Geopolitics, Europe, EU, Ideologies Mobilities, Citizenship, Identity Syllabi

Social Europe: Identity, Citizenship, and the Welfare State

This is part of our special feature on The Crisis of European Integration.

 

Course Description

With European economic integration a reality and the sovereign debt crisis of the Euro an on-going problem, the social and political questions that in the past had remained in the background have returned to center stage. The refugee crisis, with seemingly unending masses of migrants coming from the war-torn Middle East, only adds to the social and political issues confronting Europe. Concerns about political legitimacy and national democracy in the multi-level European Union have also increasingly come to the fore, as decision-making authority has slowly but surely moved up to the EU level. The “no” votes in the referenda on the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands and in Ireland for the Lisbon Treaty suggest that already in the mid 2000s national publics had become increasingly concerned about the challenges from European integration to national identity and sovereignty as well as to the welfare state. The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 may have taken care of the institutional issues, but it did not address the issues of policy or democracy at the heart of citizen concerns in the member-states. The rise of the extremes on the right and the left demonstrates that citizens’ concerns have only intensified in response to the multiple crises.

Although ‘social Europe’ is a relatively new area of concern, EU policies on employment, welfare, gender and immigration have already greatly affected national policies and practices. The EU’s initiatives on gender, whether through Commission-inspired directives or European Court of Justice decisions, have had a profound impact on women’s rights and employment. The EU Charter on Fundamental Rights is equally important for the protection of individual rights throughout the Union. But the EU’s failure to come to a common agreement on immigration has become particularly problematic during the refugee crisis, in particular given member-states very different responses to that crisis—from open arms to barbed wire fences.

Finally, the EU has had a significant impact on the welfare state, which has itself been under great pressure since its “Golden Age” in the postwar period.  No course on ‘social Europe’ would be complete without considering the profound changes in national social and employment policies since the 1970s. These changes are the result of external economic pressures, global and European, as well as of internal political dynamics. And they can only be explored on a country by country basis, in order to understand the differences in responses following from differences in postwar policy legacies; in the impact of the economic crisis beginning in the mid-1970s as well as the major crisis beginning in 2008; in the preferences that played themselves out in electoral politics; and in the ideas and discourses through which national politicians sought to legitimate the reforms.

This course, in short, seeks to consider the past, present, and future of “social Europe.” It begins with a focus on the impact of European political as well as economic integration on national identities, cultures, politics, and citizenship, follows with an examination of the policies that have had or will have the greatest impact on these social constructions, and ends with an examination of the changes in the welfare state over time. In many sessions, moreover, in addition to considering the long standing academic discussions of the Social Europe, we will debate the current crises and their responses, including borders and possible British exit from the EU; the Greek “tragedy” in the Eurozone crisis; the turn to ‘illiberal democracy’ in Hungary and Poland; what to do about gender-based glass ceilings; the refugee crisis as a human rights issue, an integration issue, and a political issue; and the impact of the Eurozone crisis on labor and social policy.

 

Course Outline

Introduction: What is Social Europe?

The Building Blocks: Identity, Citizenship, and Democracy
1. Identity and Culture
2. Identity and Borders
3. Identity and Democratic Legitimacy
4. Identity, Citizenship, Legitimacy, and the Euro
5. Identity, Democracy, and the Political Extremes

EU Policies for a Social Europe
1. EU Gender Issues
2. EU Human Rights Policies: Inside and Outside
3. EU Immigration and Integration
4. EU Immigration, Integration, and Politics

The Underpinnings: European Welfare State and Social Justice
1. EU Social Policy and National Welfare States
2. National Economic and Social Policy Reforms, Values, Discourse

Conclusion and Class Presentations

 

