Current research students

PhD students

• Flora Anderson
  The Re-Construction of European Modernity: Modernism and American Influences in the 1950s
• Cristian Brasoveanu
  Prosocial Power Europe? Images of We-ness in European Union (EU) External Policy
• Philippine Colson
  The Lisbon Strategy and European Social and Employment Policies: Problems and Implications
• Robert Dow
  Comparative Sub-State Nationalism: the cases of Catalonia, Quebec and Scotland
  
• Alfonso Martinez Arranz
  A comparison of Chinese and EU framings of climate change
• Martin Obaya
  Shortcomings in the economic integration process among Mercosur's member states
  
• Evan Thompson
  The Russian Bear in the Arctic: Russian claims to the Arctic and its implications for EU energy security
• Peter O'Shea
  Regulation of the EU Financial Markets

Master thesis students

• Poonam Datar
  European Union Development Policy through the Looking Glass: An Indian Media Perspective.
• Marin Dikanovic
  The United States, the European Union and Strategic Interests: Selective Multilateralism during the George W. Bush Administration
• John Falzon
  Irregular Migration in Malta: Is the Push by Malta for Greater Burden-sharing justified and, if so, what is the Likelihood of its Implementation in the European Union?
• May Maloney
  The European Court of Human Rights v the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: A Comparative Study of the Role of Norm Entrepreneurs
• Peter O’Shea
  The EU and the IMF: An Evolving Relationship
• Ashley Wearne
  The EU-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement. Trade and Development Compatibility

PhD students

Flora Anderson

The Re-Construction of European Modernity: Modernism and American Influences in the 1950s

This PhD project investigates the views held in American academia about the strategic importance of an integrated Western Europe to the establishment of a Western alliance in the early phase of the Cold War. This thesis uses primary evidence from the archive holdings at Harvard University of Talcott Parsons, Karl Deutsch and Carl Friedrich. It seeks
to trace the intellectual basis of these theorists and their thoughts, and to then demonstrate how they transmitted their ideas to policy-makers who influenced the American engagement with Western Europe. This thesis will argue that these academics supported the political integration of Western Europe on the basis of Parsonian-inspired social sciences, which held that only a peaceful, stable and prosperous Western Europe could stand with the US against the Communist threat.

Cristian Brasoveanu

Prosocial Power Europe? Images of We-ness in EU External Policy

This thesis uses the social scientific perspective developed by Alexander Wendt in the context of his social theory of international politics to argue that, in its first ten years as a military actor (1999-2009), the European Union behaved primarily as a prosocial actor and thus supported the Kantian transition to an international system in which military actors follow the two fundamental principles of Wendtian friendship, i.e. non-violence and mutual assistance.

Cristian graduated in April 2011.  During Cristian’s PhD studies he received a Monash Graduate Scholarship and a Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship. In the first year he received a departmental scholarship from the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics.

Cristian Brasoveanu is currently employed by the European Commission in Brussels, as 'Linguistic Administrator' in the English Language Department of the Directorate-General for Translation (since September 2009).

Philippine Colson

The Lisbon Strategy, the Knowledge Economy and Bulgaria's Capacity to Adapt

Philippine is the recipient of a Monash Graduate Scholarship and Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, which allows her to pursue her PhD research at the Monash European and EU Centre. She has also received financial support from MEEUC and a Postgraduate Travel Grant from the Monash Research Graduate School to fund her research abroad for her thesis on “The Economic and Social policy Response of the Member States and the EU to the Economic Crisis.” The purpose of this research is to identify the approaches taken and their future impact for EU competitivity, the well-being of citizens and worldwide impact of policy-decisions. Philippine is currently on intermission from the PhD in order to complete a traineeship at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.

Robert Dow

The Comparative Mediative Potential of Regional Integration in Latin America

Robert has commenced a doctoral research programme with the Monash European and EU Centre. His doctoral thesis will seek to propose an understanding of regional integration in Latin America as a mediatory phenomenon in response to present-day polarizing divides in the region between neo-liberalism and the Bolivarian Alternative. The project will explore contemporary cases of presidential polarization between Bolivarian and neo-liberal presidencies and provide a comparative analysis of the historical development of the major institutions and policies of the blocs of regional integration in both Central and South America (SICA, Andean Community, Mercosur and UNASUR) in order to develop this argument. Additionally, it will consider the development of relations between Latin American blocs and states with the European Union, including the particular importance of normative values common to both regions, with the objective of delineating their impact in shaping regional integration in Latin America as well as the political and economic interests and policies projected in inter-regional engagement.

Alfonso Martinez Arranz

Competing Visions of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies in the European Union

Alfonso’s current research is an analysis of policymaking in the EU on new technologies to tackle climate change. His thesis specifically focuses on the interactions among worldwide developments in the energy security and the internally-conditioned visions of the future. Alfonso has co-edited a volume with Dr Natalie Doyle and Prof Pascaline Winand titled New Europe, New World? The European Union, Europe and the Challenges of the 21st Century and is now working on a new book together with Professor Winand and Dr Normann Witzleb on Contemporary Europe. Alfonso will have a new publication on the future of European energy supply in press in 2011.

