Eastern Journal of European Studies

  Oana Ramona Guriţă, Grațiela Georgiana Noja, Badar Alam Iqbal

 Liviu-George Maha, Silviu-Dumitru Mistreanu,  Stefan-Catalin Topliceanu,  Daniela-Elena Viorică

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the role of firm location and industry to internationalization of Romanian and Moldovan firms, considering eight dimensions of this process. Using a survey of more than 400 firms and grouping companies for each characteristic, this study proves that location has a moderate influence on internationalization dimensions, while industry exerts a stronger impact. Each variable has specific influences on certain dimensions, but both regional disparities and sectoral characteristics shape digital adoption, internationalization speed and intensity. The findings highlight the growing potential for cross-regional cooperation between Romanian and Moldovan firms to strengthen regional development and competitiveness.

KEYWORDS: business profiles, organizational change, corporate social responsability, digitalization, cross-border cooperation,

Pages: 14-35 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI02 

Tom Ezi Chukwugozeim,  Young U. Okwuise,  Muhammad Abdulgaffar,  Jeroh Edirin,  Moses Oghenebrozie Emumeena,  Omoye Ezie Israel,  Joseph Ikpea Igiagbe,  Bernard Osahon Odiase

ABSTRACT:  The relationship between Gross National Income and the unemployment rate in the context of regional oil demand-supply equilibria was examined, emphasizing their macroeconomic implications on market stability and energy security. The analysis employs GMM to investigate short-term dynamics and also utilizes forecasts from the OPEC and World Bank, in conjunction with projections from the World Energy Outlook and Global Economic Prospects. The GNI has a positive and statistically significant effect on oil demand-supply balance, while unemployment shows a negative but statistically significant influence. The analyses indicate that the models sufficiently exhibit stability, and results' reliability. This study provides oil demand analysis from the combined effect of historical trends with expected future changes, including the macroeconomic forecasts. This study underscores the significance of strategies that integrate economic growth with job creation and diversification of economy toward ensuring stability in energy markets.

KEYWORDS: roil demand-supply, macroeconomic instruments, gross national income (gni), unemployment rate,

Pages: 36-51 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI03 

 Cătălina Bratosin-Vasilache,  Liviu-George Maha

ABSTRACT: The dynamic evolution of the ASEAN's economic diplomacy, profoundly influenced by the regional context, has followed the broader international economic patterns, without neglecting or overlooking its inherent characteristics. Undoubtedly, endowed with its increasing strategic global influence and its role in fostering regional integration, ASEAN's economic diplomacy deserves our attention, especially if we take into consideration that empirical research studies reveal the positive impact of ASEAN's membership and that diplomatic engagement can have a positive impact on economic outcomes. Therefore, this article presents the main findings on the ASEAN's economic diplomacy, highlighting their distinct strategies, actions and policies, while also examining the RCEP as a key milestone in the evolution of ASEAN's economic diplomacy. The aim is to contribute to the comprehension of the main drivers and the prevailing trends of ASEAN's economic diplomacy, which, given the region's growing significance in the global trade and international landscape, can provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners. In order to analyse and synthesise the existing knowledge, the methodology employed in this paper consists of a systematic literature review of the relevant scientific papers on the subject. Nevertheless, even though the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of economic diplomacy in ASEAN and, especially, on the impact of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is still emerging, the results highlight a positive impact in trade and investments.

KEYWORDS: ASEAN, economic diplomacy, RCEP, foreign trade, investments,

Pages: 52-73 | Full text (PDF)
 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI04 

 Sandeep Kaur, Harpreet Singh, Ekta Verma

ABSTRACT: Using network analysis, the study examines the trade structure of the three largest trade blocs, the European Union (EU), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The use of intermediate goods exports data from the OECD TIVA database to assess the trade flow among member countries. It employs centrality measures such as centrality degree, eigenvector, betweenness, and closeness to identify the complex network flow of trade and the extent of trade concentration to countries within each bloc. The results reveal that the EU and RCEP supply chains are dominated by Germany and China, respectively. However, other countries are also acting as a central hub in the EU bloc. Similarly, the CPTPP supply chain is governed by nations such as South Korea, Japan, and Canada. Overall, the EU and RCEP have a dense trade network where countries have deep integration for efficient trade flow. In contrast, in CPTPP, the developed countries have higher participation, and the underdeveloped countries have less participation in trade flow. The findings provide important implications that high dependence on the central hub potentially poses the vulnerability of external/ internal shock in regional trade partnerships. Furthermore, high-quality standards favour developed nations and hinder underdeveloped nations' participation in regional trade partnerships.

