"Canada, like other industrial nations, is undergoing widespread social change at a faster pace than ever before. Many features of our basic institutions are being transformed and some of the values on which they were based are being weakened or swept away to be replaced by others. As this Royal Commission indicated in its first report, Challenges and Choices, the scope and implications of these changes call "into question basic assumptions, values, and institutions at every level of society, from the (...) shop floor to the cabinet room, to the international economic system," but while many values change, others endure."--. (shrink)

Pepper Culpepper’s seminal Quiet Politics and Business Power has revitalized the study of when business elites can shape policies away from public scrutiny. This article takes the concept of quiet politics to a new, and surprising, set of actors: trade union leaders. Focusing on the case of Denmark, it argues that quiet politics functions through political elite networks and that this way of doing politics favors a particular kind of corporatist coordination between the state, capital, and labor. Rather (...) than showing macrocorporatist coordination between the two classes and governments, it identifies representatives of business and labor that hold privileged positions in political elite networks. Representatives of segments are found in industries important for the Danish economy, specifically, the exporting manufacturing sector. Being at the core of the network requires not only a key position in the Danish economy but also an understanding that politics is often done best without politicians and voters. The analysis shows that trade union and business association representatives work closely on a wide number of issues through quiet politics, using their extensive network to broker and foster agreement between different stakeholders. (shrink)

(1996). European union and the nation‐state: The politics of hope encounters the politics of experience. The European Legacy: Vol. 1, Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the study of European Ideas, pp. 710-719.

Introduction to the special cluster of articles by feminists from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

In spite of their drastically different historical trajectories, the ongoing socio-political transition in the European Union (EU) and the Indian Republic (IR), two of the most complex polities in contemporary world, suggests that they aspire to combine political federalism and cultural pluralism. This is evident from their endorsing equality, identity and inclusivity as values; implementing political decentralization and facilitating differentiation between state, civil society and market. To meet the emerging challenges both the EU and the IR (...) endorse the idea of unity in diversity. The article suggests that two coping strategies, transforming cultural diversity (a fact) into cultural pluralism (a value) and decoupling the identities of citizenship and nationality are imperatives. (shrink)

What principles of political justice ought to apply to the European Union? This question is particularly relevant considering the deepening integration process that resulted from the crises of the past decade. Habermas’s conception of a transnational democracy allows identification of the methodological components of transnational political justice: to unite in a transnational polity, people belonging to different national communities need a common purpose, principles governing the distribution of constitutional and legislative power and a common political infrastructure (...) that allows them to form democratic will as free and equal citizens. This article attempts to further expand these points through a public goods approach. European policies generate European public goods. These must be produced and accessed based on a fair cooperation scheme. Identifying these specific fairness conditions allows further clarification on how legislative and constitutional power ought to be distributed within the European polity. (shrink)

Existing research on developing countries emphasizes the decisive power of teacher unions in education politics. Yet that power varies, and a full understanding of the roots of union power and the sources of cross-national variation requires deeper analysis of organizational dynamics within unions. This analysis supports four arguments. First, teachers have a range of advantages in overcoming obstacles to collective action. Second, unions are not all alike; they vary widely, from interest groups to powerful political machines. Third, the (...) source of this variation lies in factors that shift power within unions from members to leaders in political-machine unions. Fourth, analyzing the dimensions of variation helps explain the different outcomes of recent reforms to teacher careers in Latin America, especially in highlighting the staunch opposition from political-machine unions. (shrink)

This article looks at the mutual relations and links between globalisation and the integration of countries within the European Union. As the economic sphere is undergoing unrestrained globalisation, the position and sovereignty of nation-states is being weakened and politics is becoming harnessed to the economy. The relationship between the economy and politics is thus changing and there is a need to regulate the economy at a supranational level. The European Union has the potential to make positive use of (...) the trend towards globalisation and limit its negative impacts on the economic, social, ecological and cultural levels. This requires, however, deeper integration and further harmonisation of the countries of the European Union in the economic and political spheres. In order for the countries to come closer together, as the current situation requires, a European people (or demos) and a European public space must be created. (shrink)

