Ralf Dahrendorf and the European Union 2030: Looking Back, Looking Forward Edited by Helmut K. Anheier and Iain Begg A JOINT INITIATIVE BY FUNDED BY PUBLISHED BY Lord Ralf Dahrendorf 1929-2009 photo courtesy of the Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science The Dahrendorf Forum is a joint initiative by the Hertie School in Berlin and the London School of Economics and Political Science, funded by Stiftung Mercator. Since its creation in 2010, the Dahrendorf project has grown into a major research and policy engagement network. It has held three successful Dahrendorf Symposia in Berlin in 2011, 2013, and 2016. Over its four research cycles, the project has gained valuable experience of injecting academic ideas into policy debates. It has also become a recognised example of successful transnational co- operation. The project has helped to strengthen the institutional links between the two academic partners, becoming the centrepiece of intellectual collaboration between the Hertie School and the London School of Economics (LSE). Initially a British-German collaboration, the Dahrendorf initiative has grown into a broader European project, drawing together a wide network from many different countries, and now with even greater relevance in the emerging post-Brexit environment. The Dahrendorf Team generates and disseminates social science research that is both policy relevant and of the highest standard. The researchers concentrate on generating impact with high-level policymakers and practitioners close to the centres of political action and decision-making in Berlin, London, and Brussels. Ralf Dahrendorf and the European Union 2030: Looking Back, Looking Forward Edited by Helmut K. Anheier and Iain Begg Dahrendorf Forum Preface ord Dahrendorf was firmly convinced of the necessity for European cooperation and, at the same time, he was always acutely aware of the fragility of the European Lproject. I have often been impressed, intrigued, and sometimes even puzzled, by his clear-sightedness, by his observations’ relevance to, and their resonance with, Europe today. Undogmatic clear-sightedness does not look for quick applause but gains it in the long run. The present moment is a moment of acute crisis. And while the Covid-19 pandemic, arguably, is the greatest and possibly most challenging crisis the European Union (EU) has ever faced, just in the last decade, the same was said about the Eurozone crisis and what has come to be called the ‘migration crisis’, not to forget Brexit. The Dahrendorf Forum was initiated in 2010 to change the debate on Europe, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis that morphed into what came to be called the European sovereign debt, or Eurozone crisis. Stiftung Mercator has been proud to support this joint initiative by the Hertie School in Berlin and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The initiative was set up to honour Lord Dahrendorf’s intellectual legacy. Three aspects of this outstanding legacy have been of particular relevance to the work of Stiftung Mercator, and to me personally: The first concerns Dahrendorf as a ‘bridge-builder’, or as an ‘embodied interface’, across and between societal sectors, academic disciplines and national borders. He was a brilliant academic, talented politician, skilled public administrator and eminent public intellectual—moving elegantly between these worlds. In this respect, he has been a model for us as an organisation. We understand our role as a private foundation to encompass being an intermediary between societal sectors, facilitating meaningful dialogue. In particular, the way in which we promote science, and the humanities can be described as ‘Dahrendorfian’. As a foundation with socio-political objectives, Stiftung Mercator does not support research solely for the sake of new scientific knowledge but with the aim of applying it to societal challenges and informing public debate. 4 Ralf Dahrendorf And The European Union 2030: Looking Back, Looking Forward The second concerns Dahrendorf as a public debater. His 1996 piece ‘Why Europe matters: a personal view’1 is a wonderful example. He makes a genuine effort to explain why, in his view, Britain should remain within the European Union and should play a role in shaping it. At the same time, he outlines deficiencies and takes criticism seriously, without dismissing it as heresy. He has never discharged himself from the burden of argument for his stance. I think we should heed the way Dahrendorf debated Europe then when debating Europe today, acknowledging ambivalence and complexity. Examples might be the limits of European integration through law or economic integration, concerns regarding the democratic legitimacy and accountability of EU institutions, just to name a few. The third aspect concerns Dahrendorf’s observations and insights on conflict in modern societies. To him, it was clear that modern societies are prone to tension and conflict of all kinds. For Dahrendorf, there was no point in hoping or trying to avoid conflicts but a necessity