Martin Obaya

Technological Learning in Regional Integration Processes. A Study of the Subsidiaries of Automotive MNCs Located in the MERCOSUR

The general aim of Martin's project is to achieve a better understanding of the process of technological learning undertaken by MNCs subsidiaries that operate in economic integration agreements between developing economies. As revealed by the literature on economic growth, the learning process allows the accumulation of technological capabilities necessary to generate and manage technological change in developing countries. The examination of this process would therefore improve the understanding of the dynamics that regulate the income convergence or divergence between the countries participating in the agreement.

Evan Thompson

The Russian Bear in the Arctic: Russian Claims to the Arctic and Implications for EU Energy Security

Evan's PhD with the European and EU Centre at Monash has the working title of: "The Russian Bear in the Arctic: Russian Claims to Arctic Territory and its Implications for EU Energy Security." He focuses on the role Russia plays as a major exporter to Europe of gas and oil and the political influence this gives to the resurgent Russian state, with particular emphasis on Moscow's goals to secure unexplored oil and gas reserves in the Arctic, potentially at the expense of the other four littoral states (including EU member state Denmark). The recent developments in this area and the central component Russia plays in EU external affairs makes this an area of specific interest for him.  

As part of his research Evan is also undertaking classes in Norwegian and Russian.

Peter O'Shea

Regulation of the EU Financial Markets

Peter’s research focuses on the changing nature of EU authority in the regulation of the financial markets throughout the EU, examining the regulatory structure, processes and outcomes. The aims of the research are to chart the evolution of supranational authority in the area of financial markets regulation, identify the factors driving the integration of EU financial markets to date, including political processes and circumstances and key member state attitudes, and assess the pattern of integration in this area. It will also aim to highlight shortcomings, including in relation to relatively unregulated aspects of the markets to date.

Masters Students

In addition to the theses listed below which were completed in 2010, three students have already commenced in the unit for 2011, writing on topics ranging from Détente policy and the Baltic States: The Use of International Recognition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a Tool of Domestic Australian Politics to The Effectiveness of EU External Governance in the Energy Community andThe European Union and Australia: an Examination of Cooperative Links in Science, Technology and Education.

Poonam Datar

European Union Development Policy through the Looking Glass: An Indian Media Perspective.

Although India has witnessed impressive economic growth over the past couple of decades, it has yet to see a similar trend in improving the situation of its human poverty. The European Union is one actor working with the Indian Government to help facilitate human development. The EU does so through its role as the largest official aid donor to India. Development cooperation between the EU and India is an important aspect of their relations, yet it remains a highly understudied area. The thesis aims to contribute to existing EU-India literature by elaborating on the changing nature of development cooperation. By conducting an Indian media analysis, the thesis attempts to highlight the implications of the shift from a development to a strategic base of EU-India relations in the last decade on Indian perceptions of the EU.

Marin Dikanovic

The United States, the European Union and Strategic Interests: Selective Multilateralism during the George W. Bush Administration

The eight years of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) have revived the debate about multilateralism and unilateralism as tools of foreign policy. During this time, the United States was often portrayed as unilateralist due to its actions on a variety of multilateral issues such as the war in Iraq and the rejection of the International Criminal Court. On the other hand, the European Union has been portrayed as a multilateral actor and thus a counterexample to the US. However, this may be an oversimplification of the facts. The US and EU attitudes towards multilateralism and unilateralism have been selective. Both the US and the EU have acted multilaterally and unilaterally at different times, based on their strategic interests.

John Falzon

Irregular Migration in Malta: Is the Push by Malta for Greater Burden-sharing justified and, if so, what is the Likelihood of its Implementation in the European Union?

Malta has protested for some time that it receives a disproportionate amount of asylum seekers in relation to the size of the country.  The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the call by Malta for greater burden-sharing in the European Union in the field of asylum.  By reviewing the immigration trends that exist in relation to Malta, the validity of their claim can be assessed. The thesis hypothesises the possibility that a burden-sharing proposal will be accepted by all Member States of the European Union and selects a number of present and future scenarios or issues that may adversely affect this proposal from being implemented. 

May Maloney

The European Court of Human Rights v the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: A Comparative Study of the Role of Norm Entrepreneurs

This thesis seeks to understand how human rights norms are diffused in regional human rights instruments. Utilising constructivist and feminist theories of norm diffusion, it contributes to the literature on norm entrepreneurship and comparative human rights regionalism. The thesis tests a hypothesis that the greater the number of entrepreneurs, the better the outcomes for victims. Ultimately, this research finds that the American region is more advanced than the European region on the issue of human rights (both civil and political rights as well as social economic and cultural ones) for women, and that it is not solely states that drive the process of norm diffusion forward, but that norm entrepreneurs influence the international landscape by adopting a human-rights based vocabulary and through leveraging transnational legal instruments.