Periferias europeias: Sebald fala em Tübingen (e uma digressão sobre Pierre Bertaux) | European peripheries: Sebald speechs in Tübingen (and a digression about Pierre Bertaux)

O tema deste artigo é um texto apócrifo de W. G. Sebald, o ensaio "Europäische Peripherien" [Periferias Europeias], baseado em uma palestra proferida em fevereiro de 1992, em Tübingen. Esse ensaio ocupa um lugar especial na obra de Sebald, pois nele o autor se expressa mais resolutamente do que em qualquer outra ocasião sobre questões políticas, no que diz respeito tanto ao processo de unificação europeia quanto aos problemas fundamentais das sociedades ocidentais na transição para o século XXI. A partir de uma leitura mais atenta, chego à conclusão de que esse ensaio, supostamente secundário, revela-se um importante pilar para reconstruir a interpretação profundamente melancólica que Sebald faz da história com base no conceito de uma “história natural da destruição”. Ao mesmo tempo, “Europäische Peripherien” permite reconhecer a importância de Mutation der Menschheit [Mutação da Humanidade], de Pierre Bertaux, como influência fundamental, até então não reconhecida, para o desenvolvimento da obra de Sebald.Palavras-chave: W.G. Sebald. Europa. “História natural da destruição”. Pierre Bertaux. AbstractThis article discusses the essay "Europäische Peripherien", a hitherto overlooked text by W.G. Sebald based on a lecture given in Tübingen in February 1992. The essay occupies a special position in Sebald's oeuvre, as the author positions himself more pronouncedly than anywhere else on political issues, both with regard to the process of European unification and to fundamental challenges of Western societies in the transition to the twenty-first century. In my close reading the supposedly insignificant essay proves to be an important text for a reconstruction of Sebald's deeply melancholic view of history as expressed in the concept of a "natural history of destruction". At the same time, "European Peripheries" allows us to acknowledge the importance of Pierre Bertaux’ Mutation der Menschheit as an undiscovered influence on the development of Sebald's oeuvre.Keywords: W.G. Sebald. Europa. “Natural history of destruction”. Pierre Bertaux. ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4825-1912

The future of polarisation in Europe: relative cosmopolitanism and democracy

One of the central features of our societies is an increasing polarisation between communitarian and cosmopolitan positions. The theoretically sound and differentiated concepts are increasingly being escalated and misused in political practice by authoritarian populists and polarising pushers who try to pull the undecided to their side and tear society apart. Two essential agreements of the post-war period are increasingly being called into question: The European consensus, which considers European unification as an essential achievement and goal of political actors, and the democratic consensus, which states that representative democracy is the undisputed best form of government. In this article, after an introductory definition of polarisation, two future scenarios are developed. In the scenario “Polarised Europe”, polarisation is extrapolated into the future and discussed with its serious consequences for the democratic and European consensus. The second scenario “Democratised Europe” shows how the concept of a relative cosmopolitanism can mitigate polarisation and what steps could possibly be taken to constructively turn it into a more democratic direction.

Restraining State Sovereignty or the Return of the German Question?

<Online Only>This chapter examines how the geopolitical constitution of Europe developed after Maastricht, in ways both continuous and discontinuous with the founding era. It discusses the continuities in inter-state constraints on the exercise of sovereign powers, now structured, however, through a ‘new intergovernmentalism’ rather than traditional forms of supranationalism. In conjunction with the move towards differentiated integration, this signalled the end of the ‘federal dream’ of European unification. The chapter concludes by discussing the return of the ‘German question’. It analyses how the reunification of Germany, and its increasing influence through the Eastern enlargement of the Union, raised the spectre of stark asymmetries, and even the prospect of semi-hegemony.</Online Only>

An uncertain future for the post-Brexit, post-COVID-19 European Union

Nowadays, the foundation pillars of European unification, namely solidarity and democracy, are under serious threat, perhaps more serious than that from the 2008 economic crisis, Brexit, the migration crisis and COVID-19 combined. As happened in the past, space and geography are again at the forefront asking for interpretations. A once progressive academic field such as urban and regional research is due now to regain its progressive reflexes together with broader political concerns about the future of the European Union (EU).

Never Mind Patriarchy, But Do Mention the War! Reflections on the Absence of Gender History from the House of European History

This article explores the absence of a consistent longer historical narrative about gender relations in European history, as the latter is presented in the recently opened House of European History in Brussels and, to some extent, in the European Parliament’s visitor centre, Parlamentarium. It is argued that gender equality is presented as part of a modern European identity, but that it is a phenomenon that isn’t given such a problematic history as many other phenomena – gender inequality is not construed as a part of European history in the way that, for example, totalitarianism and colonialism are. Gender inequality isn’t seen and constructed as a previous challenge to European unification and integration, and therefore gender equality can’t be perceived as a solution to a relevant problem in the narratives at hand.

Entanglements: Cultural Borders in Visions of European Unification

This article elaborates upon the idea of cultural borders from the perspective of European unification before EU-integration. It addresses discussions on how to manage or even transcend religious and linguistic borders, from William Penn, Novalis and Conrad Friedrich Schmidt-Phiseldeck, to Johann Caspar Bluntschli and Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi. The historical contexts are nationalism and Europeanization. These are further illuminated by the use of constructivist theory and the concept of a ‘stagist theory’ from Dipesh Chakrabarty and Roberto Dainotto which legitimizes the domination of some nations over others.

The posting of workers in the European road transport industry: An approach based on the discourses of social and institutional stakeholders

The posting of workers is a challenge for national regulatory and job protection frameworks in the EU. We address the specific case of road transport, analysing the discourses of the principal social and institutional stakeholders (trade unions, employers’ associations, European institutions and labour inspectors) and identify the controversies that have arisen around the definition, regulation and assessment of worker posting. We consider, more generally, the direction in which the European unification project is heading.