Required Texts

Art, David, (2011) Inside the Right  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press.
Cerutti, Furio, Lucarelli, Sonia and Schmidt, Vivien, eds. (2011) Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union.  London:  Routledge,
Hay, Colin and Wincott, Daniel (2012) The Political Economy of European Welfare Capitalism Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan.
Hochschild, Jennifer and Mollenkopt, John H. Bringing (2009) Outsiders In:  TransAtlantic Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation  Ithaca:  Cornell.
Joppke, Christian  (2010) Veil:  Mirror of Identity   London: Polity Press.
Kantola, Johanna  (2010) Gender and the European Union  Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan
McNamara, Kathleen (2015) The Politics of Everyday Europe Oxford:  Oxford University Press.
Moro, Giovanni The Single Currency and Citizenship:  Unveiling the Other Side of the Coin  Bloomsbury Academic 2013.
Risse, Thomas  (2010) A Community of Europeans? Ithaca:  Cornell University Press
Zippel, Kathrin S. (2006) The Politics of Sexual Harassment  Cambridge University Press.

 

Syllabus

Introduction: What is Social Europe?
Class 1

 

A. The Building Blocks: Identity, Citizenship, and Democracy

1. Identity and Culture
Class 2

  • McNamara, Kathleen, The Politics of Everyday Europe Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 1- 90
  • Risse, Thomas, Community of Europeans?  (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2010), pp. 19-106
  • Sonntag, Albrecht, “False expectations: the counterproductive side effects of the EU’s use of political symbols” in “Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union” eds. Furio Cerutti, Sonia Lucarelli, and Vivien A. Schmidt.  (London:  Routledge, 2011), pp. 115-130
  • *US-British comparison: Sarah Lyall, “TaTa.London.Hello.Awesome,” New York Times Aug. 18, 2013  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/opinion/sunday/ta-ta-london-hello-awesome.html?_r=0
  • *Henning Wehn on Dave’s One Night Stand (German stand-up comic in and on Scotland)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNNCqAmZzTA

 

2. Identity and Borders
Class 3

  • Risse, Thomas, “Widening” in Community of Europeans  p. 204-225
  • McNamara, Kathleen, “Citizenship and Mobility” in The Politics of Everyday Europe, pp. 91-112
  • Lucarelli, Sonja, “Mirrors of us: European political identity and the Others’ image of the EU” in “Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy, pp.  148-167
  • McNamara, Kathleen, “European Foreign Policy” in The Politics of Everyday Europe, pp. 135-160.

Debate:  The British Referendum: Brexit as a case of identity and borders?

 

3. Identity and Democratic Legitimacy
Class 4

  • Cerutti, Furio  “How not to (mis)understand political identity in the European Union in Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy eds. Cerutti, Lucarelli, and Schmidt, pp.  3-15.
  • Levrat, Nicolas, “Do the powers exerted by the EU need a legitimacy based on the citizens’ European identity? in “Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy, pp. 76-90
  • Schmidt, Vivien “Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union Revisited: Input, Output, and ‘Throughput,’” Political Studies vol. 61, no. 1 (2013): 2-22  (download from ejournals or will email)
  • Sara B. Hobolt and James Tilley   (2014)  “Who’s in Charge? How Voters Attribute Responsibility in the European Union”  Comparative Political Studies 47: 795  (ejournals) DOI: 10.1177/0010414013488549

 

3. Identity, Citizenship, Legitimacy, and the Euro
Class 5

  • McNamara, Kathleen, “The Euro and the Single Market” in The Politics of Everyday Europe, pp. 113-134.
  • Schmidt, Vivien A. “ The Forgotten Problem of Democratic Legitimacy:  ‘Governing by the Rules’ and ‘Ruling by the Numbers’.” Chapter for The Future of the Euro, eds. Mark Blyth and Matthias Matthijs (New York:  Oxford University Press, 2015)  (download from ebooks, Oxford Scholarship online)
  • Giovanni Moro, “Building Citizenship in the post-Modern Era:  Dimensions of the other side of the coin” in The Single Currency and Citizenship  ed., G. Moro
  • Shore, Chris.  “Divided by a Common Currency:  The Euro Crisis and European Citizenship” in The Single Currency and Citizenship  ed., G. Moro.
  • Heidbreder, Eva “Why money can’t buy Democracy:  On the Detachment of the Euro from EU citizenship” in The Single Currency and Citizenship  ed., G. Moro

Debate:  The Greek Eurozone Crisis

 

