T I M E SAutumn 2013 times.eui.eu Governing the ungovernable Guarding the guardians Hitting the debt ceiling
PROFILES OPINIONS EVENTS | ntroduction Welcome to the fourth edition of EUI Times, the quarterly electronic magazine produced by the European University Institute in Florence. In this issue’s feature section we look first at the issue of climate govern- ance, asking how nations respond to climate change, and at the related work being done at the EUI by the Florence School of Regulation and the Global Governance Programme. We also profile the Centre for Me- dia Pluralism and Media Freedom and its activities towards developing a transparent measure of media pluralism. Our final feature is a Q&A with Professor David Levine, giving an economist’s view of the US gov- ernment shut down and debt ceiling negotiations. The EUI Times Profiles feature Brigid Laffan, the new Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, as she embarks on her five year term. We also speak to Ben Hammersley, Robert Schuman Fel- low at the Global Governance Programme, about his work which looks at the threat of terrorism through the prism of public health. Finally we interview Joseph Lacey, researcher in the Department of Political and Social Sciences and Fulbright Scholar at Princeton University, about his work on multilingual democracies. The Opinion section features contributions from two distinguished EUI professors. In light of the revelations about the activities of the US National Security Agency, Professor Martin Scheinin discusses the le- gal boundaries of mass electronic surveillance systems. Professor Hans- peter Kriesi looks back at September’s German general election and its implications for the European Union. We also invite readers to take a look at some key upcoming events, as well as a selection of recent publications by EUI members. As ever your thoughts and comments are welcome and can be sent to [email protected] I hope you enjoy the Autumn 2013 issue of EUI Times.
Stephan Albrechtskirchinger Director, Communications Service T I M E S Autumn 2013
Features Features Features 4 GOVERNING THE 7 GUARDING THE 10 HITTING THE DEBT UNGOVERNABLE GUARDIANS CEILING The Florence School of A talk with the RSCAS' Centre Q&A with economist David Regulation and the Global for Media Pluralism and Levine on the October US Governance Programme talk Media Freedom government shut-down Climate Change Policy Profiles Profiles Profiles 13 Faculty 15 Fellow 17 Researcher A NEW DIRECTOR FOR THE A NON-TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE AND DEMOCRACY ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE ACADEMIC Joseph Lacey Brigid Laffan Ben Hammersley
Opinions Opinions 20 Events 18 ELECTRONIC MASS 19 THE GERMAN ELECTIONS AND 23 Publications SURVEILLANCE VIOLATES EUROPE HUMAN RIGHTS Hanspeter Kriesi Martin Scheinin
T I M E SAutumn 2013
times.eui.eu Governing the ungovernable Guarding the guardians Hitting the debt EUI TIMES European University Institute ceiling Autumn 2013 Badia Fiesolana - Via dei Roccettini, 9 PROFILES 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) - Italy OPINIONS EVENTS Director: Stephan Albrechtskirchinger +39 055 4685266 Editor: Jackie Gordon www.eui.eu Writing: Mark Briggs twitter: @europeanuni Web: Francesco Martino, Raul Pessoa, Federico Gaggero Published in October 2013 Online: times.eui.eu by the European University Institute Email: [email protected] © European University Institute, 2013 on the cover: Terrace, Villa San Felice GOVERNING THE UNGOVERNABLE Features
he challenges posed by climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, as is the ac- When we move to an ceptance of the need to reduce emissions of “ Tgreenhouse gases, notably CO2, to mitigate against environmental problem its worst possible consequences. What remains un- with a global reach, clear however is how to organise a global response to a uniquely global problem. Do the solutions lie in there is no world policy, technology, economics, the life styles of indi- government, so how do vidual citizens, or all of the above? nations, human society, At the EUI, both the Florence School of Regulation and the Global Governance Programme are study- the globe organise ing this problem, working with policy makers to effectively to tackle create and measure effective responses to climate this problem? change. Professor Denny Ellerman and Professor ” Jean-Michel Glachant sat down with the EUI Times to discuss their work and wider context of dealing with climate change. Problems
Climate change is not the first environmental chal- lenge humanity has faced, however it is the first with truly global causes and consequences. “We know that climate is a problem of global dimensions,” says Professor Ellerman, director of the Climate Gov- ernance research strand at the GGP and the FSR's Climate Policy Research Unit. “It is different from a local environment or pollution problem. If we are cleaning up the air in London or Los Angeles, there is a government structure in place to deal with the problem.” “When we move to an environmental problem with a global reach, there is no world government, so how Denny Ellerman
4 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 do nations, human society, the globe organise effec- tively to tackle this problem? Is it through multina- tional agreements, voluntary actions, trading sys- tems? That is the governance question.” The general trend of anthropomorphic generated warming has become accepted in Europe, as is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However the exact level of the required reduction is still dis- puted, making drafting policy difficult says Eller- man: “You’re talking about what will be the situation in 2100. Technology will change, we don’t know what the demographics are, there are continuing issues in the science about the effect increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have on the cli- mate. The direction is all very clear, but the magni- tudes and timing are considerably less so, those are Jean-Michel Glachant areas of disagreement.” With no agreed upon destination and no global “We didn’t go for only this,” adds Glachant, “in 2007 government, policies have become piecemeal, Mrs Merkel got a European Council agreement on aimed at targeting specific problems rather than the ‘20-20-20’ in 2020 target. 