for these conflicts to be actively managed. Dahrendorf, in the 1990s, astutely described some of the conflicts globalisation would bring and the ‘perverse choices’ governments would face as a consequence of globalisation.2 As a foundation working on climate change, migration and integration, I think these are among the most fundamental insights when trying to contribute to societal responses to these phenomena. To me, it means that we need to understand that, for example, decarbonisation comes with distributive consequences and that some people have legitimate concerns that they will lose from certain policies. They also have a democratic right to voice these concerns. The same is true for migration and integration. These conflicts need to be bounded democratically. This is especially challenging at a time when the institutions designed to bound conflicts are increasingly contested and the nature of conflict changes. We need to understand the drivers and dynamics of this contestation and the changing nature of conflicts. And then, we need to take them seriously in order to process them productively. In that sense, it seems implausible to assume that the evolution of democratic institutions should already have, or will ever, come to an end. 1 Ralf Dahrendorf (1996): Why Europe matters: a personal view. Centre for European Reform. https://www.cer.eu/publications/archive/report/1996/why-Europe-matters-personal-view 2 Ralf Dahrendorf (1996): Economic Opportunity, Civil Society and Political Liberty. Development and Change, 27: 229-249 & Ralf Dahrendorf (1997): Die Globalisierung und ihre sozialen Folgen werden zur nächsten Herausforderung einer Politik der Freiheit. Die Zeit (Nr. 47/1997). https://www.zeit.de/1997/47/thema.txt.19971114.xml 5 Dahrendorf Forum The Dahrendorf Forum has, over the last ten years, embodied all of the above. As a joint initiative by the Hertie School and the LSE it has brought together researchers and practitioners from across Europe and beyond. It has grown into a major research and policy engagement network and a distinctive example of successful Anglo-British cooperation. In a Dahrendorfian manner, it has applied excellent social science research to a wide range of pressing societal and political problems. The researchers have communicated their findings beyond academia, engaged decision-makers and reached out to the public. Above all, the Dahrendorf Forum has created a space for genuine debate on Europe. This compendium of essays is a testament to this approach. The collection brings together contributors from different countries and sectors. It launches and, I hope, stimulates a lively debate on the implications of the current crisis for the future of Europe. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Dahrendorf Forum over the last ten years. Above all, I thank Helmut Anheier and Iain Begg for co-directing this project so competently and passionately, and for editing this volume. Moreover, I thank Damian Chalmers, Mick Cox, Henrik Enderlein, Robert Falkner and Arne Westad who contributed to the project in various roles and at different times at LSE and Hertie. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with all of you on this truly collaborative effort. May the friendships and links last long. Finally, I thank Lady Christiane Dahrendorf for her constant and continuous support to the Dahrendorf Forum. Dr. Wolfgang Rohe Executive Director, Stiftung Mercator 6 Contents Brexit Life in Britain Preface 52 Kwasi Kwarteng 4 Dr. Wolfgang Rohe Ralf Dahrendorf, Britain and List of Contributors 57 8 the European Project Michael Cox Foreword 9 Gordon Brown No Time to Waste on a Marital 64 Squabble:Post-Brexit Security Introduction Cooperation Between the European 12 Helmut K. Anheier and Iain Begg Union and the United Kingdom in Times of Geopolitics Monika Sus Europe in the World Democracy The EU’s Geopolitical Moment 19 Benjamin Martil A Quandary, But Not a Vision 72 Kevin Featherstone Resisting the Siren Songs of 26 De-Globalisation: Escaping from the Non-Compliance Trap: Europe’s Hour? 79 Germany’s Response to State-Sponsored Danuta Hübner Murder and the Nord Stream 2 Issue Wolfgang Seibel Dahrendorf’s Quandary in the 30 Post-Traumatic Europe Enlightened Humanism – Paweł Świeboda 85 A New Faith for the 21st Century or Europe’s Manifest Destiny? Why Europe Continues to Matter Alexandru Filip 36 Sophie Vanhoonacker On Complexity and Simplism A Fragmenting International Order: 91 Radosław Markowski 43 Can the EU Rescue Multilateralism? Ferdinando Nelli Feroci Lord Dahrendorf’s Challenges to Europe 99 Kris Best and Mark Hallerberg International Cooperation 47 on Migration: A Multi-Level Endeavour Conclusion Elizabeth Collett Can Circles be Squared? 105 Quandaries and Contestation Shaping the Future of Europe Helmut K. Anheier, Iain Begg and Edward Knudsen Dahrendorf Forum List of Contributors Professor Helmut K. Anheier, Hertie School; Edward Knudsen, Research Associate, Academic Co-director of the Dahrendorf Forum Hertie School Professor Iain Begg, European Institute, Rt.