Mark Harwood | University of Malta (original) (raw)

Books by Mark Harwood

A study of Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2017 from a small... more A study of Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2017 from a small state perspective.

Papers by Mark Harwood

Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, Dec 31, 2012

This paper discusses the issue of how size impacts a country's experience of EU membership, in pa... more This paper discusses the issue of how size impacts a country's experience of EU membership, in particular its ability to control the implementation of EU policy. Small countries share several characteristics at an EU level, in that they avoid isolation in the Council and depend on partnership with larger member states. In terms of Malta, this was shown to be the case but other factors appear to have brought this about, in particular the country's political history. In terms of Europeanization, small states adopt flexible arrangements to manage membership with public servants empowered in the process. This was not the case for Malta where membership saw greater involvement for public servants in policy making but no increase in actual power due to a heavy centralisation of decision-making which empowered the political class. Where size appears to have played a role in the country's Europeanization experience was in terms of how that centralisation process has allowed the government to control the monitoring of its implementation of EU policy by third parties, including the Commission.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made withou... more All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 19881 or under the tenns of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIT 4LP. Any person who does any unautho rised act In relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Parliamentary Affairs, 2019

In an attempt to decentre the debate of democracy promotion in the Mediterranean, this article ap... more In an attempt to decentre the debate of democracy promotion in the Mediterranean, this article applies social constructivism to an analysis of the work undertaken by two International Parliamentary Bodies in the Mediterranean. With a focus on the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, we analyse how effective their role can be without coercion and move on to discuss whether newly formed democratic parliaments, as in Tunisia, may represent a more legitimate and viable source of parliamentary-driven democracy promotion.

An analysis of CSR in Malta.peer-reviewe

The Future of Europe, 2018

Malta is the smallest EU member state in terms of territory, population, and economy. Malta, in t... more Malta is the smallest EU member state in terms of territory, population, and economy. Malta, in the centre of the Mediterranean, was a British colony until 1964, and its political and economic system bear a link to the British period. In the post-WWII drive to free the economy from its dependency on British military spending, successive governments cultivated tourism as well as manufacturing, in particular electronics and pharmaceuticals, as economic industries to bolster the country. In 1990, the Christian Democrats applied to join the EC with the issue of membership becoming divisive in this two-party state as the Socialists opposed. The issue was resolved in the 2003 EU referendum with a vote in favour, and Malta joined in 2004.

European Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe, 2022

South European Society and Politics, 2020

Unlike other South European member-states of the EU, Malta did not experience any negative ramifi... more Unlike other South European member-states of the EU, Malta did not experience any negative ramifications from the 2008 financial crisis and its eurozone membership has been stable, with the country...

Europeanization aims to analyse domestic change caused by European integration. The European Unio... more Europeanization aims to analyse domestic change caused by European integration. The European Union has assumed greater and greater significance over the lives of its citizens as its borders continue to enlarge, its competence increase and its complex network of official and unofficial decision-making become more embedded within a multi-level system of governance that brings governments and civil society from across the twenty-five members into greater contact. In this environment, domestic political systems and actors change and adapt. That change is what dominates current research in Europeanization. The easiest and most recognizable impact of Europeanization is upon government structures, processes and policies. But attention has also come to be focused upon how EU membership impacts civil society and, more importantly, norms and values. While research in these areas is still in its infancy, this paper will seek to outline what Europeanization is, how it impacts its domestic political systems and what consequences it may have for civil society and the values that civil society groups promote.peer-reviewe

Editors: Mark Harwood | Stefano Moncada | Roderick Pace Malta assumed the Presidency of the Counc... more Editors: Mark Harwood | Stefano Moncada | Roderick Pace Malta assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2017 with a list of priorities ranging from migration to social inclusion, security to the single market. In addition to the challenge the Presidency represents for any Member State, small states are particularly ‘stretched’ in meeting the myriad commitments the presidency involves. Therefore, from the outset, Malta’s Presidency represented a challenge for the Government and Public Service. In addition, Malta was also faced with several ‘external’ challenges beyond its control but which had the potential to complicate its task at the helm of the Council, including elections in key member states, the formal launch of the BREXIT process and the inauguration of the Trump administration in America; as Malta entered 2017 it truly found itself in the proverbial ‘eye of the storm’. After completing its Presidency the consensus in Malta and abroad was that the EU’s smalle...