20 per cent less emis- the overall picture. sions, 20 per cent renewables in our energy mix, 20 “We have several policies and sets of rules acting in per cent more energy efficiency.” the EU, sometimes they fit together and are co-ordi- Ellerman has a particular focus on the carbon price, nated, sometimes they are not,” bemoans Glachant. and says its success in Europe is causing other coun- Germany has a high percentage of its energy gener- tries to consider implementation. “The carbon prob- ated by renewables, which are less polluting but more lem is made for trading because the location doesn’t expensive. The country than supplements its energy matter. If you reduce the carbon in China it is just as requirements through the burning of cheap coal. effective globally as if it was reduced in Europe.” “It’s totally crazy to spend more than €20bn a year “There is this perception that an absolute limit on on renewables to still burn such an amount of coal. carbon emissions is a limit on growth. I think that Where is the carbon pricing gone?” is a false perception. The evidence is that you can re- move the carbon without really changing lifestyles all that much. It’s going to cost a little more, but life goes Solutions on pretty much the same. Before 2005 a carbon price did not exist in Europe, does Europe look much dif- According to Ellerman: “The EU has done more to ferent eight years later?” implement environmental policy than any other na- Despite Europe being in the grip of a continent-wide tion or set of nations. I would call Europe the world’s recession Ellerman says no serious academic argument climate policy laboratory”. has been made that connects slow economic growth Adding to local flagship environmental policies such with the carbon price, adding that other regions of the as London’s congestion charge, in 2005 a European- world have experienced the same post-2008 economic wide carbon price was established. The price, the first problems despite not having a carbon price. significant price on GHG emissions in the world, “The system is reliant on creating a scarcity to turn fluctuates with economic activity, among other carbon emission into a commodity, and it has done so things, such as weather and relative fuel prices. throughout the European Union despite the consid-
5 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 erable differences in per capita GDP among member states. One of the more interesting features of the EU The problems in ETS is the shift to significant auctioning that starts policy“ development this year. About 60 per cent of the allowances are auctioned, and the revenues are kept by the member lie in the politics state governments. One of the issues we will be look- not in the underlying ing at in the future is what governments will do with scientific reality. this. Although the revenue is small relative to total ” government revenue streams, member states facing debt crises will likely welcome these extra revenues. There will be 28 experiments about what countries “The problems in policy development lie in the poli- do with the revenue.” tics not in the underlying scientific reality,” states Ellerman. “We should not expect scientific knowl- edge alone to solve political problems. The climate Looking forward policy debate is stalled in some countries because of a stand-off between the so-called climate deniers “Climate change is a long term issue,” says Glachant, on one hand, and on the other, what might be called “It affects all human beings. In the EU we are not the climate catastrophists cum social utopians who see ones who are going to suffer the max of it.” Glachant is climate change as a compelling justification for dra- confident the EU will meet its self-imposed 20-20-20 matic societal changes.” targets, however he is unconvinced about the effect Ellerman suggests that even though climate is a glob- that an isolated EU policy ultimately has on global al problem, the solution may not require every single climate: “Today Europe is already small on the pol- nation. “We don’t need all 190 nations to be part of luting side, and we are becoming smaller and smaller the agreement. Most of the emissions are from may- every year. We cannot reduce pollution by ourselves be 20 countries, that’s all you need for an effective at the world level. In 30 years we will be 7 per cent of coalition to limit emissions.” the world population, Africa will be 24 per cent. If “The challenge is how to organise to preserve a global they catch up with the quality of life in Europe [our public good? If the nations of the world can create an own targets] will not have a decisive importance.” effective global system to limit and regulate green- “What we are doing in Europe is not going to unilat- house gas emissions, humans will have succeeded erally change the game. Many others need to follow in overcoming the greatest environmental challenge or to replicate. However, ethically the EU position that has faced the species.” has value.” Last month the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Denny Ellerman is Director of the Loyola de Palacio's Change unveiled its latest report. Despite its declara- Climate Change Policy Research Unit, and directs the Global Governance Programme's research strand on Climate tion that climate change is 95 per cent likely to be Governance, at the EUI's Robert Schuman Centre for caused by human activity, the report garnered less at- Advanced Studies. He comes to the EUI from MIT's Sloane tention than its predecessor in 2007. School of Management and has advised on energy issues for “I am very sympathetic (to the IPCC) they do exactly both the US government and the private sector. what they should do, they do not make any decision, Jean-Michel Glachant is Director of the Loyola de Palacio but they say the facts, they also acknowledge that Energy Policy Programme and the Florence School of they can be wrong in this or they can be right in Regulation at the EUI's Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. He is scientific coordinator and/or partner in numerous that, science is science but truth is never 100 per cent international research projects, and advises on regulation policy true,” says Glachant. on both national and international/European levels.
6 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 GUARDING THE GUARDIANS Features
Started in December 2011 the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) provides an independent research observatory on the situation of pluralism and freedom in the media landscapes of EU member states. Co-financed by the Euro- pean Commission, and headed by Professor Pier Luigi Parcu, the project seeks collaboration across academic disciplines, with media professionals and policy makers. As explained in the CMPF’s latest report, “Media freedom and pluralism are both a result and a guar- antee of efficient and legitimate democratic rule.” However unlike other pillars of democracy the me- dia doesn’t benefit from specific EU legislation aimed Pier Luigi at defending it. Parcu “It was an issue before the union was born, so it’s an comes partly a European problem. The Commission issue usually dealt with in the constitutions of the is wondering what to do, can it do something? The member states, making it politically sensitive at a na- first step to decide what to do is to understand.” tional level” explains Professor Parcu. “However, the “The purpose of the Centre is to provide an entity European Commission cannot accept that one of its that can observe, interpret, and make recommen- member states has problems of freedom or plural- dations without direct involvement of European ism. If there is a problem in the member states it be- institutions.” Media freedom and pluralism“ are both a result and a guarantee of efficient and legitimate democratic Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom rule.”
