EU Law, Politics, and the Social Question

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floris de Witte

This contribution analyzes how the process of European integration has affected the capacity of citizens to collectively decide on the “social question,” that is, on the distribution of resources and life chances between individuals in a society. It starts by highlighting the pivotal role of “the political” in any answer to such question (B); generally traces the demise of this role under the pressures of globalization, legal integration, and the sovereign debt crisis (C); and suggests that law has been an important instrument for the lifting of the social question outside the scope of political contestation. This contribution then briefly catalogues different alternatives that can serve to reappropriate the social question within the realm of politics, argues that our priority should lie in the formation of a transnational public sphere, and suggests that EU law can, in several ways, contribute towards, if not fully deliver, a return of authorship and ownership about how societies function to the citizen (D).

Author(s):  
Yusra Ribhi Shawar ◽  
Jennifer Prah Ruger

Careful investigations of the political determinants of health that include the role of power in health inequalities—systematic differences in health achievements among different population groups—are increasing but remain inadequate. Historically, much of the research examining health inequalities has been influenced by biomedical perspectives and focused, as such, on ‘downstream’ factors. More recently, there has been greater recognition of more ‘distal’ and ‘upstream’ drivers of health inequalities, including the impacts of power as expressed by actors, as well as embedded in societal structures, institutions, and processes. The goal of this chapter is to examine how power has been conceptualised and analysed to date in relation to health inequalities. After reviewing the state of health inequality scholarship and the emerging interest in studying power in global health, the chapter presents varied conceptualisations of power and how they are used in the literature to understand health inequalities. The chapter highlights the particular disciplinary influences in studying power across the social sciences, including anthropology, political science, and sociology, as well as cross-cutting perspectives such as critical theory and health capability. It concludes by highlighting strengths and limitations of the existing research in this area and discussing power conceptualisations and frameworks that so far have been underused in health inequalities research. This includes potential areas for future inquiry and approaches that may expand the study of as well as action on addressing health inequality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky ◽  
Kunibert Raffer

AbstractThis piece tackles Barrio Arleo and Lienau’s comments on Sovereign Debt Crises: What Have We Learned? while tries to further develop some ideas and discussions proposed in the book. This piece deals with existing alternatives to overcome debt crises, the link between sovereign policy space and the principle of creditors’ equal treatment, who the target of the book is (and should be), whether “learning is enough”, and the potential policy and legal role of human rights law in debt restructurings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. 202127
Author(s):  
Chirles da Silva Monteiro ◽  
Gutemberg Armando Diniz Guerra

EDUCATION AND PEASANT RESISTANCE IN THE PARAENSE AMAZONIAEDUCACIÓN Y RESISTENCIA CAMPESINA EN LA AMAZONIA PARAENSERESUMOEste artigo é fruto dos apontamentos da pesquisa de mestrado desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agriculturas Amazônicas (PPGAA) da Universidade Federal do Pará – UFPA. Aborda os desafios da luta pela terra no Sudeste Paraense, refletindo sobre o papel da educação nesse processo. Ele aponta a educação que permeia o cotidiano das pessoas, como elemento que fortalece a resistência política dos camponeses, por isso, não está apenas relacionada à conquista da terra, mas também, à permanência na mesma e à mudança da qualidade de vida nos acampamentos e assentamentos. O artigo é resultado de um estudo de caso, desenvolvido no Acampamento Sem Terra, denominado de Dalcídio Jurandir, localizado no Sudeste Paraense e encaminhado por uma abordagem qualitativa. Entende-se que o movimento social busca uma educação que dê conta de compreender as circunstâncias vividas a partir de suas contradições sociais, tendo a mesma lógica de resistência do campesinato, porque é nele que ela tem sua raiz histórica. Trata-se de uma educação que antecede à escola e vai muito além dela.Palavras-chave: Educação; Luta pela Terra; Resistência Camponesa.ABSTRACTThis article is the result of the master's research notes developed in the Postgraduate Program in Amazon Agriculture (PPGAA) of the Federal University of Pará – UFPA. It addresses the challenges of the struggle for land in Southeast Pará, reflecting on the role of education in this process. This paper points out the education that permeates people's daily lives, as an element that strengthens the political resistance of the peasants, therefore, it is not only related to the conquest of the land, but also to the permanence in it and to the change in the quality of life in the encampments and settlements. The article is the result of a case study, developed at the agrarian reform camp, called Dalcídio Jurandir, located in Southeast Pará and guided by a qualitative approach. It is understood that the social movement seeks an education that is able to understand the circumstances experienced from its social contradictions, having the same logic of resistance as the peasantry, because it has its historical roots in it. It is an education that precedes school and goes far beyond it.Keywords: Education; Struggle for Land; Peasant Resistance.RESUMENEste artículo es el resultado de las notas de investigación de maestría desarrolladas en el Programa de Posgrado en Agricultura Amazónica (PPGAA) de la Universidad Federal de Pará – UFPA. Aborda los desafíos de la lucha por la tierra en el sureste de Pará, reflexionando sobre el papel de la educación en este proceso. Señala la educación que permea la vida cotidiana de las personas, como un elemento que fortalece la resistencia política de los campesinos, por lo tanto, no solo se relaciona con la conquista de la tierra, sino también con la permanencia en ella y con el cambio de la tierra. Calidad de vida en los campamentos y asentamientos. El artículo es el resultado de un estudio de caso, desarrollado en el Campamento Sem Terra, llamado Dalcídio Jurandir, ubicado en el sureste de Pará y guiado por un enfoque cualitativo. Se entiende que el movimiento social busca una educación que sea capaz de comprender las circunstancias vividas desde sus contradicciones sociales, teniendo la misma lógica de resistencia que el campesinado, porque tiene en ella sus raíces históricas. Es una educación que precede a la escuela y la va mucho más allá.Palabras clave: Educación; Lucha por la Tierra; Resistencia Campesina.