KEYWORDS: intermediate goods, global value chain, network analysis, centrality,

Pages: 74-96 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI05 

 Mohamed Aslam,  Liew San Yee

ABSTRACT: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an omnibus of five FTA agreements.  Since 2010 the trade protectionism has expanded in the world economy and subsequently prompted ASEAN to suggest the RCEP to its FTA partners. Besides being a single trade bloc, the RCEP prime objective is to facilitate a deeper economic integration. Even though RCEP supports economic development, like in any FTA agreements, there are members that will receive trade creation and others trade diversion for those members that are less competitive in the international commodity market. Although ASEAN was the main driver of RCEP, it was unable to lead the group. Since China actively engage with countries in Southeast Asia (SEA), becoming a global economic power and increasingly enhancing its position in world politics, it tacitly leads the group. The objectives of this paper are firstly to review the economic benefits of the RCEP across the board, and secondly to analyse the domination of China in the RCEP, besides discussing how the US and its allies are disrupting and confronting China's influence in the SEA region. Based on a qualitative approach we show that the upsurge of China's role in the region as well as in the world has reshaped regionalism. The growing Chinese influence in SEA has diluted the dominance of the USA and its allies in the region. The USA allies that were embedded in the RCEP might distorted the progress of RCEP. The formation of the RCEP has disrupted the US position in SEA.

KEYWORDS: RCEP, China, USA, ASEAN, Trade, Investment

Pages: 97-118 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI06  

 Diana Shkuropadska,  Larysa Lebedeva

ABSTRACT: Ensuring the resilience of public administration is a critical challenge in the face of external shocks and internal transformations. Despite numerous studies on governance resilience, no unified quantitative approach exists, thus limiting cross-country comparisons. This study addresses this gap by developing and applying a Public Administration Resilience Index (PARI) - an integrative composite indicator that combines the Institutional Resilience Index and the Functional & Digital Resilience Index. The proposed framework captures both the structural integrity of governance institutions and their adaptive digital capacities, allowing for a multidimensional evaluation of public administration performance under stress. Using cross-country data for the Bucharest Nine countries and Ukraine in 2024, the analysis reveals high resilience levels in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia, sufficient resilience in Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, and a medium level in Ukraine, driven by digital progress but weakened institutional foundations. Methodologically, the PARI index advances resilience research by offering a transparent, scalable, and comparable tool for cross-national assessment. From a policy perspective, the results highlight Ukraine's need to prioritize institutional reform, anti-corruption measures, and human capital development alongside continued digitalization to enhance its governance resilience and align with Euro-Atlantic standards.

KEYWORDS: public administration, institutional resilience, digital governance, Ukraine, Bucharest Nine,

Pages: 119-142 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI07 

 Nawalage S. Cooray, Wimal Rankaduwa,  K.D.U.D. Fernando,  Xu Chengwei,  Lankshmi Cooray

 

ABSTRACT: Studies have shown that the quality of institutions or public governance significantly impacts economic growth. However, the literature on international political economy continues to debate the factors that determine institutional quality and the effects of institutional quality on economic development. There is a dearth of evidence on how international political economy - such as trade, investment, and foreign aid - influences economic and political institutional change. This study examines the relationship between global trade, investment, and public governance using data collected from the 15 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) economies from 2014 to 2023. Using a dynamic panel data approach based on the Two-Step System-GMM estimator, findings show that trade openness improves the quality of economic institutions by encouraging regulatory reforms, transparency, and competitiveness. FDI produces mixed results: it boosts economic institutions in the short term but can weaken them when linked to rent-seeking and weak law enforcement environments. However, both FDI and trade have less significant or negative impacts on political institutions, emphasizing uneven democratic accountability and elite capture in several RCEP countries.

