Thorvald Stoltenberg President of the Norwegian Red Cross Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board Despite the very optimistic language on the imminence of new accessions to the European Union that came out of the June 2001 European Council in Gothen burg, it will serve no good purpose to neglect the fact that EU membership for the Central and Eastern European applicants remains a difficult process. Painful experience makes it prudent to exercise caution in predicting developments with in the European Union. Negotiations may drag out, snags may appear and some thing may happen on the way to ratification. So perhaps it is wise to take a broad er view of European integration - and therefore integration within the North European, Barents and Baltic Sea region that is the focus of this Yearbook. EU membership for those countries that are able to satisfy the Copenhagen requirements - and the chapters of the acquis communautaire that have subse quently been specified - is certainly a prize worth fighting for. But all is not lost if some of the applicants end up not joining the Union as a result of the current enlargement round. Even more important than formal membership is the process of growing together that has taken place simultaneously with the membership negotiations. We are dealing here with integration in the real world of trade, investments, division of labour, politics, environment, hard and soft security, people-to-people relations etc.

Bjllrn Tore Godal Norwegian Ambassador to Germany Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board Several of the contributions to the present volume of The NEBI Yearbook have been inspired by the fact that roughly speaking, ten years have passed since the first steps were taken to initiate cross-border co-operation in the Barents and Baltic Sea areas. One of the most important co-operative organisations in the European Northeast, i. e. The Council of the Baltic Sea States, was launched in 1992. The Barents Euro Arctic Council was established in 1993. An avalanche of co-operative and cross-border initiatives has since hit this part of Europe with all kinds of actors participating - states, regional and municipal authorities, univer sities, national organisations, businesses and private interests. Even international organisations and actors from outside the immediate NEBI area have taken a special interest in this dynamic part of the world. Among the most important is the European Union, whose Finnish-inspired Northern Dimension initiative has become a permanent fixture. As many of the chapters in NEBI 2003 testifY, integration in the NEB I area - across old political and ideological borders and cultural and socio-economic divides that are among the most pronounced anywhere in the world - has on the whole been a great success.

Bjllrn Tore Godal Norwegian Ambassador to Germany Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board Several of the contributions to the present volume of The NEBI Yearbook have been inspired by the fact that roughly speaking, ten years have passed since the first steps were taken to initiate cross-border co-operation in the Barents and Baltic Sea areas. One of the most important co-operative organisations in the European Northeast, i. e. The Council of the Baltic Sea States, was launched in 1992. The Barents Euro Arctic Council was established in 1993. An avalanche of co-operative and cross-border initiatives has since hit this part of Europe with all kinds of actors participating - states, regional and municipal authorities, univer sities, national organisations, businesses and private interests. Even international organisations and actors from outside the immediate NEBI area have taken a special interest in this dynamic part of the world. Among the most important is the European Union, whose Finnish-inspired Northern Dimension initiative has become a permanent fixture. As many of the chapters in NEBI 2003 testifY, integration in the NEB I area - across old political and ideological borders and cultural and socio-economic divides that are among the most pronounced anywhere in the world - has on the whole been a great success.

A well-written and exciting historical account of the way in which regional science and the formation of the society associated with the field, Regional Science Association International, developed. It starts with the rise of Hitler, the advent of the Keynesian Revolution, the intense mathematization of economics and relates how an individual's creative thinking effectively combated the strong resistance of conventional social sciences. The text has been written by the founder of the Regional Science Association and current President of the North American Regional Science Council. It is of interest to regional scientists, economists, sociologists, urban- and regional planners, geographers, and transportation researchers.

European Regional Growth is the result of three major influences. First, the ongoing integration of the European regional economies and the need to understand what this means for European economic and social cohesion. Second, the development of geo-economic theories. Third, the development of techniques of spatial data analysis, simulation, data visualization and spatial econometrics. The outcome is a collection of chapters that apply these methods, motivated by a variety of theoretical positions. The book provides powerful and detailed analyses of the causes of income, productivity and employment variations across Europe's regions, and insights into their future prospects.

This book is the first comprehensive study of how and why the European Union has enlarged to become northern Europe’s leading power. Pami Aalto presents a new approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy studies, showing how, since 1990, the EU has enlarged to include Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and also incorporated the former East Germany. He also examines how this northern expansion has led the EU to reflect on relations with Russia and its north-western regions. This unique study includes: a fresh approach to the under-theorized field of EU foreign policy key empirical material, including hundreds of documents, interviews and field experiments in-depth case studies of relations between the EU, Nordic states, Baltic states and Russia with its north-western regions. This is essential reading for all students of European politics, Russian studies and international relations.

Originally published in 2005. This comprehensive volume examines the issue of Europe-making related to the post EU/NATO enlargement and the post 9/11 situation. Dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism are raising important questions for various actors in Europe, in particular what these developments will mean for the future of regional cooperation and the development of a regional subjectivity. Such concerns have been further compounded by America's distinction between 'New Europe' and 'Old Europe'. The volume analyzes at both policy and conceptual levels how the dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism will impact on regional cooperation in northern Europe. It examines how events in northern Europe have helped shape the nature of European space, borders and governance, including how the EU, the US and Russia have each highlighted northern Europe as a special case to be utilized and learnt from in dealing with problems elsewhere in Europe and globally. Presenting original articles, the volume will appeal to scholars of regional politics as well as security, international relations theory and geopolitics.

This book will examine and analyse the problems inherent in integrated water management in transboundary conditions. Integrated Transboundary Water Management in Theory and Practice will provide new knowledge and policy recommendations based on the experiences and results of a major 3-year interdisciplinary research project (MANTRA-East). Drawing on extensive studies of the Lake Peipsi region in Estonia and Russia, the book explores the political and social issues surrounding transboundary water management and introduces the way that qualitative-quantitative-qualitative scenarios have been used in real-life situations. The book presents conclusions and policy recommendations for integrated transboundary water management that will be invaluable to water managers, policy-makers and academic researchers working in this rapidly expanding field.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This carefully conceived Handbook presents a state-of-the-art discussion of the field of social impact assessment (SIA), highlighting contemporary understandings and emerging issues in this continually evolving area of research and practice. Experienced SIA practitioners from around the world share their learnings and advice on a comprehensive range of issues faced in social performance practice.

Systems of innovation that are conducted within national borders can preserve inefficient solutions and prevent development. This has led to a feeling that transnational learning strategies are more and more desirable. In practice, the field of transnational learning has been dominated by various policy-making institutions, such as the OECD and European Union, working through different types of policy instruments and programs such as structural funds, open methods of coordination, as well as international research institutions and networks set up by cooperating national governments working on comparative analysis, benchmarking and indicators. This book lays out a set of methods which can further enhance the experience of transnational learning, starting from the sociological ideas promoted by Charles Sabel of learning through monitoring, and by Marie Laure Djelic and others of the “translation” of experiences between different countries. Case studies and examples are collected from three fields: industrial development, tourism and local government.