Structural Heterogeneity in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 756-784
Author(s):  
Stefanie Hürtgen

Abstract Structural heterogeneity is probably the most important category of dependency theory to characterize the “development of underdevelopment” in the Global South. Should it therefore be a provocation to speak of structural heterogeneity in Europe? No, this article argues, because with reference to Osvaldo Sunkel, Fred Scholz and Neil Brenner among others, the political-economic logic of transnational economic integration based on socio-spatial fragmentation now also encompasses the Global North; or more specifically: the structural logic of economic transnationalisation and sociospatial fragmentation constitutes the core dynamics of European integration. So, the critical development debates of the 1970s should be rediscovered as pioneering concepts and updated in terms of spatial theory in the sense of a local solidarity perspective.

Author(s):  
James R. Otteson

Markets are often criticized for being amoral, if not immoral. The core of the “political economy” that arose in the eighteenth century, however, envisioned the exchanges that take place in commercial society as neither amoral nor immoral but indeed deeply humane. The claim of the early political economists was that transactions in markets fulfilled two separate but related moral mandates: they lead to increasing prosperity, which addressed their primary “economic” concern of raising the estates of the poor; and they model proper relations among people, which addressed their primary “moral” concern of granting a respect to all, including the least among us. They attempted to capture a vision of human dignity within political-economic institutions that enabled people to improve their stations. Their arguments thus did not bracket out judgments of value: they integrated judgments of value into their foundations and built their political economy on that basis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-121
Author(s):  
W. Viviers ◽  
T F.J. Steyn

The integration of the European Communities (EC, today EU) has been described as one of the most successful examples of economic integration worldwide. This study examines the reason for this success from two perspectives. Firstly, the economic success of EC integration for the period 1945 to 1992 is investigated. It is concluded that, notwithstanding difficulties experienced, the economic integration process represents the EC's greatest achievement. An example of this is the completion of the EC internal market through the European Economic Community (EEC) customs union and the EC-92 programme. Secondly, the investigation focuses on the political success of EC integration. The evaluation shows that political powerplay endangered and inhibited the process of economic integration in the EC.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Helen Wallace

· Changing rationales for European integration. The initial rationales for integration seem less cogent and less resonant. Are they still at the core of the ‘project’? Which newer rationales need to be taken into account? Because of their cogency? Because of their resonance? · Facing up to both internal and external challenges: a huge agenda across political, economic, societal, and security concerns. · Differing narratives. Growth of Euroscepticism and Eurocriticism, though in differing manifestations. How far do these phenomena reflect transversal European factors? How far are they the product of different country characteristics and cultures? Is there a space to construct a shared European narrative? How does the new ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ fit into this set of issues? · Diverse needs and aspirations. From 6 to 27(8) members with a variety of features political, economic, and societal—and geographic. Is differentiated integration the way forward or are other approaches needed to strike an accepted balance between the country level and the European level of practice? The old discussion of subsidiarity seems no longer to offer potential solutions. The capability to absorb yet more member states is contested. · Can political, economic, and societal concerns be aligned? Initial successes of the EC were very much tied to clever ways in which these different concerns were taken into the process. Can a successor version of pluri-dimensional integration be achieved based on diffuse reciprocity—cross-temporal and cross-sectoral? Or will the EU shift towards a more fragmented version of specific reciprocity based on sector by sector cost–benefit analyses?


2021 ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Nikos Koutsiaras

This chapter is a review study of Loukas Tsoukalis’ published work on the political economy of European integration. A reverse chronological order is followed, its benchmarks being provided by Tsoukalis’ books; his journal articles and chapters in edited volumes are also reviewed, albeit selectively. Tsoukalis’ main research interests lie with the issues of money, monetary unification, and macroeconomic policy in the EU (and the euro area). Tsoukalis has especially been concerned with structural asymmetries, macroeconomic imbalances, and economic and social inequalities frustrating the European project, while being also reinforced by European economic integration and globalization. Yet, he has never confined his research within the limits of conventional economic analysis. Tsoukalis has, instead, sought to make sense of the political perplexities inherent in European economic integration; and he has constantly looked at the bigger picture. At the methodological level, Tsoukalis has been rather sceptical of mainstream economic theory; and he has often set himself free from the rigours of formal methodology, while having adopted an empirical approach. Sometimes he has embraced a normative rather than strictly analytical perspective, thereby articulating policy suggestions—and feeding ideas into the European political discourse. Tsoukalis has, thus, been influenced by Keynes’ ideal stereotype of economists as men of affairs: philosophers, politicians, and pragmatists. Above all, Loukas Tsoukalis has unequivocally been making the case for European integration, while also taking into account objective constraints and subjective sensibilities—a European idealist and a realist at one and the same time.