Stefano Moncada (twitter @stefanomoncada) was born in Rome in 1976. He obtained his Ph.D. in Econ... more Stefano Moncada (twitter @stefanomoncada) was born in Rome in 1976. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Malta, where he lectures and conducts research in the areas of development economics, climate change, European studies, island studies, sustainable development, and impact evaluation techniques. Stefano's recent research activities include economic and health assessments, in the face of climate change, of communities in Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Prior to joining academia, Stefano worked in the Italian Parliament as manager and policy analyst. He also worked as a consultant in several development projects based in Albania, Mexico, Mali and Ethiopia, mainly in relation to socioeconomic , health, and environmental funded activities. He has worked with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) as senior research officer, where he was in charge of the development of impact assessment tools. Stefano is also a member of the board of the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta, and part of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Development and Training Institutes (EADI), of the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), and acts as expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is active in numerous outreach and knowledge-transfer initiatives, including training courses and consultation sessions for public, private, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Professor Roderick Pace is a resident academic staff member of the Institute for European Studies at the University of Malta. His research interests are in world politics and the EU, small states, Euro-Mediterranean relations, the international There seem two possible outcomes: either the EU's inertia and inability to grasp political nettles leads to an unsatisfactory business-as-usual approach, or there is disruptive reform. The former means the present frictions will persist and will probably be accentuated by widely projected stagnant economic growth. The latter course of reform might lance many boils of discontent, but would open up bitter re-negotiations over what it means to be European. The outer ring of countries no longer to be bound by the most unyielding of EU disciplines would be relegated to a different legal framework and all that this implies. These possibilities have not so far impinged greatly on public opinion. If and when they do so they will certainly stoke doubts over the value of the European 'project'. The background for many Europeans is security, and a sense that the EU is not delivering the stability and sense of foreign policy coherence they had been led to expect. The migration issue has been throwing into stark relief the volatilities of the Middle East, the Gulf region and northern Africa. It has shown how far from reality are Europe's foreign affairs ambitions. The EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, in spite of its creation of a 'foreign ministry' in the shape of its EEAS action service, clearly remains much more a trade and economic arm than a diplomatic one. Successive opinion polls have shown that there is much support for a more muscular EU, with respondents apparently yearning for "a European army". As with so much of the Great Debate over Europe's future, such simple solutions would raise hugely complicated new questions over the political mechanisms that would be needed. In other words, Europe remains in the place its policymakers have always feared and denied: it is half-pregnant.

Resident academic staff members are engaged in a number of activities involving research and publ... more Resident academic staff members are engaged in a number of activities involving research and publication. In 2009 Professor Roderick Pace was appointed on the Editorial Board of the Journal of South European Society and Politics published by Taylor and Francis and recently quoted in the Social Sciences Citation Index.

European Politics and Society, 2017

ABSTRACT Before joining the EU in 2004 Malta registered the starkest level of Euroscepticism amon... more ABSTRACT Before joining the EU in 2004 Malta registered the starkest level of Euroscepticism amongst applicant states with a major party opposed to EU membership and a marked antipathy amongst half the population. A decade later, party-based Euroscepticism has been replaced by cross-party Euroenthusiasm in this two-party state. However, underlying Euroscepticism remains amongst the population and anti-EU, anti-immigrant parties have emerged since membership. With close political and cultural ties with the UK, this article argues that BREXIT has the potential to undermine that Euroenthusiasm as the two parties compete for those voters dissatisfied with the EU.

The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament, 2005

His principal areas of interest focus upon Europeanization and Malta's membership of the European... more His principal areas of interest focus upon Europeanization and Malta's membership of the European Union, in particular the impact on government, parliamentary democracy as well as social movements. He has been lecturing since 2003 and previously worked for the European Commission.

Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, Dec 31, 2012

A study of Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2017 from a small... more A study of Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2017 from a small state perspective.

Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, Dec 31, 2012

This paper discusses the issue of how size impacts a country's experience of EU membership, in pa... more This paper discusses the issue of how size impacts a country's experience of EU membership, in particular its ability to control the implementation of EU policy. Small countries share several characteristics at an EU level, in that they avoid isolation in the Council and depend on partnership with larger member states. In terms of Malta, this was shown to be the case but other factors appear to have brought this about, in particular the country's political history. In terms of Europeanization, small states adopt flexible arrangements to manage membership with public servants empowered in the process. This was not the case for Malta where membership saw greater involvement for public servants in policy making but no increase in actual power due to a heavy centralisation of decision-making which empowered the political class. Where size appears to have played a role in the country's Europeanization experience was in terms of how that centralisation process has allowed the government to control the monitoring of its implementation of EU policy by third parties, including the Commission.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made withou... more All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 19881 or under the tenns of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIT 4LP. Any person who does any unautho rised act In relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Parliamentary Affairs, 2019

In an attempt to decentre the debate of democracy promotion in the Mediterranean, this article ap... more In an attempt to decentre the debate of democracy promotion in the Mediterranean, this article applies social constructivism to an analysis of the work undertaken by two International Parliamentary Bodies in the Mediterranean. With a focus on the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, we analyse how effective their role can be without coercion and move on to discuss whether newly formed democratic parliaments, as in Tunisia, may represent a more legitimate and viable source of parliamentary-driven democracy promotion.

An analysis of CSR in Malta.peer-reviewe

The Future of Europe, 2018

Malta is the smallest EU member state in terms of territory, population, and economy. Malta, in t... more Malta is the smallest EU member state in terms of territory, population, and economy. Malta, in the centre of the Mediterranean, was a British colony until 1964, and its political and economic system bear a link to the British period. In the post-WWII drive to free the economy from its dependency on British military spending, successive governments cultivated tourism as well as manufacturing, in particular electronics and pharmaceuticals, as economic industries to bolster the country. In 1990, the Christian Democrats applied to join the EC with the issue of membership becoming divisive in this two-party state as the Socialists opposed. The issue was resolved in the 2003 EU referendum with a vote in favour, and Malta joined in 2004.

European Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe, 2022

South European Society and Politics, 2020

Unlike other South European member-states of the EU, Malta did not experience any negative ramifi... more Unlike other South European member-states of the EU, Malta did not experience any negative ramifications from the 2008 financial crisis and its eurozone membership has been stable, with the country...

Europeanization aims to analyse domestic change caused by European integration. The European Unio... more Europeanization aims to analyse domestic change caused by European integration. The European Union has assumed greater and greater significance over the lives of its citizens as its borders continue to enlarge, its competence increase and its complex network of official and unofficial decision-making become more embedded within a multi-level system of governance that brings governments and civil society from across the twenty-five members into greater contact. In this environment, domestic political systems and actors change and adapt. That change is what dominates current research in Europeanization. The easiest and most recognizable impact of Europeanization is upon government structures, processes and policies. But attention has also come to be focused upon how EU membership impacts civil society and, more importantly, norms and values. While research in these areas is still in its infancy, this paper will seek to outline what Europeanization is, how it impacts its domestic political systems and what consequences it may have for civil society and the values that civil society groups promote.peer-reviewe

Editors: Mark Harwood | Stefano Moncada | Roderick Pace Malta assumed the Presidency of the Counc... more Editors: Mark Harwood | Stefano Moncada | Roderick Pace Malta assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2017 with a list of priorities ranging from migration to social inclusion, security to the single market. In addition to the challenge the Presidency represents for any Member State, small states are particularly ‘stretched’ in meeting the myriad commitments the presidency involves. Therefore, from the outset, Malta’s Presidency represented a challenge for the Government and Public Service. In addition, Malta was also faced with several ‘external’ challenges beyond its control but which had the potential to complicate its task at the helm of the Council, including elections in key member states, the formal launch of the BREXIT process and the inauguration of the Trump administration in America; as Malta entered 2017 it truly found itself in the proverbial ‘eye of the storm’. After completing its Presidency the consensus in Malta and abroad was that the EU’s smalle...

