12. Workshop on Central European States and their Relationships to the European Union and NATO

Lecturer: Pavel Pšeja


Objective: To show various strategies of CE countries in their respective accession processes to
the NATO and EU.


Workshop: To a big degree, all Central European countries permanently strived to become members of
originally West European structures, notably EU and NATO. However, individual journeys to these
aims differed, as for instance the case of Slovakia and NATO makes it clear. In this session,
journeys and strategies of Central European countries, while going through the process of accession
to NATO and/or EU, are to be followed, while attention shall also be paid to general political and
security concerns.


Assigned reading:

Asmus, Ronald D. (2002): Opening NATO's Door. How the Alliance Remade Itself for a New Era.
Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 212-305. Note: Not all the pages are necessary to read,
you just can pick up information of the biggest interest.

Haughton, Tim (2007): “When Does the EU Make a Difference? Conditionality and the Accession Process
in Central and Eastern Europe”, Political Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 233-246.

Nugent, N. (2004): The EU and the 10 + 2 Enlargement Round: Opportunities and Challenges, in:
Nugent, N. (ed.): European Union Enlargement. Basingstoke – New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-21.


Additional reading:

Giusti, Serena (2002): Visegrad – Balancing between United States and European Union? In: Šťastný,
Marek (ed.): Visegrad Countries in an Enlarged Trans-Atlantic Community. Bratislava: Institute for
Public Affairs, s. 85-112.

Grayson, George W. (1999):  Strange Bedfellows. NATO Marches East. Lanham, New York, Oxford:
University Press of America.


Issues for discussion:

Reasons for Slovak failure to join NATO together with other CE countries.

Comparison of individual strategies to reach membership in the EU.