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Political instability may have far-reaching implications for economic performance. This paper aims to analyze the impact of political instability on economic growth by focusing on the case of Jordan, a small country located in the Middle East, which represents a highly political instable region.

The analysis is performed by regressing different indicators for internal and external political instability on economic growth for the period from 1980 to 2015 using the fully modified ordinary least squares approach.

The results point at a significant impact of political instability on the economic growth of the country in all the specifications considered; in particular, the analysis reveals a positive impact of external political instability indexed by border countries’ political instability and a negative impact of internal political instability, as proxied by the number of crimes and cabinet changes. Further, regarding the effect of the level of freedom, the authors find evidence for the so-called conflict perspective.

This paper is original and relevant for two main reasons. First, it adds to the debate on the effects of political instability on economic growth, and hereby, disentangles the effects of internal and external political instability. Second, it makes an important contribution by focusing on the case of Jordan, which has received little attention in the literature on political instability so far, even though political instability is a constant threat to the country.

The European Union has pursued two contradictory policies over the last decade in response to the challenges of globalization. On the one hand, the EU has loosened borders to facilitate trade and make the EU more competitive globally. On the other hand, the EU has tightened borders to enhance its security, fearing the negative consequences of a globalized world. In this paper, I examine the effects of implementation of the EU's Schengen border regime, a set of rules governing external border control, on the post-communist countries and the difficulties that Schengen has posed for the governments in the region. I also discuss the EU's emerging European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), designed to address many of the concerns voiced by the Central and East European (CEE) officials regarding Schengen. An important element of ENP is to work across the EU external border to facilitate economic relations and develop joint institutions with non-members to create new cooperative borderlands.

Two images are frequently invoked with regard to the evolution of the EU. Certain scholars portray the organization as moving toward a new, post-modern, post-Westphalian entity comprising an increasingly borderless Europe. Other scholars view European integration as a process by which the EU is increasingly taking on the trappings and functions of the state to build a “Fortress Europe.” The discussion of Schengen and the eastern enlargement suggests a more complex reality than either of these two images in which borders are constantly shifting and whose functions are changing in response to the different challenges posed by globalization and internal developments. The EU's external borders will continue to change, both in terms of where they are located and how important these will be. Europe's ENP, with its emphasis on cross-border cooperation, is changing borders into borderlands, zones of cooperation and collaboration across a line on a map. Governance and the shaping of policy are increasingly taking place at multiple sites and with different kinds of actors, further transforming the importance of borders. Perhaps, a new vision of European integration is needed to capture the evolution of the EU.

Discusses the coming enlargement of the European Union by ten states, which also increases the population from 378 million to 483 million (if Bulgaria and Romania are also accepted in 2007). Notes that because of their membership, the new members will pay the price of reduced access to former trading partners and borders of new Member States will open up west and north, although some customs’ revenue will disappear there will be EU budget transfers to compensate.

Within the theoretical context of human security, this United Nations (UN) three‐year research project examines the causes and effects of conflicts in the arid and semi‐arid lands of Northern Kenya. The purpose of this paper is to address the human security concerns arising out of conflict, displacement, migration and poverty. The people who live in the area are mainly nomadic pastoralists.

A review of previous empirical research and ongoing field studies are used to examine four problem areas: cattle rustling, proliferation of small arms, competition over scarce resources and conflict between refugees and local communities.

Seeking access to water and green pastures, the nomads generally follow their cattle across the region, and their movement is not confined to Kenya alone. They cross and re‐cross international boundaries to and from Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Uganda resulting in conflicts over water and pasture. Resource competition in a fragile economy has had grave consequences for the economic security of families and internally displaced people.

The North Rift and North Eastern regions of Kenya are the most underdeveloped area of the country and suffer from a high level of human insecurity, with more than three‐quarters of the population living below the poverty line. This UN project seeks an empirical understanding of the causes of conflict and ways to build the capacity of a vulnerable population to gain both freedom from fear and freedom from want.