7 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 A working definition of a “journalist” is more than Who or what is a just a theoretical exercise. It has consequences for issues including libel and the protection of sources. journalist today? Should the same laws apply to every Wordpress or Tumblr blogger as to accredited journalists at the When assessing the media, the issues surrounding Guardian or the New York Times? its practitioners cannot be ignored. The debate over “The CMPF is studying how journalists are safe- who actually counts as a journalist has become in- guarded in Europe and what is the definition of creasingly important as the industry grapples with “journalist” nowadays. Some people say that jour- the advance of online news. Gone are the days when nalists do not exist, but journalism does,” says Brogi. a journalist was anyone with a press card in their cap According to Professor Dirk Voorhoof, an expert in and a newspaper editor waiting to print their article. media law from Ghent University who teaches at the In recent years the activities of the “Fifth Estate” CMPF summer school, rulings from the European have grabbed headlines around the world, with its Court of Human Rights on the protection of sources cast of characters including Chelsea Manning, Ju- suggest that claim may have a legal grounding: “The lian Assange and Edward Snowden. The Arab Spring definition in case law is suitably broad. It’s about showed the increasing importance citizen journalists bringing information on a regular basis to the public. play in covering events, with mainstream media or- It’s not a profession, but a function.” ganisations turning to them for content their jour- nalists were unable to obtain. “The issue of Wikileaks demonstrates that the in- Pluralism and terpretation of journalists is useful,” says Elda Bro- gi, scientific coordinator at the CMPF. “The citizen ownership journalists, caught in the middle of the Arab Spring, are more of a journalist than Assange, because they It is not just the role of the individual that the Centre ex- are choosing what they want to publish rather than amines, but also the environment in which they oper- just supplying everything they have.” ate. A free and varied media helps create a public sphere Some security professionals and MPs in the UK have where different information and views facilitate dis- called for the Guardian newspaper to be prosecuted course, and ultimately lead to an informed electorate. after involvement in the publications of Wikileaks “Pluralism means the media environment is diverse and the Snowden revelations: “These are important in order to let people decide according to different themes in media freedom, have always been there sources of information,” Brogi stresses. “If there is no and will not go away because of the internet. The free circulation of ideas, just the broadcast of one set permanent ability of media to print given informa- of views, it is very difficult for the ordinary citizen tion and protect their sources,” says Parcu, “will re- to understand what is happening and to form their main fundamental even in a digital environment.” own idea about what is going on, especially of the political reality.” Pluralism means the However specific definitions and measurements of plu- media“ environment is rality are notoriously difficult to pin down: “One level is economic, ownership for example, and this you can diverse in order to let measure,” explains Parcu. “The other area is content, people decide according and this is more difficult, but there are instruments that to different sources of allow you to interpret how much freedom there is. As information. long as you’re transparent and can be criticized, you put ” the debate on a more objective platform.”
8 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 In the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal in the UK a wider debate is taking place about media ethics Future of the and pluralism. There have been numerous attempts to suggest a legally mandated level of plurality in Centre terms of ownership. However these appear likely to In addition to the research, seminars and Summer be rejected as it proves easier to define what is too School undertaken over the last year, the Centre will little plurality, rather than what is enough. be involved from September 2013 to August 2014 “I don’t know if it is a question of best practices,” in the test-implementation of the “media pluralism suggests Parcu. It may rather be “a question of the monitor”. The tool has been developed in 2009 by a best indicators. If the indicators are transparent, eas- group of universities and research institutions, led by ily measureable and open to discussion, then it be- the University of Leuven. comes easier to positively contribute to the debate The European Commission awarded a grant to the and achieve good results.” CMPF to test and pilot-implement the tool for the first time, to measure pluralism in an objective and New Media neutral way in nine countries across the EU. The monitoring tool will be updated to make it easier to As with all aspects of the media, technology is posing use and to place greater emphasis on the role of the its own challenges when it comes to plurality. While internet. on the one hand the internet gives access to an ex- “We have studied European competencies, what Eu- tremely plural environment, on the other hand, with rope can do and where it could do more” says Parcu. the myriad of voices now present, there is an increas- “The next phase is the monitoring. The Commission ing percentage of people who unconsciously filter wants the media monitor to be implemented by ac- their news through social media networks. “There tors who are not politically involved.” is an observable phenomena called ‘The Bubble Ef- The CMPF is currently studying the LeoWestern Meeus Bal- fect’,” explains Brogi, “You feel like you are open to all kans and will present a report on the current state views, but you aren’t.” of media freedom and plurality, and will report to Indeed, most people select their social media con- the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human tacts for reasons other than maintaining media plu- Rights in November. rality. The result is individuals are only exposed to For more information the Centre maintains a blog, articles and news items which reaffirm already held pulling in content regarding plurality and media views rather than challenging them. freedom from around the web. According to Brogi, more noticeable questions are being asked about the responsibilities of such servic- Pier Luigi Parcu is Director of the Communications & Media es and, in general, Internet intermediaries: “Do they Area of the Florence School of Regulation and Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom at the EUI's have an editorial control on the content they display, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. He is a specialist do they have a responsibility? Do we have to think of in antitrust and regulatory issues of network industries. specific new rules for such services on the internet?”
9 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 HITTING THE DEBT CEILING Features
tured as well: we had various claims by Treasury about catastrophe if the debt limit were not raised in time. However, if the limit had not been raised, Treasury - and the Federal Reserve Bank, along with the IMF and other central banks around the world - would have done everything they could to mitigate the impact. Default in the technical sense only occurs if bond-holders demand pay- ©US Congress; © trekandshoot 2013 ment and payment is not made. So, for example, if the Federal Reserve Bank were to buy all maturing bonds and hold them for future payment without demanding payment, there would be no default. I think we may expect to see further posturing when the new deadlines are approached. Is this a unique phenomenon to the United States? After weeks of negotiation and rhetoric the US Default by governments of various types is common. Congress agreed on a deal to re-open the federal Greece, for example, defaulted on its debt - for the government and raise the debt ceiling, removing very good reason that it was unable to pay. The state the threat of the US defaulting on its loans. How- of California had a political situation very similar to ever, with the deal only intended as a short term fix the one now playing out on a larger stage - two politi- EUI Times speaks to American economist and Pro- cal parties unable to agree on a budget. It routinely fessor in Microeconomics at the EUI, David Levine “defaulted” every summer for many years - furlough- about the causes and consequences of recent events ing employees, and paying them with IOUs instead on Capitol Hill. of cash and so forth. It did not default on its bonds. In view of the US Government shut down and Belgium managed to go without any legal govern- the challenge to further raise the US gov- ment for nearly two years without anyone taking ernment debt ceiling, how does an economist great notice of it either inside or outside of Belgium. judge the political situation? What exactly would it have meant for the US There was a great deal of posturing on both sides. to default on its loans? The Republicans have been highly disorganized There is no chance that the US will default on any and have fought among themselves unable to agree substantial proportion of its loans – either now, or in on even what they might want. The Executive pos- February when the debt limit will again be an issue.
