Publications

ENC Analysis – EU, Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) and civil society: some considerations on the IcSP in Kyrgyzstan

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis on “EU, Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) and civil society: some considerations on the IcSP in Kyrgyzstan“.

This article is written by our academic council member Dr. Chiara Pierobon, a postdoctoral researcher at Bielefeld University (Germany) and an associate research fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).

In this ENC analysis, Dr. Pierobon analyses the main forms of engagement for which Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) receive funding from the Instrument contribution to Stability and Peace (IcSP) and its programme “Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism” (STRIVE) in Kyrgyzstan.

The full analysis is available here.

ENC Study: Socio-economic Impact of COVID-19 and Media Consumption among Vulnerable Communities in Central Asia

Central Asia has faced significant challenges during COVID-19, particularly among vulnerable communities who have been disproportionately affected by the economic and social impact of the pandemic. A new report from the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) and Internews titled “Socio-economic Impact of COVID-19 and Media Consumption among Vulnerable Communities in Central Asia” sheds light on the impact COVID-19 on media consumption habits in the region. The report is part of the “Strengthening Resilience to Radicalisation and Disinformation in Central Asia through Independent Media (Phase II)” project, produced with the financial support of the European Union and implemented by Internews.

This study includes both quantitative data from a survey of nearly 2,000 participants and qualitative data from in-depth interviews conducted among 500 members of vulnerable communities and 120 content producers, including journalists and bloggers, across Central Asia. During the COVID-19 epidemic, the research study mapped the media and information consumption habits of vulnerable communities, such as labour migrants, refugees, stateless people, and racial minorities, while also identifying their vulnerabilities and risks of social isolation in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. 

Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on media consumption in Central Asia. The first tendency is a rise in news consumption, particularly news on the pandemic. Both the demand for information regarding the pandemic and the general growth of public interest in news will probably continue to be higher than they were before to COVID-19.

The second trend is the link between the type of media and people’s perception of trustworthy information. Online media are viewed as a source of fake news by many media consumers. There is also a significant group of respondents who trust established news websites more than traditional media (because of association with government control) and social networks and messengers. The study argues that because the landscape is continually changing and becoming more fragmented, it is becoming harder to maintain a dichotomy between traditional and new online media. Consequently, it is necessary to break online media into other groups in order to better understand how trust is perceived rather than classifying it as one form of media. 

Finally, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the problem of fake news dissemination, and there is no consensus on what makes news “fake” and how to best distinguish between false and accurate information. Content producers use techniques like fact-checking, but consumers often have opposing views on what makes news “fake”. False information can spread quickly through a variety of media channels, including social media and online messaging services, which are challenging to regulate. This creates a major challenge for governments and media producers to effectively address the problem of fake news and information manipulation.

The full study is available here for those interested in getting comprehensive information on each Central Asian state (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) and the impact of pandemic among vulnerable communities. This study also provides recommendations on how to address the impact of the pandemic on media consumption habits, support vulnerable communities and tackle the spread of fake news for governments, international donor communities, non-governmental organisations, policy-makers and media producers. 

Tab to download the report (English), Executive summary (English) and Infographics (English)

Tab to download the report (Russian), Executive summary (Russian) and Infographics (Russian)

ENC Analysis-Religious soft power in the South Caucasus: The influence of Iran and Turkey

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis entitled “Religious soft power in the South Caucasus: The influence of Iran and Turkey“

This ENC Analysis is authored by Dr. Ansgar JÃdicke, ENC Academic Council Member, and focuses on the changing geopolitical situation for Iran and Turkey, the impact in South Caucasus as well as the question of how these competing geopolitical influences work in the realm of religiously based soft power.

The full analysis is available here.

The Future of Europe and Turkey

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) has published its latest booklet entitled “The Future of Europe and Turkey”. This publication, which was produced with the financial support of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNF) and Economic Development Foundation (IKV), is part of the ENC Training and Public Lecture Programme in Brussels and in Turkey.

The booklet, which was co-edited by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director and Andreas Marazis, ENC Head of Research for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, includes forewords by Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Turkey and Faruk Kaymakci, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs.

The publication presents innovative perspectives on some of the most pressing challenges that characterise the current state of affairs of EU’s foreign policy and its Global Strategy, namely data privacy, which Dr. Ronald Meinardus (Head of Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Turkey Office) declares to be the “major concern of governments, civil society and citizens in all parts of the world”. Technology and digital innovation are also highlighted throughout the booklet as imminent priorities to look out for in the future of Europe.

The future of EU-Turkey relations is examined critically by prominent experts on the subject, such as Ayhan Zeytinoglu (IKV Chairman) and Samuel Doveri Vesterbye. The authors offer a reflection on the main challenges and opportunities of the Turkish membership perspective but also on the visions of the EU across the country and the world. Despite the recent ups and downs between Turkey and the EU, Mr. Zeytinoglu argues that “it is still possible to make a new beginning”.

