Nikolaos Tzifakis
Biographic Data
| ID | 3042908 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nikolaos Tzifakis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nikolaos |
| FAMILY NAME | Tzifakis |
| SIGNATURE | TZIFAKIS N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Peloponnese |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4653-6882 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A Strategic–Relational Approach to European Union Enlargement
The article applies Jessop’s and Hay’s strategic–relational approach to the European Union’s enlargement policy. Focusing on the leaders of applicant countries, the authors argue that these are reflexive actors, who may break the confines of the structurally determined compliance/non-compliance binary choice in European Union (EU) accession negotiations and explore additional policy options. In the Western Balkans, governing elites have repeatedl…
Do in‐kind donations promote cooperation among non‐governmental organisations? Lessons from the Greek refugee crisis
Since 2015, Greece has experienced an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers. For several months, most humanitarian assistance provided to them by non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) heavily relied on in‐kind donations. Donations of tangible items frequently pose serious management challenges and may disturb relief distribution. Through empirical research based on a questionnaire survey and interviews, we find that NGOs have increasingly cooper…
A geopolitical turn to EU enlargement, or another postponement? An introduction
This article, which introduces a Special Issue of the JCES on the challenges of EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans, critically examines the geopolitical turn of the EU’s institutional thinking on enlargement since 2017. After several high-ranked EU officials and leaders of member states more or less explicitly voiced their concerns about the declining influence of the EU in the Western Balkans, the European Commission – which has t…
Left-Wing Populism
The transformation of syriza from a minor party struggling to enter parliament into a major governing party within a short period of time, its rule in the context of an economic crisis, and its resilience following four and a half years of governance make a very interesting story. syriza has been the only radical left populist party that has governed an EU country in recent times. This introductory article accounts for the factors that facilitate…
Do Small Powers Retrench
This article analyses and develops the rationale behind the foreign policy of the syriza -led government towards the Western Balkans. It challenges the prevalent view in the academic literature that there was continuity between policies of the syriza government and its predecessors. By analysing the track record of Greek foreign policy towards the region from 2009 to 2019, it argues that from mid-2016 onwards syriza implemented a major policy shi…
The Western Balkans in the World
International audience
Western Balkans in the World
Human security in EU strategy
In the early 2000s, the EU incrementally appeared to have espoused a distinguishing human security discourse. This was bound not only to inform its crisis management operations but also to shape its global role. Today, the Union seems to move toward a global strategy blueprint and an ensuing public discourse. Human security is no longer mentioned as a grand objective, though it has not been moved to the background. It is cited as an end of one ju…
The Impact of Economic Crises on NGOs
The paper analyzes the impact of economic crises on organized civil society. A number of empirical studies have shown that a financial crisis can inflict a serious damage on the nonprofit sector—mainly through a sharp decline in revenues. However, the Greek case shows that a crisis can also have some positive effects on NGOs: many nonprofits introduced reforms that increased efficiency, the number of volunteers reached record levels, and there wa…
The emergence of Israeli-Greek cooperation
Greek-Israeli relations have received scant scholarly attention until very recently. The lack of academic interest in the study of this topic has unsurprisingly mirrored the particular state of aff
The perils of outsourcing post-conflict reconstruction
During the last few years, some donor countries (especially the US and the UK) have been increasingly outsourcing services in post-conflict operations to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and private military and security companies (PMSCs). These states have also adopted ‘integrated approaches’ to their policy interventions, contributing to the emergence of an ‘aid and security market’. The article uses ideas from both developm…
Personal connections, unexpected journeys
This article examines whether there is a steady pattern of celebrity engagement with humanitarian issues through a study of the involvement of U2 and Angelina Jolie in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The activism of these two celebrities was limited in both time and content and developed at different phases of the country’s recent history. The article notes that their involvement was idiosyncratic and was not developed at certain ‘turning points’ or ‘cri…
Greece's Horizons
The European Union in Kosovo
To complete its work in Kosovo and maintain peace, stability, and development in the western Balkans as a whole, the European Union must do a better job of coordinating its agencies on the ground
Hegemonic Relationships