10 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 What is at issue are particular loans that are to be redeemed at a particular time - a very small part of US debts. Moreover, as debt is retired, Treasury can legally issue new debt, so that only the interest pay- ments on short terms bonds are in question. Treas- ury might or might not choose to prioritise those payments over other payments, so may or may not choose to default. The bond-holders (including the Federal Reserve Bank) might or might not choose to demand repayment. Are there different stages of default? Default is not a single thing. In the end it amounts to not paying your bills. The state of “default” is a com- plicated one legally, with Congress telling the Execu- tive on the one hand: “you must spend money,” and David Levine on the other “you may not borrow,” both within its legal rights, and the Executive on the other hand say- have a great deal of incentive to mitigate any ill-ef- ing: “it is impossible to spend the money you have fects of a default, technical or otherwise. Obviously ordered us to without borrowing.” The Executive central bankers and ordinary bankers did not like then faces the question of which Congressional man- the possibility because they would have had to rush date to violate. around dealing with all the legal technicalities. Bear Payments to numerous people and businesses in- in mind that the world is a big place and the US a cluding public employees and private firms with large country, so even a very small effect in percent- government contracts were defaulted on for several age terms means real pain to a very large number of weeks prior to the current agreement. real people. What were the likely short-term, and long- Will the possibility of future default af- term consequences? fect market confidence in the US? Do the If an agreement had not been reached, the conse- dollar and US government bonds remain a re- quences in both the short-term and long-term would liable investment? have been likely to be mild for both the US and world There was some impact on the term-structure of in- economies. Given that there is no long-term issue in terest rates for bonds maturing immediately at or af- getting paid, most interested parties, including gov- ter October 17. There were fluctuations in the stock ernments and central banks throughout the world market that some attribute to news about progress or
11 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 non-progress on the debt limit, but there are always reason for the brinksmanship over default, and this fluctuations in the stock market, and who can say if political problem will also not go away (it lasted for congressional negotiations have anything to do with decades in California) so that can has been kicked it. Basically, for all the talk, those actively buying and down the road too. selling in markets have not seemed too concerned Where there any economic/political winners about the possibility of default except for some mi- from this? nor short-term unpleasantness. Of course, they may Mostly losers, especially the Republicans. (One might have been confident that an agreement would be argue that the Republicans’ loss is the Democrats’ reached in time. gain, but the general harm has probably exceeded the For the longer term - California continued to issue short-term political gain for the Democrats). It may bonds and people bought them because - despite the be true that the government requires us to go through various political fighting - they thought the state had unnecessary and onerous procedures to open a busi- a strong economy and would be able to repay. Po- ness, buy a house, or whatever. But a shutdown that litical fighting in Congress doesn’t have much effect leaves intact the laws that say we need government on the long-term prospects of the US economy, so is approval for these things, but closes down the offices unlikely to change people’s views of it. that give the approval, is not likely to be popular. A Will the events of the last weeks strengthen lot of Republicans dislike big government and are markets in other countries now seen as a visibly gleeful at the closure and prospect of default. safer bet than a few weeks ago? Unfortunately all those people who use government Other countries have been eager to replace the US services and can’t get them aren’t going to say “but dollar and US bonds as a reserve currency for dec- someday if this keeps up and also a whole bunch of ades now, but with only limited success. Whatever laws get changed, the private sector will take over and the uncertainties about the dollar, nobody is propos- things will be much better.” Rather they are likely to ing that the United States should split up with differ- conclude that the government officials responsible ent states adopting their own currencies - as is the are jerks, and those officials gleefully going around case with the Euro. At the end of the day, investors saying “close ‘er down” are likely to be singled out for must ask themselves which is more likely: the US blame. As they seem to have been. Government never gets around to paying its bills, or Germany gets sick of propping up the Southern part David Levine is Professor of Microeconomics at the EUI, and of the EU, and withdraws from the Euro, leaving Italy holds a Joint Chair in the Economics Department and the and Spain to follow Greece into default? Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. He is on leave as John H. Biggs Distinguished Professor of Economics at Is this a situation that is likely to re- Washington University in St. Louis. occur? There are two problems - a long term fiscal problem that current commitments to future expenditures and current plans for future tax revenues lead over a very long period to eventual insolvency. Nobody on either side of the political divide has proposed to do anything about this problem, so no doubt that will continue to get kicked down the road - as it is and has been in virtually every country in the world. There is also a short-term political problem that the Republicans would like to cut many programs, but cannot agree either with each other or with the Democrats about which programs to cut. This is the
12 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 Faculty A new director for the Profiles RSCAS
Brigid Laffan has taken over as the new Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. At the beginning of her five year term Professor Laffan talks to the EUI Times about what she hopes to achieve during her time in Florence. “The Robert Schuman Centre is in my view an essential pillar of the EUI; it is the external face of the Institute for a lot of stake- holders- European Institutions, governments, and regulators. Europe is in a deep crisis and we are at a time of big changes. The attraction of developing and promoting an intellectual agenda on the European Union and Eu- rope’s place in the world is an op- portunity that I relish.” Established in 1992, the Robert Schuman Centre engages in re- search on a wide variety of top- ics, notably regulation, migration, economic and monetary union, Brigid Laffan EU democracy, and global gov- ernance. It focuses not only on disciplines, a bridge between the political science, Laffan has since issues of academic interest, but Institute and the outside world. It’s then gone on to be a Jean Mon- also undertakes applied policy re- a bridge between basic research net Professor at University Col- search relevant to decisions being and applied policy research. That’s lege Dublin (UCD) where she was made in Brussels. its great strength.” founding director of the Dublin “The Schuman Centre in my view After first coming to the EUI in European Institute (DEI), before is a bridge; it’s a bridge between 1981 to attend a summer school in becoming UCD vice-president in
13 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 A key question“ is [...] to what extent Europe is now a shaper of global dynamics or a taker?”
