Why During the Polish-Bolshevik War Did Soviet Propaganda Discourse Dominate European Public Opinion?

In 1919–20, a war took place between two states that had emerged at the end of the Great War: Soviet Russia and the reborn Republic of Poland. It was a clash of widely different legal, political, and ideological systems. The conflict took place not only on the military and diplomatic planes but also within propaganda. Upon taking power in Russia, the Bolsheviks, in their official speeches, presented themselves to the world as the defenders of peace and the sovereignty of all nations; the imperial aspirations of Soviet Russia were hidden under the slogans of a world revolution that would liberate oppressed peoples. The military and ideological conquest began with a concentrated focus on neighbouring countries, including Poland. At the same time, a suggestive propaganda message was sent to the West, setting out the course of events from Moscow’s point of view.

Going transnational? Candidates' transnational linkages on Twitter during the 2019 European Parliament elections

How transnational are European Parliament (EP) campaigns? Building on research on the Euro-pean public sphere and the politicisation of the EU, this study investigates to what extent the 2019 EP campaign was transnational and which factors were associated with ‘going transna-tional’. It conceptualises Twitter linkages of EP candidates as constitutive elements of a transna-tional campaign arena distinguishing interactions with EP candidates from other countries (hori-zontal transnationalisation) and interactions with the supranational European party families and lead candidates (vertical transnationalisation). The analysis of tweets sent by EP candidates from all 28 member states reveals that most linkages remain national. Despite this evidence for the second-order logic, there are still relevant variations contingent on EU positions of parties, the adoption of the Spitzenkandidaten system and socialisation in the EP. The findings have impli-cations for debates on the European public sphere and institutional reform proposals such as transnational party lists that might mitigate the EU’s democratic deficit.

Public Administration (PA) Education in Italy

PA education is closely related to the public administration understanding of the relevant country and the public administration reform process. In this context, the structure of the Italian public administration, its historical roots, traditions, and public administration reform processes are discussed in order to understand the PA education in Italy. Since Italy is from the Continental European school of public administration, its effects on public administration reforms and PA education in Europe have been examined. Factors such as the spread of the new public management approach and the Bologna process initiated by the European Union, the convergence process in PA education and its effects on Italy are discussed. It is aimed to shed light on the PA education studies in Turkey by considering the PA education in Italy, one of the important representatives of the Continental European public administration understanding, which constitutes the intellectual foundation of the Turkish administrative system.

Achieving a Representative Democracy in Europe

The concept of public spheres is based on the classic notion of deliberative democracy. The emergence of a European Public Sphere (EPS) at the European Union (EU) level has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the deliberative quality of this sphere is questioned because of its weak connection with citizens. This chapter explores how recent research addresses the EPS. Three categories are defined: (1) political and public communication of the EU, (2) citizen participation through technologies, and (3) the growing politicization and polarization of the European project. The methods in use, as well as remaining challenges in research, are also analyzed. This study contributes to discussions on the future of EU democracy, arguing that politicization and the interrelation of digital platforms and legacy media may enhance a true public discussion in Europe.

Implementation of the EPPO Regulation from the Slovak Perspective

Nowadays, 22 Member States are participating in enhanced cooperation for establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Due to the fact that the establishment and exercise of powers of the European Public Prosecutor's Office significantly changes the current concept of EU criminal law, it was necessary for the participating Member States to adapt to this change. To ensure effective application of the Regulation in practice, the Member States had to adopt different implementing measures. As in other Member States, also the national authorities of the Slovak Republic needed to consider necessary legislative measures ensuring effective application of the EPPO Regulation for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting criminal offences affecting financial interests of the EU.

European Left Populism and Authoritarian Populism

The emergence of left populism, mainly in Southern Europe, in the decade of 2010, questioned the impression that populism in Europe was only right-wing oriented. On the other hand, the expansion of populism as a common denomination favored the perception that all populisms were the same, regardless of ideology: a threat to democracy. It explains why many left parties are reluctant towards being labelled as populist. Besides, left-wing populism connected with the one from Latin America one decade before where the tensions between democratization and authoritarianism have been widely discussed. The European public opinion usually relates the Latin American left populist governments with authoritarianism, associated with the situation in Venezuela first with Hugo Chávez and, especially, now with Nicolás Maduro. For this reason, left populism in Europe was made suspicious of being authoritarian.

The Impact of Mediatization on EU Public Outreach Campaigns

This article addresses the mediatization of the European public sphere(s) and the issues it creates for the implementation of EU-wide public outreach efforts. As applied to the EU context, the concept of mediatization is understood as a relationship between the media and political institutions that causes societal transformation. In this sense, the public sphere is seen as a mediating infrastructure of debates of political legitimacy. In the context of mediatized politics, European public opinion is fragmented and bound to national public spheres. EU public outreach efforts are increasingly filtered and shaped by the media of its member countries. Due to multiple implementation issues, the EU has not been able to offer its members an attractive and unifying identity narrative promoting European values. This article offers some conceptual solutions to the problem.

Em Quem Confiam os Portugueses? A Gestão da Comunicação Governamental na Pandemia Covid-19

Numa situação de emergência sanitária, o grau de cumprimento público das ordens governamentais das autoridades de saúde pode afetar grandemente o curso da pandemia. Partindo do pressuposto que o (in)cumprimento das recomendações das autoridades está diretamente ligado à confiança nas fontes de informação, neste artigo, discutimos o caso concreto da comunicação governamental de Portugal durante o início da segunda vaga da doença. No contexto de uma investigação internacional da rede European Public Relations Education and Research Association Com-Covid, foi aplicado um inquérito online a 460 cidadãos portugueses entre 7 de outubro e 11 de novembro de 2020. Para este trabalho analisamos uma secção do inquérito com questões relativas às fontes de informação que inspiram maior confiança junto da população portuguesa e à opinião dos portugueses sobre a gestão da comunicação do governo. Os inquéritos foram codificados e inseridos no software estatístico SPSS. O estudo concluiu que sobressai uma perceção positiva sobre a comunicação governamental entre os inquiridos, mas que os portugueses consideram os atores do campo da saúde fontes de informação mais confiáveis do que os media ou as autoridades governamentais. Em relação à questão de género, concluiu-se que as mulheres confiam mais no governo e que têm também melhor opinião sobre a comunicação das autoridades. No que concerne à idade, verificou-se serem os jovens quem mais confia nas autoridades e nos media, ao mesmo tempo que são os mais críticos do desempenho do governo na gestão comunicacional da crise. De maneira geral, os inquiridos demonstraram pouca confiança nas redes sociais digitais e nos influenciadores digitais como fonte de informação sobre a covid-19, sendo que quanto maior é o grau académico menor é a confiança dos inquiridos nos influencers e nas redes sociais digitais.