scholarly journals Morality in the Service of Mercantilism: Ordoliberalism, the German National Interest and European Economic Governance in the Eurozone Crisis and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Goodliffe
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Comparative Political Economy ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The Eu

<p>Numerous studies attribute the Eurozone crisis and the failure to resolve it to German elites’ and voters’ fealty to Ordoliberalism. This interpretation is shared by the otherwise antagonistic historical institutionalist and ideational schools of comparative political economy, which both hold that it was German policy institutions’ or leaders’ ordoliberal principles that brought them to blame the crisis in the Eurozone’s periphery on fiscal profligacy and to intervene “too little, too late” for fear of violating Ordoliberalism’s central liability principle. This article posits that this ordoliberal interpretive and prescriptive framework is inadequate to explain Germany’s response to the Eurozone crisis. Deploying a neoclassical realist framework, the article argues that Ordoliberalism was pursued as a strategic idea when it was consistent with core German economic and political interests, notably the preservation of the country’s export-led growth model and leadership of the European Union (EU), as well as the principal institutions, such as the Single Market and European Monetary Union (EMU), advancing these interests. Conversely, when a strict application of its principles ran counter to the latter, German decisionmakers demurred from pursuing Ordoliberalism. The article considers the political implications of Germany’s selective pursuit of Ordoliberalism for the EU. It concludes that this strategy may be undermining the functional basis and political legitimacy of German hegemonic governance in Europe.</p>

scholarly journals Morality in the Service of Mercantilism: Ordoliberalism, the German National Interest and European Economic Governance in the Eurozone Crisis and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Goodliffe
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Comparative Political Economy ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The Eu

<p>Numerous studies attribute the Eurozone crisis and the failure to resolve it to German elites’ and voters’ fealty to Ordoliberalism. This interpretation is shared by the otherwise antagonistic historical institutionalist and ideational schools of comparative political economy, which both hold that it was German policy institutions’ or leaders’ ordoliberal principles that brought them to blame the crisis in the Eurozone’s periphery on fiscal profligacy and to intervene “too little, too late” for fear of violating Ordoliberalism’s central liability principle. This article posits that this ordoliberal interpretive and prescriptive framework is inadequate to explain Germany’s response to the Eurozone crisis. Deploying a neoclassical realist framework, the article argues that Ordoliberalism was pursued as a strategic idea when it was consistent with core German economic and political interests, notably the preservation of the country’s export-led growth model and leadership of the European Union (EU), as well as the principal institutions, such as the Single Market and European Monetary Union (EMU), advancing these interests. Conversely, when a strict application of its principles ran counter to the latter, German decisionmakers demurred from pursuing Ordoliberalism. The article considers the political implications of Germany’s selective pursuit of Ordoliberalism for the EU. It concludes that this strategy may be undermining the functional basis and political legitimacy of German hegemonic governance in Europe.</p>

Merkel's Germany and the European Union: Between Emergency and the Rule of Rules

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Auer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Hannah Arendt ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe European Union is caught between technocracy and the politics of the exception, eroding in the process the very political sphere that makes democracy work. Partly a cause of this erosion and partly an effect, the EU retreats into the ‘rule of rules’ when faced with what are, in fact, profoundly political problems. Whether it be in response to the eurozone crisis, EU–Russia–Ukraine relations or the influx of refugees, the EU's policies led to conflicts over geopolitics, sovereignty and redistribution. Its apolitical responses were as ubiquitous as they were inadequate. They reflect Germany's preference for consensual politics, which is paradoxically enforced by Angela Merkel's dictum about there being ‘no alternative’. In order to think of alternatives to the Europe that exists, we need to revive ‘the political’, theorized by the likes of Carl Schmitt, Max Weber and Hannah Arendt at times when democracy was under duress.

scholarly journals European Citizens’ Attitudes on the Return of Refugees to Their Home Country: Results from a Survey in 13 EU Member States

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-524
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gerhards ◽  
Clara Dilger
Keyword(s):  
Home Country ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Citizens Attitudes ◽  
Clear Majority ◽  
The Eu

Abstract European law requires member states of the European Union (EU) to accept refugees. It also allows them to return refugees to their countries of origin if the reason for asylum no longer exists. Both the reception and return of refugees has become a widely debated and controversial issue in many member states of the EU. Based on a survey conducted in 13 EU member states, we analysed whether citizens support the return of refugees when the cause for their displacement has become obsolete and how differences in attitudes toward the return of refugees can be explained. A clear majority of Europeans (70%) support the return of refugees. This is also the case for those who believe that their country should accept refugees in the first place. These results mean that existing law—the acceptance of refugees in need and the return when the cause becomes obsolete—is being supported by a majority of Europeans. However, there are considerable differences in approval rates among the countries. The results of multivariate analysis show that ideational factors—both on the micro and the macro level—influence attitudes toward the return of refugees, whereas structural factors, recurring to economic interest, do not contribute substantially to the explanation of attitudes toward the return. The political implications of these findings are discussed in the last section of the article.