ensure the centre maintains its policy relevance, Laffan intends to sharpen the focus of the centre, and has identified three broad re- search themes that will form the basis of the centre’s work. These themes are integration, gov- ernance and democracy; regulat- ing markets and governing mon- ey; and 21st century world politics and Europe. “A key question is whether, the RSCAS - Convento EU is capable of being strategic 2005. In 2012 she won the THE- groups and European democracy in the world or to put it anoth- SEUS Award for Outstanding Re- of the crisis, and ask if I am content er way, to what extent Europe is search on European Integration. with what I see? The answer is no.” now a shaper of global dynamics “I would not describe myself as a Laffan is adamant the Schuman or a taker?” Europhile. I would describe my- Centre is a resource for Europe’s Closer to home Laffan hopes to self as a political scientist who political, administrative and build on the previous successes works on Europe and the Euro- regulatory policy makers as they of the Robert Schuman Centre to pean Union,” says Laffan. “If you grapple with the consequences of create a scholarly community fo- ask me ‘on balance do I think the deepening integration at a time cused on conducting both basic broad trajectory of European in- of economic difficulty. Laffan be- and applied research to the high- tegration has been good for this lieves the future of the EU will be est standard, while continuing part of the world?’ I would say yes’. defined by the dynamics that play the Centre’s tradition of executive “If you ask me, on the other hand, out as a result of the economic cri- training and policy relevance. to consider what’s happening in sis, defining what type of Europe “If I achieve these things, then the Union today and the cost and will emerge and how it will inter- I will be pretty happy when my consequences for different social act with the outside world. To help time here comes to an end.”
14 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 Fellow A non-traditional Profiles academic
Ben Hammersley is a Robert Schuman Fellow with the Global Governance Programme. He is currently working on a paper reframing responses to terrorism through the lens of public health. “Wherever you are in the world that has had a spate of terrorism, there have been noticeable counter terrorism measures that have an effect on the entire populace,” he explains. “If you look at terrorism as a public health issue, it leads you into interesting ways of combating it that don’t do as much harm as if you view terrorism as a massive existential threat.” Ben Hammersley Hammersley’s work uses parameters used in the UK Prime Minister, while coining even 10 years before, aside from pharmaceutical industry to the term “podcasting” in an article this. It would be nuts to make evaluate the costs and benefits to in 2004. His current roles include plans further in advance than the public of counter-terrorism editor at large of the UK edition about two years.” techniques. For example, one of Wired magazine, Innovator- Before taking up his fellowship can weigh up the inconvenience in-Residence at Goldsmiths with the EUI, Hammersley worked caused from being asked to remove University, and non-residential alongside former EUI professor your shoes before air travel, as fellow at the Brooking Institute. Miguel Maduro as a member of opposed to the likelihood of the “I try to work on two things at the European Commission’s High practice foiling a terrorist plot. the same time, I find they tend to Level Expert Group on Media A “purposefully eclectic” career feed off each other, sometimes in Freedom, and previously visited has seen him write for The Times unexpected ways.” the EUI to consult with Professor and The Guardian, be banned from “In all the fields that I work in, Parcu of the Centre for Media Burma for interviewing Ann San they are all very fast moving. Freedom and Plurality. Suu Kyi, and serve as ambassador Nothing I have ever done in my “In any organisation you need to Tech City in East London for the career is something that existed your hedgehogs and you need
15 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 administrated to which patients in Europe. The Schuman fellowship In any the UK’s National Health Service is an amazing gift. The location, “ take into account the drug’s the atmosphere is completely organisation effectiveness and cost, but also the unique. I’m not a traditional you need your patients’ quality of life, and age. academic. I don’t have any “If you treat terrorism as a public academic qualifications at all. I’ve hedgehogs health matter, it allows you to have certainly given more classes and and you need a similar conversation.” lectures in universities than I ever Invariably, when asked about attended as a student. To have your foxes, particular measures, security that connection with the EUI the value I services respond that if such afterwards is deeply powerful.” practices weren’t in place lives can bring would be lost. Hammersley is to come suggests we consider other areas where an accepted level of risk in and draw is weighed against convenience, parallels. such as road travel, which, for ” example, causes 20,000 deaths a year in the US. “What’s worse, an ‘X’ number your foxes, the value I can bring of people dying from terrorism is to come in and draw parallels.” versus everyone being His current work does exactly inconvenienced? The amount of that, exploring how cost- intellectual currency that has been benefit analysis used in the dedicated to terrorism is more of a pharmaceutical industry can cost than the terrorism.” be used to measure counter- Hammersley will be at the EUI terrorism practices and thus for the rest of the semester and decide whether such practices are regards the Institute as the ideal in the public interest. location for his current work: The NICE guidelines which are “For the political theory that I used to decide which drugs are do it is certainly the best place in
16 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 Researcher Language and democracy Profiles
