Book Talk, "Politicisation, Democratisation and EU Identity: National EU Discourses in Germany and France"

The CCDS is excited to host Claudia Wiesner (Fulda U) for a discussion of her recent book on "Politicisation, Democratisation and EU Identity: National EU Discourses in Germany and France" (Routledge, 2024). The presentation will be followed by a commentary by Johannes Karremans (ESPOL) and Mirjam Dageförde (AUP).

Book description:
What is it that unites the European Union as a polity? Why is it necessary to democratise the EU? Can EU politicisation help democratising the EU? Why do EU citizens in referenda seemingly vote against the EU? And how can a European identity develop? To tackle these questions, this book makes a theoretical, conceptual and empirical contribution to the study of EU politicisation, democratisation, identity formation, and the ways these three are related to one another. The results of a thorough comparative analysis of two prototypical cases, namely French and German national EU discourses and in particular the discourses on the Treaty on a Constitution for Europe (TCE) in 2005, are discussed in relation to more current events such as Brexit and the French elections of 2022. The book thus develops key concepts and theoretical models and delivers profound findings on EU democratisation, identity, politicisation and contestation and their interrelations.

Bio:

Claudia Wiesner is Professor of Political Science at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, a member of the board of directors of the “Point Alpha Research Institute”, and adjunct Professor in Political Science at Jyväskylä University (Finland). She directs the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “Europe in the World, is a PI in several other international research projects and networks, and has been a Visiting Fellow at Institutions such as the Minda de Gunzburg Centre for European Studies at Harvard University, New York University, the Robert Schumann Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute (EUI), and the Berlin Social Sciences Centre (WZB). Wiesner´s main research focuses on Europe in the World and the comparative study of democracy and governance in the EU, putting particular emphasis on the related concepts, ideas and theories. She has published with publishers such as Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, Springer and Nomos and journal special issues and articles in journals such as Contemporary Political Theory, integration, Journal of European Integration, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, Leviathan, Politics and Governance, Political Research Exchange, Politische Vierteljahresschrift, Redescriptions, Parliaments, Estates and Representation, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft and Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft. Her most recent books are "Politicisation, Democratisation and Identity formation in the EU" (Routledge 2024) and "The War Against Ukraine and the EU: Facing New Realities" (Palgrave Macmillan 2024, edited by Claudia Wiesner and Michèle Knodt).

See also https://wiesnerc.jimdofree.com/english/

Johannes Karremans is Professor in Political Science at the European School of Political and Social Sciences of the Catholic University of Lille. He holds both the Austrian venia docendi and the Italian national scientific habilitation. Prior to his current appointment, Professor Karremans held several post-doctoral positions at the European University Institute, the University of Salzburg and the University of Lisbon. Between 2019 and 2021, he was holder of the prestigious Lise Meitner grant from the Austrian Science Fund. Professor Karremans earned his doctorate in Political and Social Sciences at the EUI in 2017. His research has appeared in several leading scholarly journals, including West European Politics, Party Politics, the Journal of European Public Policy and the Journal of Common Market Studies. In 2024, his monograph was published with Oxford University Press: Between Voters and Eurocrats: How do Governments Justify Their Budgets?

Mirjam Dageförde is a researcher and author on failing representation, the relation of citizens and politics, party politics and inequality with a focus on Europe; France and Germany in particular.
She is currently Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at the American University of Paris and an Associate Researcher at Sciences Po Paris and at the WZB (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Center for Civil Society Research).
Previously, she worked as a Lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin (Department of Social and Political Science). She holds a PhD from Sciences Po Paris. While completing her PhD, she was awarded a Max Weber Fellowship at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence and was an OxPo Fellow at the University of Oxford, Nuffield College & Department of Politics and International Relations. She was also chercheuse invitée at the Paris School of Economics (invited by Jean-François Laslier and Thomas Piketty).
Mirjam Dageförde has an interdisciplinary background, holding degrees in Political Science, Economics and Empirical Social and Political Analysis.