Gender Equality and the EU's Economic Governance: The Strategic Use of Women’s Employment Within Labor Market Reforms in Italy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Chieregato
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Discursive Politics ◽  
Legislative Reforms

Abstract This article aims to evaluate the political implications of post-crisis governance in the European Union for national gender-equality strategies and policies. It presents a study of recent reforms of the labor market in Italy, where the response to the Eurozone crisis has increased concerns over the low rate of female employment. Through an analysis of policy documents and legislative reforms informed by discursive politics, the article argues that the Italian case provides evidence of the trend toward the further instrumentalization of gender equality, which has been strategically used in order to provide additional legitimation for labor market deregulation.

scholarly journals The European Union, its Economic and Monetary Union, and the (Apparent) Perception of Crisis Reflected in Immediate Regulatory Actions

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-168
Author(s):  
Artur Nowak-Far
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Economic And Monetary Union ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

While neither its institutional, nor legal arrangements fundamentally contributed to the emergence of the Eurozone crisis in the late 10’s of the 21st Century, the crisis exposed significant weaknesses of the EU economic governance, especially its inability to achieve a sustainable level of budgetary discipline. The crisis in particular highlighted the existing divisions of the EU Member States into different integration groups having divergent interests. Notably, it sharpened the division between the Eurozone states and non-Eurozone ones, as well as between the creditor-countries and debtor-countries. The EMU reform agenda adopted after 2008 gave more weighting to the interests of the former states. The emerging post-2008 economic governance-reform arrangements also gave more weight to the ECOFIN Council, at an expense of the European Commission. In the resulting institutional setting, the main aim of the EMU reform agenda was to assure the stability of the Eurozone and to reinforce its resistance to economic shocks. In this context, however, benefits arising from the reformed EMU are unevenly distributed, as they are more likely to avail the Eurozone countries than non- Eurozone countries, and more the creditor countries than the debtor ones.

scholarly journals Uznání genocidy Arménů jako téma politického diskursu Arménie, Turecka a vybraných zemí EU

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-267
Author(s):  
Emil Souleimanov ◽  
Maya Ehrmann ◽  
Vincenc Kopeček
Keyword(s):  
Armenian Genocide ◽  
The Political ◽  
Eastern Anatolia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Republic Of Turkey ◽  
The Eu

The issue whether to legally recognize the tragic events of 1915 in Eastern Anatolia as a genocide remains a key  political issue which drives an edge between Armenia and the Republic of Turkey. Through their European diaspora communities, the issue has also entered the domain of the European Union (EU), becoming even more controversial as Turkey is in the process of hotly contested EU accession talks. The present article uses the instruments of discourse analysis to focus on the current perceptions of the Armenian genocide in the various countries involved, specifically within the EU, Armenia and Turkey, in order to explore the political rationale behind the commitment of various states to recognize or deny the aforementioned historical events as an act of genocide. After providing a brief historical overview of the 1915 events, we analyse internal EU perceptions of the “reality” of the Armenian genocide recognition, primarily in relation to Turkey's accession efforts. We then focus on the domestic discourses in Armenia and Turkey, with the goal of shedding light on the rationale behind both Yerevan's encouragement of genocide recognition and Ankara's unwillingness to recognize the genocide, as well as on the political implications of recognition and denial.

scholarly journals Narrating Integration and Disintegration in Europe: Italy’s View

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-24
Author(s):  
Victoria Vdovychenko
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Specific Interest ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Founding Member ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
The Eu

EU’s economic and political challenges open a new page of the European integration history. The Eurozone crisis and challenges presented by Brexit enhanced scholars from various countries to analyze and rethink about the future of the European integration and EU as a whole. The paths of the differentiated integration present a specific interest in this article. This kind of integration is becoming more and more popular among politicians and researchers in their affords to demonstrate a pragmatic approach how to re-start the integration process. This article will outline the issues framed by the differentiated integration in Italy, a founding member of the European Union. Moreover, it presents an attempt to apply the principles of differentiated integration to some of the politics: political and economic governance in the EU. The article poses the question to what extent the political fluidity will be necessary in order for the EU to still remain solid tackling common economic and political challenges. The article presents the opinions of the Italian scholars and politicians referred to the differentiated integration. The first part of it theorizes the concept of differentiated integration and presents an evolution of scholars’ thoughts starting from the mid-90s. The second part of the article reveals the challenges of the EU, the European integration process and the implications on the Italian Republic. It tries to show how Italy manages to overcome the present integration challenges.

Las funciones del interregionalismo en la relación UE-CAN

Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Olga María Cerqueira Torres
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Present Article ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Political Rationality ◽  
Article Analysis ◽  
Andean Community ◽  
The Eu

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.

Three Looks at German Foreign Policy before September 11: A Landscape Shifts

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Karen Donfried
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
The Political ◽  
German Foreign Policy ◽  
State University ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Monetary Cooperation ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
The Eu

Wolf-Dieter Eberwein and Karl Kaiser, Germany’s New Foreign Policy: Decision-Making in an Independent World (Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001)Adrian Hyde-Price, Germany & European Order: Enlarging NATO and the EU (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000)Matthias Kaelberer, Money and Power in Europe: The Political Economy of European Monetary Cooperation (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001)

An Ever Further Apart Union? National and European Attachments in the European Union

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Raney
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Political Identification ◽  
The Eu

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens’ political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of ‘civic’ identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching ‘civic’ identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i4.179

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