Europe’s Perfect Storm
Europe is facing an intertwined set of crises that threaten national liberal democracies and have shaken the project of European integration to its very core. Britain’s Brexit referendum outcome triggered a process that will lead a member state leaving the EU for the first time in its history. The refugee crisis remains far from resolved: although the flow of refugees has slowed, thousands continue to drown in the Mediterranean, the EU’s controversial deal with Turkey to stem the flow is at risk of collapse, and tensions over security and immigrant integration are mounting in many member states. Liberal democracy has given way to electoral autocracy in Hungary, and Poland is moving rapidly in the same direction. The governments in both countries openly challenge the EU’s liberal democratic values. Far-right populists are on the rise in many states, and national elections in France, Germany, and the Netherlands this year may see them make significant gains. The simmering Eurozone crisis threatens to erupt again this year in Italy and Greece.
Participants:
Daniel Kelemen, Rutgers University, New Brunswick (Chair)
Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Stanford University (Presenter)
Sheri Berman,; Barnard College, Columbia University (Presenter)
Sergio Fabbrini, Luiss Guido Carli (Presenter)
Matthias Matthijs, Johns Hopkins University (Presenter)
Kimberly J. Morgan, George Washington University (Presenter)
Craig A. Parsons, University of Oregon (Presenter)