4. Identity, Democracy, and the Political Extremes
Class 6

  • Art, David, Inside the Right  (Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 2011) (esp pp. 106-230)
  • Minkenberg, Michael, “Anti-Immigrant Politics in Europe:  The Radical Right, Xenophobic Tendencies, and Their Political Environment” in Bringing Outsiders In:  TransAtlantic Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation  eds., J. Hochschild and J. Mollenkopf  (Ithaca:  Cornell, 2009)
  • European Forum:  The Rise of the Far Right? In APSA European Politics and Society Newsletter  read articles by David Art, Terri Givens, Michael Minkenberg, Cas Mudde (download Winter 2014 at http://community.apsanet.org/eps/newsletter )
  • * http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/16/across-europe-disillusioned-voters-turn-to-outsiders

Debate:  Extremes in Power–Hungary and Poland as Illiberal Democracies?

 

B. EU Policies for a Social Europe

1. EU Gender Issues
Class 7

  • Kantola, Johanna  Gender and the European Union  (Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), Chapters 1-6, pp. 1-147.
  • Zippel, Kathrin S. The Politics of Sexual Harassment (Cambridge University Press, 2006), Chapters 3-5, pp. 82-201
  • Heather Macrae: “The EU as a Gender Equality Polity: Myths and Realities” in Journal of Common Market Studies, vol.  48, issue 1, 2010, pp. 155 – 174. [download from e-journals]

Debate: Why should anything be done about Glass Ceilings in politics or business?

 

2. Human Rights Policies: Inside and Outside
Class 8

Debate: The Refugee Crisis as a Human Rights Issue

 

3. EU Immigration and Integration
Class 9

  • Hochschild, Jennifer and Mollenkopf, John, Bringing Outsiders In:  TransAtlantic Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation  Ithaca:  Cornell, 2009), Chapter 1 “Setting the Context,” Ch. 1, pp. 3-14
  • Martiniello, Marco, “Immigrants and Their Offspring in Europe as Political Subjects” in Bringing Outsiders In, Chap. 3, 33-47
  • Duyvendak, Jan Willem, Pels, Trees, and Rijkschroeff, Rally, “A Multicultural Paradise?  The Cultural Factor in Dutch Integration Policy” in Bringing Outsiders In  Chap. 9, pp., 129-139
  • Modood, Tariq, “The State and Ethno-Religious Mobilization in Britain” in Bringing Outsiders In” Ch. 15, pp. 233-249.
  • Immigration and Integration Forum European Politics and Society Newsletter APSA  http://community.apsanet.org/eps/newsletter  download summer 2015

 

4. EU Immigration, Integration, and Politics
Class 10

The Refugee Crisis as Political Issue

 

C. The Underpinnings: European Social Welfare and Social Justice

1. EU Social Policy and National Welfare States
Class 11

  • Hay, Colin and Wincott, Daniel The Political Economy of European Welfare Capitalism  (Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), entire
  • Bruzelius, Cecilia, Chase, Elaine, and Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2014) “Semi-Sovereign Welfare States, Social Rights of Citizens, and the Need for Strong State Capacities” SE Journal Oxford Institute of Social Policy and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, no 3 (Dec.) http://www.feslondon.org.uk/cms/files/fes/pdf/FES%20Seeleib%20Oxford%2012%202014%20Welfare%20States.pdf
  • Erne, Roland (2015) “A supranational regime that nationalizes social conflict: Explaining European trade unions’ difficulties in politicizing European economic governance,” Labor History, 56:3, 345-368  (get from ejournals)

 

2. National Economic and Social Policy Reforms, Values, and Discourse
Class 12

Debate: Final Stocktaking–What happened to Social Europe?

 

Class 13

Conclusions and Class Presentations

 

 

Photo: London, UK. 25th March 2017. EDITORIAL – Thousands gather for the UNITE FOR EUROPE rally, through central London, in protest against the British governments’ BREXIT from the European Union, John Gomez | Shutterstock

Published on November 2, 2017
This part of our Campus Spotlight on Boston University.

 

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