Joseph Lacey is a vere nationalistically charged politi- high hopes. Though I got the im- researcher in the cal divisions in Europe, but Belgium pression that having some publica- Department of was also suffering its own internal tions in hand helped to strengthen Political and So- problems as nationalistic tensions my c a s e .” cial Science, and between Flemish and Walloons pre- While the quality of academic life is spending the vented the formation of a federal and the beautiful surroundings are 2013/14 academic year at Princeton government for well over a year.” qualities both institutions have in University on a Fulbright Fellowship. His background in philosophy has a common Lacey has noticed a few His work explores democratic legiti- notable effect on how Lacey conducts differences to the EUI. “Of course, macy in multilingual federal states his research, as he prefers to start the accents are a bit more homo- and sits at the crossroads between from a firm theoretical base before geneous at Princeton. Also, in US democratic theory, EU studies and beginning his empirical research: universities PhD candidates are still comparative politics. “Many go the other way, but I have considered (both by themselves and While salient for the troubles facing found that the more well worked out their professors) to be ‘students’. At the EU, Lacey’s work is also appli- the problem is in abstraction the eas- the EUI, there is a feeling that PhD cable to nation states such as Swit- ier it is to make sense of cases when candidates have a more collegial sta- zerland and Belgium where large they are tackled.” tus which seems to be deliberately proportions of the electorate speak “The most exciting part for me is promoted by the use of the word different languages and share differ- when theory meets political real- ‘researcher rather than student.’” ent cultures. “I’m interested in the ity. It’s very satisfying when you find While at Princeton, Lacey will con- question of whether or not democ- your theoretical work has explanato- sult with faculty and take advantage racy can satisfactorily work in multi- ry power when applied to actual cas- of graduate seminars at the Univer- national political systems,” explains es. But what’s most interesting (and sity Center for Human Values and at Lacey. “Especially when the issue of sometimes frustrating) are the times the European Union Program. multilingualism is thrown in.” when the theory must be revised, de- On his return to Florence, Lacey Before coming to the EUI, Lacey veloped, or even abandoned because hopes to arrange a workshop on spent time as an MPhil researcher at it’s not doing the explanatory work multi-national democracy before KU Leuven, which helped crystallise that good theory should.” turning his attention to post-doctor- his research field: “Living in Belgium Lacey was notified of his Fulbright al deadlines, as he looks to develop a during 2010/2011 was an interesting award in April. “I was pretty sur- career in academia: “I have a strong time. Not only was Brussels at the prised when I got the e-mail. My in- interest in continuing to do research. institutional heart of the on-going terview, I thought, could have gone But I enjoy teaching and would like Euro-crisis that provoked pretty se- a lot better and so I didn’t have very to make it part of my future.”
17 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 ELECTRONIC MASS SURVEILLANCE VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS Opinions
As the public When I was UN Special Rapporteur must be consistent with the other d e b a t e on human rights and counter- rights guaranteed in the Covenant. continues terrorism (2005-2011), I produced The application of this test about the a report presenting an analytically concludes the electronic mass electronic rigorous test for permissible surveillance engaged in by the US, surveillance limitations upon privacy rights, divulged by Edward Snowden, and by national governments, it is including data protection. It to a certain extent confirmed by US becoming increasingly clear that the includes the following conditions to authorities, did result in breaches of US broke the law. determine whether an interference the legal obligations of the United Many of the technical details with privacy rights is justified, or States under ICCPR Article 17. This about programmes used by the whether it amounts to a violation assessment follows independently US government for the collection of the ICCPR, The conditions are from multiple grounds, as most of communications data remain that (a) Any restrictions must be of the NSA’s mass surveillance unknown. Nevertheless, the provided by the law; (b) The essence programmes fail to comply with Snowden revelations make it obvious of a human right is not subject to several separate elements of the the US has been involved in activities restrictions; (c) Restrictions must be permissible limitations test. in violation of its legally binding necessary in a democratic society; A detailed assessment of the obligations under the International (d) Any discretion exercised when additional programmes within Covenant on Civil and Political implementing the restrictions the NSA mass surveillance Rights, of which the US is a party. must not be unfettered; (e) For a architecture will require more work The central privacy provision in restriction to be permissible, it is (and possibly more revelations). the ICCPR is brief, and fails to fully not enough that it serves one of SURVEILLE, the EU funded articulate permissible limitations. the enumerated legitimate aims; project we run at the EUI, seeks to However, Article 17 explicitly it must be necessary for reaching assess surveillance technologies for prohibits “arbitrary or unlawful the legitimate aim; (f) Restrictive their technological usability, ethical interference” with anyone’s privacy measures must conform to the implications, and intrusiveness or correspondence. It establishes principle of proportionality; they upon fundamental rights. The hope a positive obligation for states to must be appropriate to achieve is that in the future the discourse in create a legal framework for the their protective function; they must this area will be able to move away effective protection of privacy rights be the least intrusive instrument from abstract ‘balancing’ to more against interference or attacks, amongst those which might achieve rigorous assessment. irrespective of whether they come the desired result; and they must be from the state itself, foreign states, proportionate to the interest to be or private actors. protected; and (g) Any restrictions
Martin Scheinin is Professor of International Law and Human Rights. From 1997 until 2004 he was a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and in 2005 was appointed the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, a position of trust he held until 2011.
