On 14 June 2018, TEPSA organised a luncheon to present its book “The Future of Europe – A View from the Capitals”, edited by Michael Kaeding, Johannes Pollak and Paul Schmidt. The event took place within the framework of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Standing Group EU Conference.
The 9th ECPR Standing Group EU (SGEU) took place in Paris from 13 to 15 June 2018. Sciences Po’s Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics and the Laboratory for the Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies convened this 9th Conference under the topic Contradictions – Whither the Political, Economic and Social Integration of Europe?
This conference addressed the complex relationship between socioeconomic dynamics and EU developments, to understand the bases of political integration and its potential effects. Are the terms ‘European society’ or ‘European economy’ constructs reflecting an empirical reality, and can they be linked to EU policies? In this era of ‘lost illusions’ were topics that were discussed. The meeting also engaged with debates in political, legal and social theory around key concepts including democracy, the rule of law, and legitimacy.
The conference provided space for researchers from various backgrounds – political science, history, sociology, law, anthropology, philosophy, geography, economics – to present and discuss cutting-edge research focused on the pressing questions of European integration. The ECPR’s Standing Group on the European Union is committed to methodological pluralism,and encourages dialogue across academic disciplines.
The SGEU Conference in Paris has also provided an occasion to present the book “The Future of Europe – A View from the Captials” to academia and to launch a discussion on the future of Europe that will be also organised in other EU member states.
At the event, the public could engage in a discussion, moderated by Michael Kaeding (Chairman of TEPSA) with some of the authors of the national chapters, namely, Marlene Wind (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Petr Kratochvíl / Vit Benes (Institute of International Relations, Czech Republic), Alice Cunha (NOVA University, Portugal), Xavier Ragot / Olivier Rozenberg (Centre d’Etudes Européennes – Sciences Po, France), and Göran von Sydow (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, Sweden).
The book, which brings together contributions from over 25 scholars from the TEPSA network, sheds light on the political dynamics within the EU member states and contributes to the discussions about Europe. Authors from all member states as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey assess how their country could get more involved in the European debate, taking the reader on a journey through various political landscapes and different views.
More information about the book, including the list of all the authors, as well as the structure of the book, is available here, at SpingerLink or on Palgrave website.
The description of the SGEU conference is available here.