Human enhancement issues are not merely academic: the technologies and trends involved give rise to new needs and social demands, provide opportunities for individuals and society, and present new risks. They also challenge crucial cultural notions, social concepts and views of the human condition, and may cause new forms of social pressure and social exclusion. This chapter reports on a systematic attempt by the European Technology Assessment Group (ETAG), conducted on behalf of the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) panel (...) of the European Parliament, to suggest policy options on the issue of human enhancement. It outlines and discusses a number of strategies for dealing with the issue in a European policy context, identifying a reasoned pro‐enhancement approach, a reasoned restrictive approach, and a systematic case‐by‐case approach as viable options. (shrink)

This book discusses political change in the view of Confucian thought. This study focuses on the Book of Change, which is one of the nine basic books of Confucius School, and has dominated oriental thought in this field for more than three thousand years.

The date 23 June 2016 brought in front of the United Kingdom and the European Union a very serious challenge named Brexit. In the June 23, 2016 referendum, the British voted to leave one of the most unique international organizations in the world, thus putting the EU in front of the UK’s request for the activation of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which the EU is facing for the first time. Brexit is opening new chapters in the history (...) of the UK, while the EU is engaging with the procedures of the voluntary withdrawal of an important member state, which is known about its high political and military role in the world. Some experts of international relations and European studies say that Brexit will have much more consequences for the UK, some for the EU, but truth is that Brexit will be accompanied with many consequences for both of its protagonists. Its risks are very serious so they may result with the dissolution of the UK. Meanwhile, the increase of euroscepticism within the EU’s member states, with particular emphasis the presence of Eurosceptic voices in its most important members is at a very worrying level. Based on these facts, the knowledge about the real meaning of Brexit is necessary. Therefore, the main focus of this research lies in the classification of the main political consequences of Brexit for the UK and the EU. (shrink)

The future will tell whether or not the European Union is developing a political philosophy of its own. But the current trend indicates several interesting features structurally different, or asymmetric, to the experiences with the evolution of key notions of political philosophy in relation to the past experience with the development of statehood. The paper gives examples which call for deepened research and provides stimulating material for a new and innovative reflection on the process and substance of (...) European integration, this most unique feature of political history in the course of the 20th century. (shrink)

The European Legacy, Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 566-567, July 2012.

In this book, Koo discusses political change in the view of Confucian thought. This study focuses on the Book of Change, which is one of the nine basic books of Confucius School; it has dominated oriental thought in this field for more than three thousand years. The aim of this study is to analyze and arrange its theory of change, and to apply it to political reality. Therefore, this book analyzes and summarizes the theories of change and applies (...) those theories to political change. From that process, the theories of political changes are developed. Their usefulness is tested in the real world and compared to the existing theories of political change. The result is to develop and present a new theory of political change. (shrink)

This case study provides a multi-perspective view on the power of political events as a strategy to influence public opinion-building regarding the European Union and the European Idea. To achieve this purpose, it examines one prominent political issue of 2007, namely the German Presidency of the Council of the EU. Looking at three different groups of actors, the German Government, the media, and the audience, the public perception of events is analyzed according to their varying degree of (...) mediatization. The case study compares the three main objectives of the German Presidency on the actors' agendas and describes how issues were framed during three different time periods. The findings suggest that the media agenda was heavily influenced by the government's scheduled events. Regarding the frames identified in the public sphere, the media offered different interpretations, somewhat varying from the political leaders' intentions and from the citizens' perceptions. (shrink)

The debate on the nature of the European Union has become a test case of the kind of political and institutional arrangements appropriate in an age of globalization. This paper explores three views of the EU. The two main positions that have hitherto confronted each other appeal to either cosmopolitan or communitarian values. Advocates of the former argue for some form of federal structure in Europe and are convinced that the sovereignty of the nation state belongs to the (...) past. Proponents of the latter make a case on both socio-political and normative grounds for a Europe of nations. However a third position, favoured by the authors, is gaining ground. This view combines cosmopolitan and communitarian conceptions. It emphasises the mixed nature of the European polity and conceives the constitutionalization process as open-ended. The paper concludes that from this perspective a bricoleur's Europe of ‘bits and pieces’may not necessarily lack justification and legitimacy. (shrink)

This book explores the goals, strategies and impact of Green actors in the European Community, with case studies including the important German Greens. It looks at the relationship between movements and parties, and at the Greens' alternative of a Europe of the Regions.