Stefano Moncada (twitter @stefanomoncada) was born in Rome in 1976. He obtained his Ph.D. in Econ... more Stefano Moncada (twitter @stefanomoncada) was born in Rome in 1976. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Malta, where he lectures and conducts research in the areas of development economics, climate change, European studies, island studies, sustainable development, and impact evaluation techniques. Stefano's recent research activities include economic and health assessments, in the face of climate change, of communities in Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Prior to joining academia, Stefano worked in the Italian Parliament as manager and policy analyst. He also worked as a consultant in several development projects based in Albania, Mexico, Mali and Ethiopia, mainly in relation to socioeconomic , health, and environmental funded activities. He has worked with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) as senior research officer, where he was in charge of the development of impact assessment tools. Stefano is also a member of the board of the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta, and part of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Development and Training Institutes (EADI), of the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), and acts as expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is active in numerous outreach and knowledge-transfer initiatives, including training courses and consultation sessions for public, private, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Professor Roderick Pace is a resident academic staff member of the Institute for European Studies at the University of Malta. His research interests are in world politics and the EU, small states, Euro-Mediterranean relations, the international There seem two possible outcomes: either the EU's inertia and inability to grasp political nettles leads to an unsatisfactory business-as-usual approach, or there is disruptive reform. The former means the present frictions will persist and will probably be accentuated by widely projected stagnant economic growth. The latter course of reform might lance many boils of discontent, but would open up bitter re-negotiations over what it means to be European. The outer ring of countries no longer to be bound by the most unyielding of EU disciplines would be relegated to a different legal framework and all that this implies. These possibilities have not so far impinged greatly on public opinion. If and when they do so they will certainly stoke doubts over the value of the European 'project'. The background for many Europeans is security, and a sense that the EU is not delivering the stability and sense of foreign policy coherence they had been led to expect. The migration issue has been throwing into stark relief the volatilities of the Middle East, the Gulf region and northern Africa. It has shown how far from reality are Europe's foreign affairs ambitions. The EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, in spite of its creation of a 'foreign ministry' in the shape of its EEAS action service, clearly remains much more a trade and economic arm than a diplomatic one. Successive opinion polls have shown that there is much support for a more muscular EU, with respondents apparently yearning for "a European army". As with so much of the Great Debate over Europe's future, such simple solutions would raise hugely complicated new questions over the political mechanisms that would be needed. In other words, Europe remains in the place its policymakers have always feared and denied: it is half-pregnant.

Resident academic staff members are engaged in a number of activities involving research and publ... more Resident academic staff members are engaged in a number of activities involving research and publication. In 2009 Professor Roderick Pace was appointed on the Editorial Board of the Journal of South European Society and Politics published by Taylor and Francis and recently quoted in the Social Sciences Citation Index.

European Politics and Society, 2017

ABSTRACT Before joining the EU in 2004 Malta registered the starkest level of Euroscepticism amon... more ABSTRACT Before joining the EU in 2004 Malta registered the starkest level of Euroscepticism amongst applicant states with a major party opposed to EU membership and a marked antipathy amongst half the population. A decade later, party-based Euroscepticism has been replaced by cross-party Euroenthusiasm in this two-party state. However, underlying Euroscepticism remains amongst the population and anti-EU, anti-immigrant parties have emerged since membership. With close political and cultural ties with the UK, this article argues that BREXIT has the potential to undermine that Euroenthusiasm as the two parties compete for those voters dissatisfied with the EU.

The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament, 2005

His principal areas of interest focus upon Europeanization and Malta's membership of the European... more His principal areas of interest focus upon Europeanization and Malta's membership of the European Union, in particular the impact on government, parliamentary democracy as well as social movements. He has been lecturing since 2003 and previously worked for the European Commission.

Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, Dec 31, 2012

South European Society and Politics, 2014

In 2013 the Maltese Labour Party returned to power after 15 years in opposition, securing the sin... more In 2013 the Maltese Labour Party returned to power after 15 years in opposition, securing the single largest majority in the island's post-independence history and on a platform promising civil unions for same-sex couples. Asking how LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights became mainstream in a country synonymous with Catholicism, the article examines whether the adoption of the Civil Union Act is the culmination of ten years of European Union membership. Employing concepts of policy and institutional fit as well as social constructivist theories of elite socialisation and epistemic communities, it concludes that while policy fit accounts for the introduction of equality laws, the Civil Union Act depended on the social democrats' need to retake the progressive agenda. Elite socialisation – particularly among Members of the European Parliament – helped reframe the issue, encouraging the party to adopt this policy while the Europeanisation of the LGBT lobby reminded the social democrats that the LGBT minority, long hidden and browbeaten by Church teaching, now sought recognition and equality.