Search results for " International Relations"
showing 10 items of 626 documents
Insults, humour and freedom of speech
2016
In this article we argue that freedom of speech should be understood as a social freedom. In the public discussion after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, it has often been understood as an absolute right to say anything – to offend, to make a fool of others and of oneself, and to express any opinion regardless of the consequences. We challenge this view and propose that advocating freedom of speech without understanding its social foundations is misleading and counterproductive. Based on the critical social theories of Erich Fromm, Charles Taylor and Axel Honneth, we show that there is an alternative tradition in which freedom is fundamentally rooted in social relations and therefore requires re…
"Indépendance Cha Cha": African pop music since the independence era
2010
Investigating why Latin American music came to be the soundtrack of the independence era, this contribution offers an overview of musical developments and cultural politics in certain sub-Saharan African countries since the 1960s. Focusing first on how the governments of newly independent African states used musical styles and musicians to support their nation-building projects, the article then looks at musicians' more recent perspectives on the independence era. Der Beitrag gibt eine kurze Übersicht über die Entwicklung ausgewählter Musikstile in verschiedenen afrikanischen Ländern seit der Unabhängigkeit. Der Autor schildert die Bemühungen der Regierungen in den jungen Nationalstaaten, M…
Between memory, didacticism and the Jewish revival: the Holocaust in Italian comic books
2018
The aim of this article is to trace the development of the theme of the Holocaust in Italian comic books, attempting to frame it in the more general national memory culture. I look at both educatio...
The rising fear of terrorism and the emergence of a European security governance space: citizen perceptions and EU counterterrorism cooperation
2021
Among a wide range of challenges, EU member states have been facing a growing threat from terrorism in the recent years. The primary responsibility for combating terrorism lies with each individual member state, although the threat is becoming increasingly cross-border and diverse. Regardless of whether terrorism poses a real or perceived threat to the states’ and citizens’ security, public opinion is one important force behind the extensive counterterrorism efforts undertaken in Europe. In this article, we explore the influence of public opinion on EU policy within the security domain in the period 2005–19. We investigate the relationship between the number of attacks carried out on EU ter…
The nested games of the UK’s EU referendum: ruptures, reconfigurations and lessons for Europe
2021
The 2016 decision by the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union was a seminal one for both parties. In this special issue, we consider the extent to which the inter-penetration of the national and the European arenas produced significant opportunities for recasting political action. The nesting of these two levels matters firstly in allowing for the politicisation and mobilisation of domestic actors around European issues and secondly in explaining why seemingly sub-optimal or counter-productive actions are taken. The tensions this generated reached a critical juncture with the referendum, a rupture that highlights the extent to which a nominally second-order vote can have funda…
Politics of Cultural Marking in Mini-Europe: Anchoring European Cultural Identity in a Theme Park
2012
Mini-Europe—a theme park in Brussels morally supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament—consists of around 350 models of different buildings and heritage sites from all the member states of the European Union. In addition the park includes an exhibition named the Spirit of Europe. The article explores how the European cultural identity is constructed and ‘sold’ in Mini-Europe, and how history, geography and local and regional traditions are intertwined into a politics of cultural marking, an ideology of European integration and a creation of shared symbols. European cultural identity has often been generated through appeals to an ancient or classical past, which is pro…
Informal compliance mechanisms in the EU ‘development’ and ‘integration without membership’ association agreements: a quest for capacity and ownershi…
2022
Association Agreements between the EU and third countries lie at the heart of the EU’s foreign policy. The Association Agreements the EU concluded with Eastern Neighbours and the Caribbean Forum and Central American countries are marked with partner countries’ ambitious obligations, and the multi-instrument toolbox the EU applies to ensure partner countries’ compliance, including official consultations and dispute settlement. Nevertheless, the EU has demonstrated to prefer informal compliance instruments, such as statements or informal meetings in both the ‘integration without membership’ and ‘development’ contexts. The article focuses on the rationale behind the EU’s preference for ‘soft’ …
Introduction: Continuities, Dislocations and Transformations: 50 Years of Independence in Africa
2010
Many sub-Saharan African countries celebrated 50 years of political independence in 2010. This presented an opportunity for scholars, politicians and journalists, both within and outside of Africa, to take stock. The situation on the African continent has changed fundamentally since 1960. Brief general analyses and reviews can scarcely do justice to the complexity of this development process. The processes of consolidation, differentiation and transformation that have caused African societies today to become significantly more complex than they were at the time of independence are simply too multifaceted. Most of the journalistic attempts to take stock of these developments in recent years …
Book Review: Africa: Unity, Sovereignty, and Sorrow
2010
Review of the monograph: Pierre Englebert (2009), Africa: Unity, Sovereignty, and Sorrow , Boulder, Co. & London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, ISBN: 978-1-58826-646-0 (Hardcover) / 978-1-58826-623-1 (Paperback), 310 pages.
Bringing Erasmus Home: The European Universities Initiative as an example of “Everyday Europeanhood”
2021
International audience