Northern dogmatism damages European solidarity
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Is Europe that hard to explain?
Public support for the European integration project can hardly be treated as given any more. Public opinion on the EU fluctuates heavily. Critical media reporting from and about Brussels increases. And Eurosceptic campaigns and parties flourish in most EU membÂer states.
Both the public and the academic debates concentrate primarily on the strategies of the challenging actors in this regard. Yet, politicization is an interactive process. For the evolution of the debate about Europe, the political signals of the established actors are at least equally decisive.
For these actors â especially from governing or major opposition parties â political science mainly expects reluctant communication about European integration. The political âmainstreamâ is expected to avoid internal partisan conflict on the EU while trying not to endanger supranational compromises. Thus clear political signals on the EU should be rare. Against surging public politicisation, however, this strategy is risky: a lack of competition about political alternatives within Europe may quickly lead to more fundamental opposition against Europe (for versions of this argument see here, here, here, or here). So, how do established political actors actually communicate on European integration?
Ist Europa so schwer zu erklÀren?
Der gesellschaftliche RĂŒckhalt fĂŒr die EuropĂ€ische Union ist kein SelbstlĂ€ufer mehr. Die öffentliche Meinung zur EU schwankt stark. Kritische Berichterstattung aus und ĂŒber BrĂŒssel nimmt zu. Und entschieden euroskeptische Kampagnen und Parteien erleben ungekannte HöhenflĂŒge in vielen europĂ€ischen Mitgliedsstaaten.
Sowohl die öffentliche als auch die wissenschaftliche Debatte konzentriert sich dabei vor allem auf die Strategien der Europagegner. Die Politisierung der EU ist aber ein interaktiver Prozess. FĂŒr den Verlauf der öffentlichen Debatte sind die politischen Signale der etablierten Akteure mindestens genauso entscheidend.
Von Akteuren aus Regierungs- oder den groĂen Oppositionsparteien erwartet die politikwissenschaftliche Literatur aber vor allem ZurĂŒckhaltung bei europĂ€ischen Themen. Klare politische Signale seien deshalb nicht zu erwarten, weil man parteiinterne Spannungen umschiffen und Kompromisse auf europĂ€ischer Ebene nicht gefĂ€hrden möchte. Im Kontext einer zunehmenden Politisierung ist das aber riskant: ein Mangel an Wettbewerb ĂŒber politische Alternativen in Europa kann schnell zu fundamentaler Opposition gegen Europa fĂŒhren (Variationen dieses Arguments zum Beispiel hier, hier, hier und hier). Wie also kommunizieren etablierte politische Akteure ĂŒber Europa?
Interview: Jonas Tallberg ĂŒber die LegitimitĂ€t internationaler Organisationen und die Krise der globalen Ordnung
In dieser Folge unserer Interviewreihe hat Jakob Angeli Prof. Dr. Jonas Tallberg zu Gast, Professor fĂŒr Politikwissenschaften an der UniversitĂ€t Stockholm.
Im Interview spricht der Forscher ĂŒber die LegitimitĂ€t internationaler Organisationen, ĂŒber die wahrgenommene Krise der gegenwĂ€rtigen Ordnung und seine LieblingsbĂŒcher.
Eine gekĂŒrzte schriftliche Version des Interviews sowie das gesamte Interview als Audiodatei (beides auf Englisch) finden Sie hier.
[Photo: Stockholm University]
Interview: Jonas Tallberg on the legitimacy of international organizations and the perceived crisis of global governance
In this new episode of our interview series, our host Jakob Angeli talks to Prof. Dr. Jonas Tallberg, professor of Political Science at Stockholm University.
Listen in, as they discuss the legitimacy of international organizations, whether we are currently witnessing a crisis in global governance as well as Tallbergâs favourite books both in and outside Political Science.
Find an abridged transcription of the interview below or listen to the full one here:
 [Photo: Stockholm University]
Der wundersame Fall der (Beinahe-) Republik Nordmazedonien
Was dies fĂŒr den weiteren Verlauf der Verhandlungen mit Griechenland sowie die parlamentarische Ratifizierung des Abkommens bedeutet und welche Rolle Russland im geopolitischen KrĂ€ftespiel zukommt, erfahren Sie im neuen Beitrag von Robert Benson.
Den vollstÀndigen englischsprachigen Artikel finden Sie hier:
The curious case of the (almost) Republic of North Macedonia
For the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the stakes could not be higher. Since its independence in 1991, Macedonia has been in a quixotic albeit highly-charged public row with Greece over its official state title. The problem stems from the perceived appropriation of the name Macedonia from a geographic and historical region of northern Greece which shares the countryâs namesake.
The Greeks, for their part, claim that the government of Macedonia has deliberately tried to co-opt its Hellenic culture through a policy of âantiquisationâ. Literally, the building of garish monuments and bronze statues scattered seemingly ironically through the capital city of Skopje and culminating in a surreal tribute to Alexander the Great: A spectacle that one must first see to believe.
The policy was the brainchild of then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, whose nationalist government was brought down by a series of dramatic wiretapping revelations in 2016 and who this year was found guilty of abusing state funds.
Yet lavish spending and recriminations aside, the otherwise risible dispute has serious policy implications that extend well beyond the Balkan Peninsula.
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Cappuccino politics: Italy’s new coalition and the lessons of populism
[Ablestock.com/gettyimages]
To understand Italian politics today, look no further than Cappuccino. Originally a Viennese invention based on the exotic beans of the coffee plant, Italians adapted the beverage by adding hot milk and a layer of milk foam to a double espresso base. Made in Italy, it spread across the globe. Just like in the case of cappuccino, Italy has just put another layer on its adoption of another foreign invention â the country is about to offer a new blend of modern Western populism.
The new Italian governing coalition mixes right-wing extremist and left-wing elements in a way unimaginable for a traditional party. Some worry that the coalition amounts to Italy opening the door to âthe modern Barbariansâ: The âodd coupleâ is considered an unprecedented formation of âmagical thinkingâ, whose implications for Italy, Europe, and the larger international order are expected to be dramatic. In this post, I explain how the ideological nucleus of populism serves as the common foundation of the coalition. Besides fighting economic stagnation and pushing back on immigration, the plans to overhaul a morally corrupt establishment in Italy and Europe form a key part of the new coalitionâs programme and appeal.
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Free Trade Area: Africa May be Moving Faster than its Shadow
[Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash]
On 21 March 2018, at the 10th extraordinary session of the African Union (AU) assembly in Kigali Rwanda, 44 member states adopted the initiative known as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The draft commits countries to removing tariffs on 90% of goods. When AfCFTA comes into force, supposing all 55 member states enforce it, it will create a single market for goods and services as well as a customs union, free movement of people, and subsequently a single currency.
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