More than 3.000 copies of the ENC booklet were distributed among university students, academic staff, and governmental and non-governmental partners in Turkey. The project equally disseminated the publication online and offline during a dissemination lecture series with local partners, including outreach to student groups and university faculties across Turkey.

The ENC Booklet “The Future of Europe and Turkey”  is available in English and Turkish:

The Future of Europe and Turkey (English version)

The Future of Europe and Turkey (Turkish version)

ENC Analysis: In favour of censorship & propaganda: Elites, media capture & the journalistic profession in the WB

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis entitled “In favour of censorship and propaganda: Elites, media capture and the journalistic profession in the Western Balkans (the case of Serbia)”.

The ENC Analysis is written by Prof. Branislav Radeljić, ENC Academic Council Member and Director of Internationalization at Necmettin Erbakan University. In his paper, Dr. Radeljić uses Serbia as a case-study to describe the behaviour of political and economic power structures towards the media sector, as well as the decision of numerous journalists to embrace self-censorship due to external and in-house pressures. He argues that along with the different regimes, journalists themselves should also be blame for the precarious status of the journalistic profession. By ignoring ethics and codes of conduct in the face of government propaganda and highly problematic agendas, journalists have simultaneously contributed to the erosion of their own profession. The piece likewise suggests that international state and non-state actors can only provide evaluations and recommendations, but not the solution to the media crisis in Serbia and the regime’s preference for authoritarian rule.

The full analysis is available here.

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis entitled “Will Deliberation Save Our Democracies? A domestic and foreign policy analysis”

The ENC Analysis of November 2020 is written by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director and expert in Turkey and the Middle East and Pepijn Kennis, ENC External Advisor and Member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The 21st century democracies have witnessed lower voter turnouts in elections, declining trust in public institutions and widening polarisation, both politically and socially.  Samuel Doveri Vesterbye and Kennis Pepijn provide an analysis of the ineffectiveness of our current electoral governance systems with regards to polarisation, information consumption and new technologies, including disinformation. The authors draw on literature and academia to explain how information is being consumed and how societies are increasingly divided. They explain how online algorithms and digital echo chambers are increasingly polarising voters while enhancing levels of disinformation, which pose both a problem in domestic and foreign policy. The analysis paper examines how deliberative democratic governance based on sortition can help curtail these issues. It is recommended that new and effective citizens-based democratic models should be used more and institutionalised within the EU domestic and foreign policy context, particularly through local-to-local (municipal; civil society) cooperation and democracy instruments in EU foreign policy to fight disinformation.

The full analysis is available in the PDF version below.

 Will Deliberation Save Our Democracies? A domestic and foreign policy analysis

ENC Analysis: “Keep your friends close and Turkey closer: EU-Turkey relations in the midst of global and regional crisis.”

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis titled “Keep your friends close and Turkey closer: EU-Turkey relations in the midst of global and regional crisis“.

This article is written by  Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director and expert in Turkey and the Middle East. The paper focuses on the discovery of five gas fields of natural gas reserves located in Cypriot, Egyptian and Israeli maritime exclusive economic zones (EEZ). A proposed underwater Eastmed Pipeline (e.g. From Cyprus through Crete to Italy) could transport future gas discoveries to Europe. An alternative option also suggests the expansion of existing (or new) regasification plants along the littoral state(s) in the region. The author argues that both solutions will pose ecological and economical challenges and will interfere with non-delineated waters, which are disputed by Turkey. In addition, Ankara continues to engage in seismic and drilling activities off the coast of Cyprus and Greek islands, which has convinced littoral states that Turkey won’t accept international law if a pipeline were to be built. As European countries gear up for the Special European Council on the 24th and 25th of September, relations between the European Union (EU) and Turkey have hit rock bottom. Ankara’s decision to pull back the Oruç Reis for “maintenance” is positive, but the risk of further punitive measures against Turkey now depends on internal EU negotiations.

The full analysis is available here.

ENC Analysis – The Eastern Neighbourhood between Shifting Logics of Power

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis entitled “The Eastern Neighbourhood between Shifting Logics of Power”.

The ENC Analysis is written by Dr. Kevork Oskanian, ENC Academic Council Member and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK.  This paper describes the recent evolution of the relations of power between the EU and its ‘Eastern neighbourhood’. The author argues that the european normative power has diminished in the region as it is facing severe challenges. The current crisis of liberalism has put the coherence of EU foreign policy under unprecedented threat, especially in relation to the Eastern partners, who he points out should prepare for a “worst-case” outcome of disengagement and increased incoherence.

The full analysis is available in the PDF version below.
The Eastern Neighbourhood between Shifting Logics of Power