scholarly journals Finding Refuge in King Lear: From Brexit to Shakespeare’s European Value

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (34) ◽  
pp. 119-138
Author(s):  
Stephen O’Neill

This article considers how Shakespeare’s King Lear has become a Brexit play across a range of discourses and media, from theatre productions and journalism to social media. With its themes of division and disbursement, of cliff edges and tragic self-immolation, Lear is the Shakespearean play that has been turned to as metaphor and analogy for the UK’s decision following the 23 June 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. Reading this presentist application of Shakespeare, the article attends to Shakespeare as itself a discourse through which cultural ideas, both real and imaginary, about Brexit and the EU are negotiated. It asks how can we might remap Lear in this present context―what other meanings and histories are to be derived from the play, especially in Lear’s exile and search for refuge, or in Cordelia’s departure for and return from France? Moving from a consideration of a Brexit Lear to an archipelagic and even European Lear, this article argues that Shakespeare is simultaneously a site of supranational connections and of a desire for values of empathy and refuge that reverberate with debates about migration in Europe.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-459
Author(s):  
Maja Šimunjak ◽  
Alessandro Caliandro

This study examines the ways in which and reasons why the remaining Member States of the European Union, the EU 27, communicated about Brexit on the most popular social media in politics – Twitter, by drawing on a multi method examination of UK-based EU 27 diplomatic entities’ Twitter practices during the process of Brexit negotiations. The findings suggest that the EU 27 maintained message consistency on the topic of Brexit on Twitter, supporting the EU’s negotiating position, demonstrating internal cohesiveness and potentially contributing to the EU’s effectiveness in the Brexit negotiations. Our study also reveals that the framing of Brexit on Twitter was deliberate and strategic, but with a range of different motivations behind the promotion of certain frames. Finally, Twitter is seen by diplomats as a tool conducive to meeting public diplomacy’s aim of relationship-building, but not one to be used for advocacy and influencing interpretation of controversial Brexit issues.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Georgiana Udrea ◽  
Laura Andreea Ticoiu

The general goal of this paper is to study senior Romanian citizens’ EU attitudes after ten years of European membership, with a special focus on the unsolved tension between the instrumental and symbolic perspectives. By looking at the present context, the purpose of this research is to assess the challenges and transformations of the EU-related opinions and support of traditional euro-enthusiastic citizens in times of vulnerability and struggling economies. Equally, the paper favours a future-oriented view, and puts under scrutiny people’s expectations and evaluations of the future developments of the EU and their consequences at personal, national and supra-national level.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh Granger ◽  
Peter Branney ◽  
Paul Sullivan ◽  
Steven McDermott

With the number of social media users being recently estimated to be around 3.96 billion, social media sites present a vast pool of potential participants and data for researchers. Reflecting the growth of this technology and volume of data, data protection laws have been updated across the European Union (EU) and apply to the movement of data in and out of the EU. This article discusses how to approach ethical considerations in light of these new laws and the ethos they represent. We provide this in the context of collecting Twitter data for a pilot study and discuss the considerations in line with legal and ethical guidelines. Our decided approach is offered as an example of the outcome of such considerations. It is clear from this discussion that any approach to ethics, particularly where social media is concerned, requires a reflective and tailored approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (49) ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Iwanicki ◽  
Anna Dłużewska

AbstractEight former communist countries joined the European Union in 2004, and since then they have become popular party tourism destinations. In connection with social and economic transformations following the fall of communism, public spaces with the densest concentration of clubs were formed in the centres of big cities. Such a space can be called a “party zone”. This paper presents such zones delimited in Polish cities and attempts to investigate changes in those zones in 2004–17 (and thus, after accession to the EU). An additional objective was to identify the most popular clubs based on information from social media and from interviews with DJs. The results lead to two main conclusions: (a) three main types of party zones can be identified in the analysed cities taking into account their form and relationship to urban space; (b) in 2004–17 the preferences of club-goers changed in favour of open air clubs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Barbara Da Rosa Lazarotto

This article aims to point out the main suggestions of regularisation by the European Union of disinformation in the internet. To do so, initially, we will point out what disinformation is and how it became popular through social media. Afterwards, some suggestions for regularization will be listed, along with an assessment of the impact this could have on the fundamental rights of citizens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 135-143
Author(s):  
Yuri Kolotaev ◽  

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on a wide range of areas in which the information sphere occupies a special place. The context of the pandemic distorted the online space. From the very start of the pandemic, the information related to the coronavirus was often unreliable or questionable due to the lack of comprehensive information about the virus. The dominance of digital disinformation disseminated via social media has led to the situation of an “infodemic”. It reflects a massive propagation of unverified information. To understand the consequences of this situation, this article examines diverse models of European national and supranational responses to the infodemic. The aim of the study is to systematize the actions of the EU and European countries. The author carried out a comparative analysis comprising a distinction between the actions launched by the European Union and non-EU countries, as well as national authorities and supranational structures. Based on the presented data, this article revealed the absence of a single “European response” to disinformation, which the European Union is trying to achieve. It also demonstrated the existing desire of different countries to move towards legislative actions and regulation on countering disinformation but the pace and means of this development depend on the degree of state involvement in a multistakeholder dialogue with online platforms.


2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1980-1996
Author(s):  
T.S. Malakhova

Subject. Foreign economic and trade ties among countries are getting tighter and less predictable in the early 21st century. This directly stems from a growing disparity of partners, especially if it goes about their future cooperation as part of integration groups or international organizations. Communities of experts suggest using various approaches to locally adjusting integration phases, especially implementing the two-speed integration in the European Union. Objectives. The study is an attempt to examine an improvement of foreign economic cooperation and suggest its implementation steps for the European Union. This all is due to considerable inner controversies and problems within the EU, which grow more serious year by year. Methods. The methodological framework comprises the historical logic, dialectical principles, scientific abstraction method. The process and system approach was especially important for justifying the implementation of the above steps. It was used to examine foreign economic relations of partners in the European Union. Results. The article sets forth the theoretical and methodological framework for the geostrategic economic bloc, including a conceptual structure model. I present steps to implement a foreign economic cooperation of partners in the EU in terms of its form. Conclusions and Relevance. Should the form of the foreign economic relations among the EU countries be implemented, counties at the periphery of the EU will be able to become active parties to the integration group.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.


Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Olga María Cerqueira Torres

RESUMENEn el presente artículo el análisis se ha centrado en determinar cuáles de las funciones del interregionalismo, sistematizadas en los trabajos de Jürgen Rüland, han sido desarrolladas en la relación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones, ya que ello ha permitido evidenciar si el estado del proceso de integración de la CAN ha condicionado la racionalidad política del comportamiento de la Unión Europea hacia la región andina (civil power o soft imperialism); esto posibilitará establecer la viabilidad de la firma del Acuerdo de Asociación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones.Palabras clave: Unión Europea, Comunidad Andina, interregionalismo, funciones, acuerdo de asociación. Interregionalism functions in the EU-ANDEAN community relationsABSTRACTIn the present article analysis has focused on which functions of interregionalism, systematized by Jürgen Rüland, have been developed in the European Union-Andean Community birregional relation, that allowed demonstrate if the state of the integration process in the Andean Community has conditioned the political rationality of the European Union towards the Andean region (civil power or soft imperialism); with all these elements will be possible to establish the viability of the Association Agreement signature between the European Union and the Andean Community.Keywords: European Union, Andean Community, interregionalism, functions, association agreement.


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