KEYWORDS: RCEP, China, USA, ASEAN, Trade, Investment

Pages: 143-161 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI08 

 Bahadır Murat Cakmaklı

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to examine the economic effects of the trade dispute between the United States (US) and China that began in 2018, as well as its geopolitical impact on the members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The study reveals that the US's 104% and China's 84% tariff rates significantly eroded and reduced gross domestic product (GDP) and trade volumes in these two countries. Overall, a large part of the economic cost incurred between the countries in question stems from the misallocation of resources and loss of welfare experienced by domestic consumers, and it has been determined that this is the result of the negative effects of unilateral protectionist measures.  While the domestic manufacturing sector in the US faces negative effects on its competitiveness, China's investment in the semiconductor and electronics sectors with the aim of reducing its dependence on foreign trade is expected to provide an advantage in terms of commercial autonomy. Furthermore, the trade flow to RCEP countries is among the noteworthy findings of the study. High tariff rates between the US and China point to an increase in imports from RCEP countries and potential intra-regional economic advantages. Alongside strong growth in the electronics and automotive sectors, exports from China to regional countries increased by 6.8%. These results demonstrate that regional trade integration and flexible trade policies are resilient to tariff wars and reduce economic costs.

KEYWORDS: trade wars, RCEP, general equilibrium analysis,

Pages: 162-177 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI09

 Jakub Zajaczkowski,  Saroj Kumar Aryal

ABSTRACT: The European Union (EU) has long been perceived as a normative power. Despite that, its role as a security actor remains disputed. However, Russia's war against Ukraine and rising U.S.-China rivalry has pushed the EU to reorient its global security posture. This article examines the EU's evolving security role in the Indo-Pacific region and addresses two questions: What kind of proactive security role does the EU hope to play in the Indo-Pacific? How does the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry shape the EU's security recalibration toward the Indo-Pacific region? This research argues that the war in Ukraine and US-China rivalry have accelerated the EU's shift from an economic-normative actor toward a more security-oriented actor in Indo-Pacific. Methodologically, it employs a qualitative study where the EU's strategic documents, official statements, and secondary literature are analyses. The findings show that the EU seeks to balance normative commitments with pragmatic security engagement, working with regional partners while avoiding bipolarity. The study contributes to debates on the EU's emerging security identity and its role in the evolving Indo-Pacific order.

KEYWORDS: European Union, security, Indo-Pacific, normative power, security actor,

Pages: 178-199 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI10  

 Lasha Bazhunaishvili,  Irakli Gorgiladze

ABSTRACT: Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted the post-Cold War European security order and forced the European Union to recalibrate both its foreign policy instruments and its enlargement strategy. In response, the EU adopted eighteen packages of sanctions against Russia and reframed enlargement as a geopolitical necessity rather than a purely technocratic process. This article examines how these shifts affect the integration prospects of Georgia, a country whose strategic position in the Black Sea region has gained new relevance for the EU's security architecture. The research asks how sectoral or staged integration can function as a realistic pathway for Georgia's gradual accession in a context where full compliance with democratic conditionality remains uneven and the broader geopolitical environment is volatile. The article argues that sectoral integration-particularly in domains related to connectivity, energy transit, and critical infrastructure-offers a mutually beneficial framework that aligns Georgia's geostrategic assets with the EU's evolving security priorities without reducing enlargement to a single policy dimension such as energy security. By placing Georgia at the center of the analysis, the study contributes to debates on geopolitically driven enlargement and the future design of differentiated integration mechanisms.

KEYWORDS: EU integration, sectoral integration, geopolitics, Black Sea, Georgia,

Pages: 200-222 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI11 

 Yosua Saut Marulitua Gultom

ABSTRACT: This paper examines ASEAN's strategic response to the Trump administration's second round of protectionist trade policies. This paper analyzes how these policies deliberately undermine ASEAN's economic security, which depends on open and rules-based trade. Using a qualitative comparative framework, this study examines the strategic adaptations of Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam, selecting three ASEAN countries that have divergent economic profiles and trade structures with the United States. The study shows that although ASEAN members have adopted their own strategies, they attempt to reduce dependency on the United States through various means. This paper posits the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as a crucial tool to enhance long-term economic stability in the region. This requires ASEAN to strengthen intra-regional unity and implement measured and proactive policy changes to protect shared economic interests in an increasingly fragmented global trade.

KEYWORDS: ASEAN, economic security, RCEP, regional integration, tariff policy, Trump's protectionism,

Pages: 223-244 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2025-SI12