RESEE employed a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative inquiry and three sequentially interconnected work sections for each of the research objectives. The first part of the research was focused on the quantitative systematic literature review on Southeast European studies, collecting, processing, and analyzing a large-scale bibliographical dataset published from 1854 until 2021. Different methods and techniques were performed in the research mapping process, including the direct citation analysis, the co-word analysis, and the temporal analysis. A dynamic map of the bibliographic and thematic clusters in Southeast European studies has been designed and can be accessed at the project’s website. The second research part, explores the historical usage of (the term) Europeanization in the academic literature published before the ‘90s. Initially, we look at the different ranges of usage and of repertoires of terms used in historical dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other scholarly publications. Then we extend the scope of qualitative analysis to a more quantitative approach, analyzing a corpus of sentences using the term Europeanization (1867–1990). We found the word ‘process’ as the most immediate collocate, whereas the processes more collocated with Europeanization are ‘modernization’ and ‘westernization’. The last research section focus on tracing back the (political) process of EU enlargement, both from a historical and comparative approach, and seeing how it has unfolded over time and evolved over the different enlargement rounds. Particularly, we look at the historical factors behind ‘whether’ and ‘when’ a country has joined European Union, and draw lessons for the ongoing accession process with the countries of Southeast Europe. We considered a more pluralistic and inclusive perspective of a combination of material (rational choice model), ideational (constructivist model), and time (historical model) factors to guide us explain the different cases and timespans, and the individual (cross-)rounds of EU enlargement. Special focus was put on understanding (from a historical perspective) the main EU enlargement dilemmas and their implications for the current (unfinished) enlargement round in Southeast Europe.
In order to achieve our research goals, numerous training activities were undertaken by the RESEE Fellow, ranging from advanced concept and comparative historical analysis to computational data analysis (text analysis, cluster analysis).
The RESEE project results have been disseminated to a range of different audiences and exploited by different means (scientific publications of one article and two book chapters, a draft proposal for a special issue, public lectures, a JM module proposal, policy documents, and media interviews). We have presented our work at different international conferences and also given a number of open talks at other universities. The main research results were published as open access in a peer-reviewed journal article and as chapters in academic book editions. Particular attention has been given to cross-dissemination and cooperation with other relevant Marie Skłodowska-Curie initiatives. We organized a workshop and are in the process of writing a proposal for a special issue in a peer-review journal. We also did participate in policy forums and (co)-drafted policy documents. We participated in the European Researcher Night, gave public interviews in different TV programs, and have been posting on social media updates linked to the project. In addition, we have created the project website as the main means for future exploitation and we will continue to maintain and update it in the upcoming years.