2020 ◽  

This volume analyses Belgian garrisons in the Rhineland and Westphalia after the Second World War. They are analysed as contact zones that clearly indicate the political, economic, societal and military consequences of European integration for daily coexistence. The book’s contributions focus on mechanisms and catalysts of entanglement, dissolution and coexistence in local spaces, which did not relocate transnational contacts within Europe to national borderlines, but permanently (re-) configured them in a confined space. How do transnational contacts take place? How have they changed in the face of different geopolitical and geostrategic circumstances? This volume intends to give European integration history new impetus by rediscovering European regional history. With contributions by Christoph Brüll, Christian Henrich-Franke, Claudia Hiepel, Jonas Krüning, Marc Laplasse, Pierre Muller, Vitus Sproten, Guido Thiemeyer


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-183
Author(s):  
Mary L. Mullen

This article considers the politics and aesthetics of the colonial Bildungsroman by reading George Moore's often-overlooked novel A Drama in Muslin (1886). It argues that the colonial Bildungsroman does not simply register difference from the metropolitan novel of development or express tension between the core and periphery, as Jed Esty suggests, but rather can imagine a heterogeneous historical time that does not find its end in the nation-state. A Drama in Muslin combines naturalist and realist modes, and moves between Ireland and England to construct a form of untimely development that emphasises political processes (dissent, negotiation) rather than political forms (the state, the nation). Ultimately, the messy, discordant history represented in the novel shows the political potential of anachronism as it celebrates the untimeliness of everyday life.


Author(s):  
Lara Deeb ◽  
Mona Harb

South Beirut has recently become a vibrant leisure destination with a plethora of cafés and restaurants that cater to the young, fashionable, and pious. What effects have these establishments had on the moral norms, spatial practices, and urban experiences of this Lebanese community? From the diverse voices of young Shi'i Muslims searching for places to hang out, to the Hezbollah officials who want this media-savvy generation to be more politically involved, to the religious leaders worried that Lebanese youth are losing their moral compasses, this book provides a sophisticated and original look at leisure in the Lebanese capital. What makes a café morally appropriate? How do people negotiate morality in relation to different places? And under what circumstances might a pious Muslim go to a café that serves alcohol? This book highlights tensions and complexities exacerbated by the presence of multiple religious authorities, a fraught sectarian political context, class mobility, and a generation that takes religion for granted but wants to have fun. The book elucidates the political, economic, religious, and social changes that have taken place since 2000, and examines leisure's influence on Lebanese sociopolitical and urban situations. Asserting that morality and geography cannot be fully understood in isolation from one another, the book offers a colorful new understanding of the most powerful community in Lebanon today.


Author(s):  
Nguyen Van Dung ◽  
Giang Khac Binh

As developing programs is the core in fostering knowledge on ethnic work for cadres and civil servants under Decision No. 402/QD-TTg dated 14/3/2016 of the Prime Minister, it is urgent to build training program on ethnic minority affairs for 04 target groups in the political system from central to local by 2020 with a vision to 2030. The article highlighted basic issues of practical basis to design training program of ethnic minority affairs in the past years; suggested solutions to build the training programs in integration and globalization period.


Author(s):  
Mohd. Shuhaimi Ishak

 Abstract Generally speaking, media is extensively used as the means to disseminate news and information pertaining to business, social, political and religious concerns. A portion of the time and space of media has now become an important device to generate economic and social activities that include advertising, marketing, recreation and entertainment. The Government regards them as an essential form of relaying news and information to its citizens and at the same time utilizes them as a powerful public relations’ mechanism. The effects of media are many and diverse, which can either be short or long term depending on the news and information. The effects of media can be found on various fronts, ranging from the political, economic and social, to even religious spheres. Some of the negative effects arising from the media are cultural and social influences, crimes and violence, sexual obscenities and pornography as well as liberalistic and extreme ideologies. This paper sheds light on these issues and draws principles from Islam to overcome them. Islam as revealed to humanity contains the necessary guidelines to nurture and mould the personality of individuals and shape them into good servants. Key Words: Media, Negative Effects, Means, Islam and Principles. Abstrak Secara umum, media secara meluas digunakan sebagai sarana untuk menyebarkan berita dan maklumat yang berkaitan dengan perniagaan, kemasyarakatan, pertimbangan politik dan agama. Sebahagian dari ruang dan masa media kini telah menjadi peranti penting untuk menghasilkan kegiatan ekonomi dan sosial yang meliputi pengiklanan, pemasaran, rekreasi dan hiburan. Kerajaan menganggap sarana-sarana ini sebagai wadah penting untuk menyampaikan berita dan maklumat kepada warganya dan pada masa yang sama juga menggunakannya sebagai mekanisme perhubungan awam yang berpengaruh. Pengaruh media sangat banyak dan pelbagai, samada berbentuk jangka pendek atau panjang bergantung kepada berita dan maklumat yang brekenaan. Kesan dari media boleh didapati mempengaruhi pelbagai aspek, bermula dari bidang politik, ekonomi, sosial bahkan juga agama. Beberapa kesan negatif yang timbul dari media ialah pengaruhnya terhadap budaya dan sosial, jenayah dan keganasan, kelucahan seksual dan pornografi serta ideologi yang liberal dan ekstrim. Kertas ini menyoroti isu-isu ini dan cuba mengambil prinsip-prinsip dari ajaran Islam untuk mengatasinya. Tujuan Islam itu sendiri diturunkan kepada umat manusia ialah untuk menjadi pedoman yang diperlukan untuk membina dan membentuk keperibadian individu dan menjadikan manusia hamba yang taat kepada Tuhannya. Kata Kunci: Media, Kesan Negatif, Cara-cara, Islam dan Prinsip-prinsip.


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