18 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 THE GERMAN ELECTIONS AND EUROPE Opinions
No experi- policies such as the family policy, or Angela. They waited for her to fight ments – this energy policy after the government her election campaign. Now they was the slogan had abandoned nuclear energy and must wait for her to form a coalition’. of the CDU adopted the ‘Energiewende’, but also It is unlikely that she will change her under Kon- the way to deal with the Eurocrisis. prudent approach to the Eurocri- rad Adenauer Europe did not play a role in the elec- sis. She is unlikely to become any in the 1950s, and this still seems to tions, because the positions of the less insistent on fiscal discipline and have been the winning formula in CDU, SPD and the Greens on the greater competitiveness in the Euro- the German elections this fall. The European debt crisis were so similar. zone. The Economist believes that incumbent chancellor won in a big The implications of the election re- Mrs. Merkel will be keener than ever way. The voters seemed to appreci- sult for Europe depend on the out- to protect German taxpayers not just ate the prudent incrementalism she come of the coalition formation because the voters demand it, but stands for; her lack of vision did cer- which may still take some time. Al- also because the challenge of the Al- tainly not work against her. The Ger- though the CDU and Angela Merkel ternative for Germany came close to mans, apparently, can live very well triumphed, the election outcome obtain representation in the Bunde- without a daring pitch. Given that makes coalition formation very dif- stag. Alternatively, one might argue the German economy is humming ficult. An exceptionally large num- that the Alternative for Germany along, the voters were not in the ber of votes were wasted since two mostly took votes from the FDP and mood for a change. The campaign parties narrowly failed to gain rep- does not constitute a direct threat was utterly boring, big issues were resentation in parliament due to to the CDU, and that a grand coali- conspicuously absent. The CDU the 5 percent threshold: the CDU’s tion, the most likely outcome of the won with the smiling image of the preferred coalition partner (FDP) coalition formation, might actually Chancellor, whose understatement and the Alternative for Germany, the be promising for Germany’s leader- and common sense won the sym- Eurosceptic upstart that did well for ship role in Europe. The formation pathy of the voters. With respect to a brand new party, but did not quite of a grand coalition would give the the key issues, an unexpressed agree- make it. Three parties from the left government a two-thirds majority ment has existed between the two actually got a majority of the votes, allowing it to change the constitution camps in the Bundestag for some and it is only due to the refusal of the and to impose far-reaching decisions time, given that the CDU under SPD and the Greens to form a coali- making for institutional integration Merkel had moved considerably to tion with the Linke that the CDU is in Europe – a way out of the Euro- the left in the course of the last legis- going to lead the next government crisis. lature. This unexpressed agreement once more. As the Economist put it, not only characterized domestic ‘around Europe they sit and wait for
Hanspeter Kriesi holds the Stein Rokkan Chair of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political and Social Science at the EUI. He has been a visiting professor at Cornell University (1994-95) and at the WZB- Berlin (2000-2001). At the University of Zurich, he has directed the Centre for Comparative and International Studies (2002-2005), and the Swiss National Competence Centre for Research on Democracy (2005-2012).
19 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 Events
6TH CHINESE IN PRATO THE URSULA HIRSCHMANN & 4TH WENZHOUESE ANNUAL LECTURE ON 29-30 5 DIASPORA SYMPOSIA ON GENDER AND EUROPE OCTOBER NOVEMBER CHINESE MIGRATION, 2013 2013 Bodies Covered and Exposed: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND Feminist Reflections on '’Choice’’ DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEW in the 21st Century GLOBAL ECONOMY Professor Leora Auslander The RSCAS' Migration Policy (University of Chicago) Centre (MPC) is collaborating will deliver the 2013 Ursula with Monash University Prato Hirschmann Annual Lecture on Centre, PIN University of Gender and Europe, discussing Florence, and the Business School the choices women face about of Wenzhou University to organise the 6th Chinese their bodies in public spaces, and how the debate in Prato & 4th Wenzhouese Diaspora Symposia, has progressed since the 1970s. which will take place in Prato, Italy, near Florence. The Lecture series is named in honour of Ursula This year the theme of the conference is Chinese Hirschmann, who created the group Femmes pour migration, entrepreneurship and development in l'Europe in Brussels in 1975 as a space to reflect on, the new global economy. critique and contribute to the contemporary debate The MPC will be presenting several papers written on the construction of Europe. The lecture series within the framework of its pilot project 'Chinese aims to promote an understanding of the linkages migration and economic relations with Europe'. between gender and European issues, as well as an idea of Europe which recognises differences, including that of gender. The Ursula Hirschmann Lecture series is organised by the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and the Departments of History and Civilization.
20 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 Events
MAX WEBER LECTURE ACADEMY OF GLOBAL 27 2-4 GOVERNANCE EXECUTIVE NOVEMBER DECEMBER TRAINING SEMINAR 2013 Quo vadis Europe? Banks, 2013 European Union and Global Sovereigns and the Crisis Governance
Professor Martin Hellwig (Max The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies' Planck Institute for Research Academy of Global Governance offers an executive on Collective Goods) will training seminar on the role of the EU on the global examine why Europe has found stage, discussing the issues of national identity it so difficult to deal with the and how the EU fits into the existing structures of so-called "euro crisis”, looking at multilateral organisations such as the UN, WTO and the weaknesses in the available IMF. governance mechanisms and the inadequacy of The scientific coordinator of this seminar is Professor national and supranational discourse to address the Nuno Severiano Teixeira (New University of Lisbon), complex crises. Professor Hellwig will also discuss former national defence minister of Portugal and the role of banking union in the reform of European EUI alumnus. governance, and the political issues associated with it. Participation by application only The monthly Max Weber Lectures are given by Application Deadline: 10 November 2013 distinguished scholars from the four fields of Economics, History, Law and Political and Social Apply online Sciences. The series is coordinated and planned by the Max Weber Programme.
