scholarly journals British conservatism after the vote for Brexit: The ideological legacy of David Cameron

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hayton

Following the referendum on membership of the European Union (EU), this article assesses the ideological legacy of David Cameron on Conservative politics in Britain. It focuses on three areas of ideological tension in contemporary conservatism, namely, European integration, the divide between social liberals and traditionalists, and the future of the Union post-Brexit. Applying the concept of heresthetics to offer a theoretically informed account, it argues that while Cameron enjoyed some successes in ‘the art of political manipulation’ with electoral benefits, his desire to modernize conservatism was ultimately undone by his failure to restructure the key issue dimensions animating his party’s ideology. Ultimately, this failure undid his premiership, leading to his downfall.

Author(s):  
Dionysios Stivas

Currently, the European Union (EU) is dealing with an unprecedented refugee crisis which has been blamed for bringing the process of the EU integration to an impasse. By applying theories of European (dis)integration, this paper assesses the extent to which the current refugee crisis constitutes an impediment to the future of the European Union. This paper’s analysis is constructed around two hypotheses: (1) the refugee crisis triggered Brexit and the failure of the EU’s relocation scheme, symptoms of the EU’s disintegration; (2) the refugee crisis has a dual potential: to simultaneously promote the deeper integration and the disintegration of the EU. To test these hypotheses, this paper examines if and how the refugee crisis is related to Brexit and whether the rebellious reaction of certain EU member states to the implementation of the EU relocation scheme is a sign of reversal in the process of EU integration.


Author(s):  
Dieter Grimm

This chapter examines the question of who is sovereign in the relationship between the European Union and its Member States. It first considers the relevance of the debate over sovereignty in the EU and the development of the concept of sovereignty, paying attention to public powers form the substance of sovereignty, Jürgen Habermas’ theory of dual sovereignty, and the relevant provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. It then explores the problem of whether one should maintain the concept of sovereignty or recognize that the era of post-sovereignty has begun. It argues that it makes sense to address the question of who is sovereign in the EU, suggesting that the answer will determine the future course of European integration. It also analyses which concept of sovereignty is best suited to understand and explain the EU.


Author(s):  
K. Zueva

The article examines positions of the main French political parties, scientific community and public figures regarding the future of the European Union. The facts confirm convergence of different European integration models: confederation and federation. This process is based on understanding that it is necessary to level economic and social situation in the EU member states. The French are discontented with uncontrolled activities of Brussels bureaucracy and lack of democracy. The result of this process is the growth of Euroscepticism in France that was corroborated by recent Euro-Parliament election.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Adrian-Stelian Dumitru

The study of the political history of European construction is particularly important to explain the context in which the first institutional nuclei of European integration appeared. This paper identifies the main contributions from the interwar period to the project of a united Europe and their role in defining the process of creating the future European Union. The paper analyzes two main federalist projects namely "Pan-Europe" and "Briand initiative", looking at the similarities between them and at the elements prefigured by the two Europeanists of the federalist movement which are found in the current political-institutional configuration of the European Union. I conclude that Coudenhove-Kalergi and Aristide Briand’s proposals still represents, after 90 years since their drafting, core principles and values we recognise today in the European Union of 2020.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Grosse ◽  
Waldemar Paruch ◽  
Zbigniew Czachór

An English-language version of the book Integracja europejska – polska perspektywa, published in 2018. It is a comprehensive elaboration of issues presenting a diagnosis of the current situation in Europe, a search for answers to the question about the future of European integration after the period of multiple crises at the beginning of the 21st century. The purpose of this publication is to show the perspective of Polish scholars on the future of the integration. It contains reflections on how the European discussion on the future of the European Union is perceived in Poland and how the Poles forecast Europe’s future.


Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini

This book examines how the European Union has changed during Brexit and because of Brexit, while also reflecting on the developments of the EU besides Brexit and beyond Brexit. It argues that the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU—the first ever case of disintegration since the start of the European integration process—creates an urgent need to reform the EU. In fact, while the EU institutions and its Member States have remained united in their negotiations vis-à-vis the UK, Brexit has created transitional problems for the EU, and exposed other serious fissures in its system of governance which need to be addressed moving forward. As the EU goes through another major crisis in the form of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the case for increasing the effectiveness and the legitimacy of the EU grows stronger. In this context, the book analyses the plan to establish a Conference on the Future of Europe, considering its precedents and discussing its prospects.


IG ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-143
Author(s):  
Michael Kaeding ◽  
Johannes Pollak ◽  
Paul Schmidt

Based on a new anthology on the future of Europe in the light of Euroscepticism, this article examines how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is affecting the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament and the future of European integration. The publication of the anthology is timed to coincide with the strategic vision of the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the Parliament as well as with the next phase of the negotiations on the future relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom and the Conference on the Future of Europe. It maps and analyses 39 national perspectives from all EU Member States as well as from neighbouring European countries and potential candidate countries.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 762-781
Author(s):  
Harry F. Dahms

Abstract Many Americans are overwhelmed when confronted with questions relating to the European Union. And sociologists who are not working directly on related themes, as well as social theorists concerned with incarnations of modern society, have long ignored the peculiar character and historical implications of the developing European Union. But now a growing number of European theorists have begun to focus on the significance of European integration for the very discipline of sociology. To situate and evaluate some of this recent work, I deploy Gregg’s (2003) distinction between thick norms and thin politics. That distinction helps us see that developments in the European Union point toward the formation of a new kind of modern society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Maurizio Ferrera

In the mid-1970s, the great Norwegian scholar Stein Rokkan argued that the consolidation of the national welfare state was going to set definite limits to European integration. While the impetuous strengthening of the latter – from Maastricht to Lisbon – has largely disproved Rokkan’s factual expectations, developments during the last decade seem to have vindicated the theoretical insights which underpinned his original argument. If appropriately re-elaborated, such insights can help us to identify the conditions under which the economic and social dimension of the European Union might be reconciled in the future.


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