The impact of Non-Governmental Organizations’ reconstruction activities in Bosnia and Kosovo was largely determined by the nature and content of two dominant relationships. The first is the donor countries-International NGO (INGO) relationship. To grasp the importance of this relationship, it suffices to mention that, at the global level, donors give around five times more funds to INGOs (and more precisely to their own national NGOs) than to Loc…
Reconstructing the Balkans
During the last two decades, the international community has assumed much of the responsibility for the reconstruction of the Balkans. It has driven a complex, holistic and multidimensional process encompassing efforts to simultaneously improve security (restoration of law and order), political (governance), economic (rehabilitation and development) and social conditions (justice and reconciliation) in the region. In terms of economic reconstruct…
The fallacy of the autonomous celebrity activist in international politics
Celebrities have been accused of oversimplifying the conflict in Darfur, of exaggerating the number of people killed and of cursorily labelling it the ‘first genocide of the 21st century’. Celebrity activists have also been criticized for advocating drastic measures like military intervention, and for aggressively pursuing the fulfilment of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court at the expense of quiet diplomacy and reconciliation, u…
Problematizing human security
The article attempts a comprehensive review of the human security concept in order to question its utility for both research and policy-making. It notes the term’s interdisciplinary and extensively normative content that have facilitated its evolution into a successful security discourse. On the other hand, human security’s wide appeal has as a side-effect an extended conceptual polysemy inhibiting the cumulation of knowledge and the development …
Celebrity Activism in International Relations
The article examines the growing celebrity activism in world politics and attempts to develop a framework for analysis. It briefly reviews the relevant literature on the emergence of influential individuals as transnational activists. Then, it analyses the factors that account for the specific growth of celebrity activism and evaluates its impact on public awareness, the mobilisation of resources and government decisions. Finally, the article tes…
EU's region-building and boundary-drawing policies
The European Union (EU) has more and more assertively endeavored since the early 1990s to design approaches, device instruments and implement policies towards the rest of the world. The development
Contextual Approaches to Human Security
During the last decade, human security has made its way into policy discourses. According to the UNDP's widely acknowledged approach, the term implies, on the one hand, safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression and, on the other, protection from sudden and harmful disruptions in the patterns of daily life whether in homes, jobs, or communities.1 Human security denotes a multidimensional and holistic approach to security …
Economic reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The article discusses the efforts to undertake economic reconstruction in Bosnia following the end of the war. It argues that, despite certain successes such as the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the privatization of the banking sector, overall progress has been below expectations. The study, accordingly, attempts to analyse the reasons behind the reconstruction failure by grouping Bosnia's problems into four different challenges for analyt…
A geopolitical turn to EU enlargement, or another postponement? An introduction
This article, which introduces a Special Issue of the JCES on the challenges of EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans, critically examines the geopolitical turn of the EU’s institutional thinking on enlargement since 2017. After several high-ranked EU officials and leaders of member states more or less explicitly voiced their concerns about the declining influence of the EU in the Western Balkans, the European Commission – which has t…
Celebrity Activism in International Relations
The article examines the growing celebrity activism in world politics and attempts to develop a framework for analysis. It briefly reviews the relevant literature on the emergence of influential individuals as transnational activists. Then, it analyses the factors that account for the specific growth of celebrity activism and evaluates its impact on public awareness, the mobilisation of resources and government decisions. Finally, the article tes…
Economic reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The article discusses the efforts to undertake economic reconstruction in Bosnia following the end of the war. It argues that, despite certain successes such as the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the privatization of the banking sector, overall progress has been below expectations. The study, accordingly, attempts to analyse the reasons behind the reconstruction failure by grouping Bosnia's problems into four different challenges for analyt…
The Impact of Economic Crises on NGOs
The paper analyzes the impact of economic crises on organized civil society. A number of empirical studies have shown that a financial crisis can inflict a serious damage on the nonprofit sector—mainly through a sharp decline in revenues. However, the Greek case shows that a crisis can also have some positive effects on NGOs: many nonprofits introduced reforms that increased efficiency, the number of volunteers reached record levels, and there wa…
