Reconciling the diversity of political cultures, values and national identities with the European integration project is one of the most fundamental challenges contemporary Europe is facing. This challenge is readily apparent in the Baltic Sea region with its mosaic of peoples, cultures and identities. The impact of the ongoing process of European integration on the post-Communist societies on the Eastern rim of the Baltic Sea is indisputable. The negotiations between the European Union and the East European candidate countries were in fact accompanied by a large scale transfer of organization.

Reconciling the diversity of political cultures, values and national identities with the European integration project is one of the most fundamental challenges contemporary Europe is facing. This challenge is readily apparent in the Baltic Sea region with its mosaic of peoples, cultures and identities. The impact of the ongoing process of European integration on the post-Communist societies on the Eastern rim of the Baltic Sea is indisputable. The negotiations between the European Union and the East European candidate countries were in fact accompanied by a large scale transfer of organizational models and administrative routines designed to protect human rights and promote democracy. But European integration is just one of the challenges confronting countries, which are also engaged in state- and nation-building as well as democratic consolidation. The countries on the Western rim of the Baltic Sea have also been exposed to the increasing pressure of globalization and European integration. The three former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been up against yet another challenge. After almost half a century of Soviet tutelage, they now have to engage in independent state- and nation-building. Theoretically, this made Baltic democracy particularly fragile. Yet the Baltic countries have also passed this litmus test. This book may in fact be seen as a tribute to the Baltic democracy. It is different from the democracy in the Nordic countries; it is different from the democracy in neighbouring Central Europe, but it is readily apparent that we are dealing with variations on a common theme.aReiheThe Baltic Sea Region: Nordic Dimensions - European Perspectives - Band 8"

"The Baltic Sea Region, at the crossroads between East and West, North and South, has long been marked by cultural, ethnical and ideological borders. Overcoming a history of conflict and separation, since the end of the Cold War the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea established widely valued formats of regional cooperation based on shared challenges and opportunities. In comparison with larger regions, however, the Baltic Sea Area is still a blank spot on the global map. This volume's intention is to fill this spot with colour and facts. It provides students, young researchers and other interested parties with basic knowledge of the region. The volume offers a comprehensive introduction into its history, politics, economy and culture, taking into account the various countries' commonalities and differences. By introducing concepts of regionalism and region-building, as well as analysing the structures of regional cooperation the authors and editors demonstrate the Baltic Sea Area's model function as a European macro-region."--

Written by the team carrying out the EVS surveys in France, this book contrasts with the popular belief that values are converging. It demonstrates that increasingly individualized value systems do not necessarily mirror a more individualistic society.

Editors’ Foreword The fundamental changes currently taking place in the national and international science landscapes can no longer be overlooked. Within those changes, reforms do not go ‘as planned’ but, as is always the case with processes of rationali- tion, have a series of unintended effects. At the same time it becomes incre- ingly clear who in this process are the winners and who are the losers, although this is still subject to fluctuation and change. This can be illustrated by two - amples from current events: Where the range of taught courses is concerned, as part of the Bologna Process the new structuring of student study paths and their organisation is aimed at unifying the European area of science to ensure a study that is equally permissive and efficient. However, it is to be deplored that the mobility of s- dents has become more restricted because of an increasing specialisation in the available study paths. Also, bachelor degrees do not meet with the anticipated high response from the labour market in all countries, so that the master’s degree is becoming more or less a ‘must’, while at the same time the number of study places on master’s courses is limited. Instead of the intended reduction in the duration of study time in comparison to the previous German ‘Magister’ and ‘Diplom’, rather a prolongation in the duration of studies has been recorded.

En este estudio se afronta cómo los valores de una empresa internacional ZARA-INDITEX son entendidos y llevados a la práctica por los empleados de distintos países España y Estonia) en los que se encuentran la subdivisiones de la empresa multinacional. Partiendo de la idea de que los valores de cada ?cultura nacional?,influyen notablemente en una concepción diferente de los valores únicos de la misma empresa internacional y su puesta en práctica.

Scholars across the humanities and social sciences are increasingly examining the importance of consumption to changing notions of local, regional, national and supranational identity in Europe. As part of this interest, anthropologists, historians, sociologists and others have paid particular attention to the roles which food and drink have played in the construction of local, regional and national identity in Europe. This volume provides the first multidisciplinary look at the contributions which food and alcohol make to contemporary European identities, including the part they play in processes of European integration and Europeanization. It provides theoretically informed ethnographic and historical case studies of transformations and continuity in social and cultural patterns in the production and consumption of European foods and drinks, in order to explore how eating and drinking have helped to construct various local, regional and national identities in Europe. Of particular note in this volume is its attention to how food and drink intersect with recent attempts to foster greater European integration, in part through the recognition and support of common and diverse European cultures and identities.