recent years, it has become increasingly less clear to outside observers that the process of accession is in fact highly politicised from start to finish. This project therefore aimed to challenge the prevailing view that accession is an administrative process, driven primarily by normative concerns, by examining the interests and geopolitics behind decisions to enlarge, and the highly politicised way in which the European Union has managed enlargement in South East Europe. It sought to show that high and low politics permeate the entire accession process. Crucially, in some cases, this politicisation can be justified, and produce beneficial outcomes. However, it also showed that in many cases politics has played a very negative role and undermined the European Union’s credibility. 

Project Outcome: The primary output for this project was a co-authored book (Economides and Ker-Lindsay). In addition, it was hoped that one or two co-authored articles may also be produced from the material collected during the research.