The fallacy of the autonomous celebrity activist in international politics
Celebrities have been accused of oversimplifying the conflict in Darfur, of exaggerating the number of people killed and of cursorily labelling it the ‘first genocide of the 21st century’. Celebrity activists have also been criticized for advocating drastic measures like military intervention, and for aggressively pursuing the fulfilment of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court at the expense of quiet diplomacy and reconciliation, u…
EU's region-building and boundary-drawing policies
The European Union (EU) has more and more assertively endeavored since the early 1990s to design approaches, device instruments and implement policies towards the rest of the world. The development
Personal connections, unexpected journeys
This article examines whether there is a steady pattern of celebrity engagement with humanitarian issues through a study of the involvement of U2 and Angelina Jolie in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The activism of these two celebrities was limited in both time and content and developed at different phases of the country’s recent history. The article notes that their involvement was idiosyncratic and was not developed at certain ‘turning points’ or ‘cri…
Hegemonic Relationships
The impact of Non-Governmental Organizations’ reconstruction activities in Bosnia and Kosovo was largely determined by the nature and content of two dominant relationships. The first is the donor countries-International NGO (INGO) relationship. To grasp the importance of this relationship, it suffices to mention that, at the global level, donors give around five times more funds to INGOs (and more precisely to their own national NGOs) than to Loc…
Contextual Approaches to Human Security
During the last decade, human security has made its way into policy discourses. According to the UNDP's widely acknowledged approach, the term implies, on the one hand, safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression and, on the other, protection from sudden and harmful disruptions in the patterns of daily life whether in homes, jobs, or communities.1 Human security denotes a multidimensional and holistic approach to security …
Economic reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The article discusses the efforts to undertake economic reconstruction in Bosnia following the end of the war. It argues that, despite certain successes such as the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the privatization of the banking sector, overall progress has been below expectations. The study, accordingly, attempts to analyse the reasons behind the reconstruction failure by grouping Bosnia's problems into four different challenges for analyt…
EU's region-building and boundary-drawing policies
The European Union (EU) has more and more assertively endeavored since the early 1990s to design approaches, device instruments and implement policies towards the rest of the world. The development
Contextual Approaches to Human Security
During the last decade, human security has made its way into policy discourses. According to the UNDP's widely acknowledged approach, the term implies, on the one hand, safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression and, on the other, protection from sudden and harmful disruptions in the patterns of daily life whether in homes, jobs, or communities.1 Human security denotes a multidimensional and holistic approach to security …
Celebrity Activism in International Relations
The article examines the growing celebrity activism in world politics and attempts to develop a framework for analysis. It briefly reviews the relevant literature on the emergence of influential individuals as transnational activists. Then, it analyses the factors that account for the specific growth of celebrity activism and evaluates its impact on public awareness, the mobilisation of resources and government decisions. Finally, the article tes…
Problematizing human security
The article attempts a comprehensive review of the human security concept in order to question its utility for both research and policy-making. It notes the term’s interdisciplinary and extensively normative content that have facilitated its evolution into a successful security discourse. On the other hand, human security’s wide appeal has as a side-effect an extended conceptual polysemy inhibiting the cumulation of knowledge and the development …
The fallacy of the autonomous celebrity activist in international politics
Celebrities have been accused of oversimplifying the conflict in Darfur, of exaggerating the number of people killed and of cursorily labelling it the ‘first genocide of the 21st century’. Celebrity activists have also been criticized for advocating drastic measures like military intervention, and for aggressively pursuing the fulfilment of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court at the expense of quiet diplomacy and reconciliation, u…
Greece's Horizons
The European Union in Kosovo
To complete its work in Kosovo and maintain peace, stability, and development in the western Balkans as a whole, the European Union must do a better job of coordinating its agencies on the ground
Hegemonic Relationships
The impact of Non-Governmental Organizations’ reconstruction activities in Bosnia and Kosovo was largely determined by the nature and content of two dominant relationships. The first is the donor countries-International NGO (INGO) relationship. To grasp the importance of this relationship, it suffices to mention that, at the global level, donors give around five times more funds to INGOs (and more precisely to their own national NGOs) than to Loc…