Register online
21 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 PHD RECRUITMENT ROADSHOWS Events
The EUI is going on the road with GENEVA 31 October a new recruiting initiative. DUBLIN 4 November EUI faculty and/ or researchers will LONDON 6 November be on hand in the listed cities to answer questions TURKU 11 November from prospective applicants to the ZURICH 15 November PhD programmes. For more VIENNA 15 November information, including specific 19 November times and locations, GLASGOW please write to the EUI Communications EDINBURGH 20 November Service at [email protected] TARTU 20 November
Application deadline 2 December for 2014/15 HELSINKI academic year: 31 January 2014
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22 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 Publications
Religious Conversions in the Mediterranean World “One of our colleagues studied the phenomena of black Olivier Roy and Nadia Marzouki French citizens self-converting to Judaism. This has Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 consequences for Israel, how do they define what is a Jew, how do they define who has the right to check con- EUI Professor Olivier Roy and Nadia Marzouki have versions? Even if there is a relatively small number of edited a book exploring the social and political impacts converts to a religion, it has an impact.” of religious conversions in the Mediterranean world. In Tunisia, their consensus is they are a Muslim society. “What we consider a new phenomena is religious con- In this context eating during Ramadan can, and is, seen versations that are both massive, and individual. It is not as a disturbance to public order. However there is an local populations coming into a religion, but a collec- increasingly large community of evangelical, ethically tion of individuals who choose for themselves a differ- Arab Christians, who see no reason not to be allowed to ent religious affiliation. It is now reaching a quantitative eat during Ramadan. In these cases, how should the law, threshold,” explains Roy. which is partly based on Sharia, treat Christians? These conversions, says Roy, pose questions not only In Europe the converts are readdressing the way dif- for the converted, but increasingly for the societies in fering religions are seen in the context of an individual which they live, breaking the established consensus be- country: “In Germany you can be protestant, Catholic tween religion, the state, and nationality. or perhaps Jewish, but Muslims are viewed as foreign, Conversions can pose problems for employers who but converts can be white German.” have to quickly adapt to new religious behavior, it can The book, which comes out of a conference which took also cause problems in courts as converts are often less place three years ago at the EUI, also looks at the phe- willing to accept traditional compromises such as the nomena such as Turkish Muslim women who vener- separation between church and state. According to Roy, ate the Virgin Mary and the growth of Mormonism in such converts are causing states around the world to France. The work fits into the framework of the -Eu rethink what religion is and what freedom of religion ropean Research Council-funded ReligioWest project is: “When you have a convert, they want the real thing. at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, They are not interested in traditional compromises.” which studies how states are redefining their relation- ships to religion.
23 EUI TIMES | Spring 2013 Publications
Democracy: An Ongoing Challenge to democracy in megacities and the democracy of NCCR Democracy, Hanspeter Kriesi, Lars Müller (eds) democracies. Brief citations and classic statements Zürich, Lars Müller Publishers 2013 from some of democracy’s heroes illustrate the gen- eral argument. Democracy: An Ongoing Challenge: This is a ‘vis- In addition to the mosaic of texts, Democracy: An ual reader’, an illustrated textbook for the public at Ongoing Challenge builds on the power of images. large. It presents the ongoing challenge of democ- Individual images as well as galleries of pictures racy from a variety of perspectives, making clear bring seemingly abstract concepts like democratisa- that democracy is not a state that can be reached tion, globalisation, and internationalization to life. once and for all but instead requires dialogue and As addressed here, democracy is not just an abstrac- confrontation, time and time again, posing an en- tion. It is shown in its many and varied dimensions: during challenge both for those who are governed as a utopia, as a challenge, as normalcy. The photos of and those who govern. Nelson Mandela as president and images of the fall of This volume follows the long road to democracy as the Berlin Wall illustrate how once-utopian notions we know it today. It discusses what ‘rule by the peo- have become reality. ple’ means, shows the variety of ways people rule, it introduces the preconditions for democracy and as- sesses its performance, uncovers traditional forms of participation, moves to the smaller scale of de- mocracy in everyday life, points to the challenge of mediatization and globalization, and asks whether democracy is on the right track or whether we are moving toward post-democracy. The text is present- ed in a combination of topical chapters and shorter texts devoted to case studies and special issues rang- ing from the question of whether small is beautiful
24 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 SELECTED EUI BOOKS cadmus.eui.euP ublications
Cole, David; Fabbrini, Federico; Brisku, Adrian. Vedaschi, Arianna. Bittersweet Burke, Ciarán. Secrecy, national Europe : Albanian An equitable security and the and Georgian framework for vindication of discourses on humanitarian constitutional law Europe, 1878-2008 intervention (Edward Elgar, (Berghan, 2013) (Hart, 2013) 2013)
Francioni, Geary, Michael Francesco ; J. Enlarging the Gordley, James. European Union Lixinski, Lucas. Enforcing : the Commission Intangible cultural international seeking influence, heritage in cultural heritage 1961-1973 international law law (Oxford U (Palgrave (Oxford U Press, Press, 2013) Macmillan, 2013) 2013)
Pérez-García, Millet, François- Manuel. Xavier. L’Union Vicarious européenne consumers : trans- et l’identité national meetings Mair, Peter. constitutionnelle between the West Ruling the void: des États membres and East in the the hollowing of (Lextenso editions Mediterranean western democracy et Karine Roudier, world (1730–1808) (Verso, 2013) 2013) (Ashgate, 2013)
Radi, Yannick. La Triandafyllidou, standardisation Anna; Gropas, et le droit Ruby; Kouki, international : Hara. The contours d’une Rose, Richard. Greek crisis théorie dialectique Representing and European de la formation du Europeans : a modernity droit (Bruylant, pragmatic approach (Palgrave 2013) (Oxford, 2013) Macmillan, 2013)
25 EUI TIMES | Autumn 2013 FLORENCE SCHOOL OF REGULATION
BEEUWSAERT DIRK 26 NOVEMBER, BRUSSELS Chairman of International Power Ltd
andCLIMATEpolicy CHRISTIAN BUCHEL Deputy CEO, ERDF FSR FULVIO CONTI Energy CEO, Enel :
2013 FORUM
EU do we go JOS DELBEKE from here Director General, WHERE ? DG Climate Action EU ENERGY & CLIMATE POLICY:
DIRK FORRISTER WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? President & CEO, IETA
CONNIE HEDEGAARD A one day high-level Forum on European energy and climate European policy organised by the European University Institute (EUI) Commissioner for Climate and the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) in partnership Action with the Financial Times. Leading policymakers, business leaders as well as regulators and ØYSTEIN academics will gather to discuss the future of energy and climate change LØSETH policy in Europe. CEO, Vattenfall e forum will be followed by the FSR’s Energy Transparency Award ceremony where the 2013 winner will be announced.
PHILIP KNOWLEDGE ASSOCIATE SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONAL PARTNER PARTNER PARTNER SUPPORT LOWE Director General, DG Energy
GRÉGOIRE POUX-GUILLAUME President, REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN Alstom Grid [email protected] | eecf.eui.eu
QM-AJ-12-001-EN-N ISSN: 1977-799X