The recent global surge in large-scale foreign land acquisitions marks a radical transformation of the global economic and political landscape. Since land that attracts capital often becomes the site of expulsions and displacement, it also leads to new forms of migration. In this paper, I explore this connection from the perspective of a political philosopher. I argue that changes in global land governance unsettle the congruence of political community and bounded territory that we often take for granted. (...) As a case study, I discuss the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive as a significant driver of foreign land acquisitions. Using its global power, the European Union (EU) is effectively governing land far outside of its international borders and with it the people who live on this land or are expelled from it. As a result, EU citizens ought to consider such people fellow members of their political community. This has implications for normative debates about immigration and, in particular, for arguments that appeal to collective self-determination to justify a right of political communities to exclude newcomers. The political community to which EU citizens belong reaches far beyond the EU’s official borders. (shrink)

Contemporary social policy toward low-income women in the United States, as evidenced both by Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) and by the AFDC programme that preceded it, is in part an artefact of long-standing conceptions of the nature of citizenship. This view sees citizenship as resting primarily on civil and political rights, not on rights with respect to economic, social, and cultural matters. Drawing on scholarly literature on the development of international human rights regimes, the feminist (...) literature that analyses social policy both comparatively and in terms of US domestic policy, and literature regarding contemporary movements among low-income persons, this paper analyses the efforts of one organization, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), to challenge US policy via international human rights law and international enforcement mechanisms. We will suggest that, despite some of the flaws of the KWRU, their approach is a promising one for low-income women. In particular, we wish to suggest that a broader conception of citizenship that takes into account economic, cultural, and social rights is necessary to create a more equitable and democratic polity for women. (shrink)

Young people are seriously under-represented in both political parties and trade unions. I argue that a dependent conception of democracy interested in substantive equality, not merely formal equality, would support addressing this problem through descriptive representation. The essay begins by considering the requirements of democracy, and whether these can support a case for descriptive representation. Although descriptive representation entails democratic costs, there is a contingent case for group representation that is consistent with the aims of democracy. Young people, moreover, (...) satisfy this case in terms of membership of political parties – but less so in the case of trade unions. Finally, the essay considers practical methods for improving young people’s representation in these. (shrink)

Union Citizenship as currently implemented in the European Union introduces a distinct concept of citizenship that necessitates an adequate normative approach. The objective of this paper is to assess EU Citizenship against the theoretical background of multilateral democracy. This approach is specifically suited for this task, as it does not rely on a nation-state paradigm or the presumption of a further transformation into a federation or union. We propose three criteria by which to assess multilevel citizenship: equal (...) individual rights, equal sovereignty of peoples and the balancing of individuals' and peoples' interests. We argue that the current practice of Union Citizenship does not fully meet the proposed standards, regarding equal rights within and equal access to, the political system. Based on our assessment, we propose reform options of access to national and supranational citizenship and argue for supranational participation rights and equal transnational rights to gradually re-establish full membership for individuals. (shrink)

For twenty years, the European Union has qualified as a supranational actor more and more present on the educational scene. Through the European strategies - Lisbon 2010 and Europe 2020 - but also the open method of coordination, an essential mutation has been occurring at the level of Member States. In this article, I intend to analyse in which manner the European Union manages to become a genuine educational actor. Thematic analysis of forty semi-structured interviews conducted with European (...) and international officials demonstrate that the European leaders prepared the European “suitcase” for the first “flight” of 2010 and the second one in 2020. Mainly, this briefcase regroups benchmarks, core competencies, mobility programs and the European qualifications framework. If the European Union is able to “boast” with a national or international political visibility through educational proposals however, an unknown factor remains in this geopolitical equation. (shrink)