Introduction
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Introduction 2017 was an eventful year for ARENA and for the world. Brexit negotiations, the launch of the new EU defence cooperation PESCO, the decline of democratic norms in several European countries, and numerous polarized elections across the EU prove that the need for thorough research on the European order is as pressing as ever. ARENA is an internationally renowned research centre at the University of Oslo. We conduct theoretically oriented and empirically informed basic research on the dynamics of the evolving European political order, organised along four key dimensions: the democratic dimension, the EU’s executive dimension, the knowledge dimension and the external dimension. ARENA’s research activity has increased considerably in 2017, with the kick-off of several projects and the recruitment of nine new researchers. Longtime ARENA researcher Åse Gornitzka was elected vice-rector of the University of Oslo, and we celebrated our founder Johan P. Olsen’s significant contribution to the field of European Studies at the launch of what he claimed to be his last book. Thus, for ARENA 2017 has been a year to learn from the past and to celebrate new beginnings. In October, Chris Lord and ARENA organised a kick-off conference in Oslo for our newest project PLATO. This Horizon 2020-funded ‘European Training Network’ with 20 partners across Europe has recruited 15 PhD researchers. The project investigates the EU’s legitimacy in the wake of the financial crisis. Furthermore, in November we organised the kick-off workshop for REFLEX, a research project that examines the tension between depoliticised bodies and democracy in the context of European decision- making. We are also pleased to report that our research project GLOBUS, which studies the EU’s contributions to global justice, was highlighted by the European Commission as an ‘early success story’ in the evaluation of Horizon 2020. Our publication rate is almost record high and the issues we deal with in Europe are becoming increasingly complex. ARENA is and continues to be a busy place. Prof. Erik O. Eriksen ARENA Director Content Research projects EuroDiv . .2 GLOBUS ....................................................................4 PLATO. .6 REFLEX .....................................................................8 EUREX .....................................................................10 EPISTO .....................................................................12 Other projects ..............................................................14 Publications New books and special issues ................................................20 Journal articles and book chapters ............................................25 Publications 2013–2017. ......................................................31 ARENA Working Papers.. .32 ARENA Reports .............................................................33 TARN Working Papers ........................................................36 GLOBUS Research Papers ....................................................38 Events PLATO launched in Oslo .....................................................40 REFLEX workshop: The legitimacy of depoliticised decision-making .................42 GLOBUS workshop: Conceptualising global justice. 44 ECPR General Conference in Oslo. 46 Book launch Johan P. Olsen ..................................................48 EuroDiv: Who is the European citizen and who is the refugee? .....................49 EuroDiv: Towards a differentiated Europe .......................................50 EuroDiv: Book discussion - Reflections on Europe’s past and present ................50 The new politics of EU external relations ........................................51 Final workshop in the ANTERO network on EU foreign policy .......................51 GLOBUS events and study tour to India .........................................52 ARENA Tuesday seminars and TARN lecture .....................................54 Other conferences and events ...............................................57 Outreach The Power of Economists .....................................................62 Research Council of Norway: Rebooting Europe ................................64 The Global Justice Blog ......................................................65 Other outreach activities .....................................................66 Media contributions .........................................................67 Organisation and staff .........................................................74 Research projects 2 Research projects Integration and division Towards a segmented Europe? (EuroDiv) The aim of the EuroDiv project is to provide for the sustainability of the European political order, more knowledge on the implications of the and Norway’s role in relation to it. current crisis and on possible ways out of the Sub-projects crisis. EuroDiv consists of four sub-projects, studying About various aspects of differentiation in Europe. Law and democracy investigates the characteristics, scope and What are the implications of the current European implications of the Eurozone crisis and its demo- crisis for democracy and integration in a long-term cratic and constitutional implications. The European perspective? What does it mean that countries both executive order analyses the impact of the crisis on within and outside the EU are integrated to different administrative systems at the EU and national levels. degrees? The assumption of the project Integration Economic development as segmentation studies and division: Towards a segmented Europe? (EuroDiv) is that Europe is moving towards a important changes in the design of the monetary permanent situation characterised by a more union and if these developments contribute to further diversified EU. segmentation. The fourth sub-project studies differ- entiated integration in the domain of foreign, security Objectives and defence policy. EuroDiv aims to establish how the crisis is Activities in 2017 transforming Europe and the implications this has for Norway as a closely associated non-member of the EuroDiv has published widely and organised a EU. Greater differentiation may give rise to particular number of academic events throughout 2017. The patterns of segmentation with profound democratic project has engaged scholars from all over Europe and constitutional implications. EuroDiv seeks to and attracted attention from a wide sector audience. establish how prevalent such segmentation trends EuroDiv organized several interdisciplinary are and whether there are important – democratic – workshops in Oslo, such as a workshop on European countervailing forces. citizenship in light of the refugee crisis (p. 49) and A major objective is therefore to identify what the one on the current internal dynamics in the EU, democratic and constitutional implications are of different models of partnership with the EU and the current patterns of transformation, what they entail future of Norway-EU relations (p. 50). Furthermore, EuroDiv researchers organised and contributed to Research projects 3 The EU financial crisis contributed to a more segmented Europe (Illustration: Colourbox) several panels at the ECPR General Conference in Project coordinator Oslo (pp. 46-47) and presented their research at the Erik O. Eriksen Research Council of Norway (p. 64). EuroDiv’s framework of differentiated integration ARENA project members has become increasingly relevant because of Brexit. Morten Egeberg, John Erik Fossum, Christopher Thus, several EuroDiv researchers have been active Lord, Helene Sjursen and Jarle Trondal (sub-project in the Norwegian and international Brexit debate. coordinators); Jørgen Bølstad, Mai’a K. Davis The project’s research on the EU’s non-members has Cross, Åse Gornitzka, Cathrine Holst, Agustín José proved particularly useful for analysing the possible Menéndez, Asimina Michailidou, Espen D. H. Olsen, options and consequences for the UK after leaving the Johanna Strikwerda and Hans-Jörg Trenz EU. Cooperation Funding Tom Christensen, University of Oslo The Research Council of Norway’s research initiative Hans Otto Frøland, NTNU ‘Europe in Transition’ (EUROPA). Per Lægreid, University of Bergen Project period David Mayes, University of Auckland 1 December 2013–30 November 2018 Hilmar Rommetvedt, IRIS, Stavanger Bent Sofus Tranøy, Hedmark University College More: arena.uio.no/eurodiv 4 Research projects Reconsidering European contributions to global justice (GLOBUS) Since its inception, the EU has proclaimed to these debates by proposing a novel conceptual an ambition to promote justice at the and evaluative scheme delineating three different global level. But what precisely is the EU’s conceptions of global political justice: Justice as non- contribution to global justice? And what dominance, impartiality and mutual recognition. could a just foreign policy look like? Activities in 2017 About GLOBUS has organised a range of events in 2017, including international workshops on migration, GLOBUS is a research project that critically examines climate justice, trade and development, and the the European Union’s contribution to global justice. EU’s contribution to global justice, in Oslo, Bologna, Challenges to global justice are multifaceted and Tübingen and Johannesburg (pp. 44-45 & 52-53). The what is just is contested. Combining normative and project was responsible for a section at the European empirical research, GLOBUS explores underlying International Studies Association (EISA) Conference