Reconstructing the Balkans
During the last two decades, the international community has assumed much of the responsibility for the reconstruction of the Balkans. It has driven a complex, holistic and multidimensional process encompassing efforts to simultaneously improve security (restoration of law and order), political (governance), economic (rehabilitation and development) and social conditions (justice and reconciliation) in the region. In terms of economic reconstruct…
The emergence of Israeli-Greek cooperation
Greek-Israeli relations have received scant scholarly attention until very recently. The lack of academic interest in the study of this topic has unsurprisingly mirrored the particular state of aff
The perils of outsourcing post-conflict reconstruction
During the last few years, some donor countries (especially the US and the UK) have been increasingly outsourcing services in post-conflict operations to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and private military and security companies (PMSCs). These states have also adopted ‘integrated approaches’ to their policy interventions, contributing to the emergence of an ‘aid and security market’. The article uses ideas from both developm…
Personal connections, unexpected journeys
This article examines whether there is a steady pattern of celebrity engagement with humanitarian issues through a study of the involvement of U2 and Angelina Jolie in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The activism of these two celebrities was limited in both time and content and developed at different phases of the country’s recent history. The article notes that their involvement was idiosyncratic and was not developed at certain ‘turning points’ or ‘cri…
The Impact of Economic Crises on NGOs
The paper analyzes the impact of economic crises on organized civil society. A number of empirical studies have shown that a financial crisis can inflict a serious damage on the nonprofit sector—mainly through a sharp decline in revenues. However, the Greek case shows that a crisis can also have some positive effects on NGOs: many nonprofits introduced reforms that increased efficiency, the number of volunteers reached record levels, and there wa…
The Western Balkans in the World
International audience
Western Balkans in the World
Human security in EU strategy
In the early 2000s, the EU incrementally appeared to have espoused a distinguishing human security discourse. This was bound not only to inform its crisis management operations but also to shape its global role. Today, the Union seems to move toward a global strategy blueprint and an ensuing public discourse. Human security is no longer mentioned as a grand objective, though it has not been moved to the background. It is cited as an end of one ju…
A geopolitical turn to EU enlargement, or another postponement? An introduction
This article, which introduces a Special Issue of the JCES on the challenges of EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans, critically examines the geopolitical turn of the EU’s institutional thinking on enlargement since 2017. After several high-ranked EU officials and leaders of member states more or less explicitly voiced their concerns about the declining influence of the EU in the Western Balkans, the European Commission – which has t…
Left-Wing Populism
The transformation of syriza from a minor party struggling to enter parliament into a major governing party within a short period of time, its rule in the context of an economic crisis, and its resilience following four and a half years of governance make a very interesting story. syriza has been the only radical left populist party that has governed an EU country in recent times. This introductory article accounts for the factors that facilitate…
Do Small Powers Retrench
This article analyses and develops the rationale behind the foreign policy of the syriza -led government towards the Western Balkans. It challenges the prevalent view in the academic literature that there was continuity between policies of the syriza government and its predecessors. By analysing the track record of Greek foreign policy towards the region from 2009 to 2019, it argues that from mid-2016 onwards syriza implemented a major policy shi…
Do in‐kind donations promote cooperation among non‐governmental organisations? Lessons from the Greek refugee crisis
Since 2015, Greece has experienced an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers. For several months, most humanitarian assistance provided to them by non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) heavily relied on in‐kind donations. Donations of tangible items frequently pose serious management challenges and may disturb relief distribution. Through empirical research based on a questionnaire survey and interviews, we find that NGOs have increasingly cooper…
A Strategic–Relational Approach to European Union Enlargement
The article applies Jessop’s and Hay’s strategic–relational approach to the European Union’s enlargement policy. Focusing on the leaders of applicant countries, the authors argue that these are reflexive actors, who may break the confines of the structurally determined compliance/non-compliance binary choice in European Union (EU) accession negotiations and explore additional policy options. In the Western Balkans, governing elites have repeatedl…
Political science (19 works) · Law (13 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Business (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Economics (7 works) · Peacebuilding and International Security (6 works) · Public Administration (5 works)