Sound public debt-management policies during sovereign debt distress periods are key to efficiently resolving a debt crisis and regaining market access. In addition to understanding the causes, processes, and outcomes of sovereign debt restructurings, this article analyzes the role of the debt manager along with determinants and strategies to maintain/regain market access. The sovereign’s debt sustainability analysis and determination of loss of market access are two crucial elements in the IMF’s lending decisions to countries in debt distress. Various indicators used in assessing whether the sovereign can tap international capital on a sustained basis are discussed. When a sovereign debt restructuring needs to be undertaken, it is necessary to determine the financial terms of the debt operation. Some key principles in designing sovereign debt restructuring scenarios and ways in securing full-financing of the economic program and regaining market access are presented. We conclude by offering a few best practices on preventing and managing sovereign debt restructurings.


Author(s):  
Guillaume Heuguet

This exploratory text starts from a doctoral-unemployed experience and was triggered by the discussions within a collective of doctoral students on this particularly ambiguous status since it is situated between student, unemployed, worker, self-entrepreneur, citizen-subject of social rights or user-commuter in offices and forms. These discussions motivated the reading and commentary of a heterogeneous set of texts on unemployment, precariousness and the functioning of the institutions of the social state. This article thus focuses on the relationship between knowledge and unemployment, as embodied in the public space, in the relationship with Pôle Emploi, and in the academic literature. It articulates a threefold problematic : what is known and said publicly about unemployment? What can we learn from the very experience of the relationship with an institution like Pôle Emploi? How can these observations contribute to an understanding of social science inquiry and the political role of knowledge fromm precariousness?


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Charles Devellennes

This chapter gives introduces the gilet jaunes. The gilets jaunes, a group of French protesters named after their iconic yellow vests donned during demonstrations, have formed a new type of social movement. The gilets jaunes have been variously interpreted since they began their occupation of French roundabouts. They were at first received with enthusiasm on the right of the French political establishment, and with caution on the left. The fourth weekend saw scenes of violence erupt on the Champs Élysées, notably around and within the Arc de Triomphe, which towers over the first roundabout built in France. The headlines of newspapers and stories of the news media became almost exclusively focused on the violence of the protests. Images of state violence became ever-present on Twitter and independent media outlets, making it clear that it was the use of disproportionate force by police units that was at the centre of the events. The chapter explains that the aim of the book is to show that the use of violence is not the only tale to be told about the role of the protesters in the contemporary French context. Their contribution to the political landscape of France is quite different. They have provided a fundamental challenge to the social contract in France, the implicit pact between the governed and their political leaders. The movement has seen the numbers of participants diminish over time, but the underlying tension between the haves and the have-nots, the winners of globalization and those at risk of déclassement [social downgrading], are enduring and persistent.


Author(s):  
Claire Kilpatrick ◽  
Joanne Scott

This introduction explores what we mean when we talk about contemporary challenges to EU legality. Broadly, these involve actions or activities that cast doubt on the premises, principles, and norms that underpin the EU’s legal order as shaped by the Treaties and the judgments of the European Court. The chapter provides an initial taxonomy based on examples from the sovereign debt crisis and considers how the other contributions in the volume adjust or amplify that taxonomy. It shows that by looking at both ‘standard legality’ and legality exceptionalism in relation to EU legality, we can shed light both on the nature of the EU as a political organization and more specifically on the nature and role of law within it.


2021 ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Lainey Collins ◽  
Wendy DuCassé ◽  
Rachel Forsyth

This chapter examines the unique internal and external political landscape of public schools and its relevance to the practice of school social work. The chapter focuses on four key concepts essential for new school social workers to navigate the politics of schools: (1) developing an understanding of the internal and external systems in which they interact; (2) clearly defining the role of school social worker, often within systems that are unclear or are new to the social worker’s role; (3) collaborating across all of the disciplines; and (4) sharing resources and information. Navigating the political landscape in schools is never easy and requires school social workers to be attuned to all of the nuances and complexities of the political landscape both inside and outside of schools.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76
Author(s):  
Marguerite Deslauriers

Abstract Aristotle claims that the citizens of the best city should be both intelligent and spirited at Politics VII.7 1327b19-38. While he treats intelligence as an unqualified good, thumos (‘spirit’) is valuable but problematic. This paper has two aims: (i) to consider the political value of spirit in Aristotle’s Politics and in particular to identify the ways in which it is both essential to political excellence and yet insufficient for securing it, and (ii) to use this analysis of the role of spirit in the political realm to explain Aristotle’s exclusion of women from political authority, even in the context of the household. I analyze spirit as a physical phenomenon and as a type of desire, before considering its moral and affective aspects. I then return to the role of spirit in political life and examine its importance for the activity of ruling. In the last section I consider the implications of this analysis of spirit for the social and political roles Aristotle assigns to men and women.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document