GPIS Dissertation Defense
Old Dominion University
College of Arts and Letters
The Graduate Program in International Studies
Doctoral Dissertation Defense
VISEGRAD REVIVAL: WHERE LESS IS MORE, IN THE PROSPECT OF SMALLER NUMBERS
Aaron G. Sander
Having been rife with conflict, the regionalism born in Europe in the middle of last century was an attempt to bring greater cooperation to a continent. For two generations, the Community of Europe has grown – now more deeply intertwined than ever and widened nearly to the edge of the continent. Today, the European Union may be seen as an entity much greater than simply the sum of its parts, with its paradoxical notion of having “unity in diversity.” And yet the discord emanating from such diversity that remains among its members does not lend itself to the solidarity necessary for increased integration. In fact, even sustainment in its current form is questionable. Criticism was justified beforehand; however, tensions have only been made worse by the ‘2008’ financial crisis, and the Crimean crisis; and, unfortunately, the road ahead is likely to continue to be bumpy. This work will focus on the persistent divisions between Western Europe and East Central European states, and will discuss the latter’s rather unique position and whether their benefits from having joined EU outweigh the costs. Its thesis is that a return to the cooperation and interdependence of Central Eastern Europe, of historic Visegrad, is in the better interest of the subregion, as well as wider Europe, than the panregionalism epitomized in the EU project.
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Regina Karp
Dissertation Committee: Dr. David Earnest
Dr. Peter Schulman
BAL 7009
Thursday, June 2
10:00 a.m.
Posted By: Margo Stambleck
Date: Thu May 26 14:31:57 EDT 2016