EU Futures

The Europe in the World podcast explores the process of European integration from a number of angles: development, humanitarianism, and crisis management (Episodes 1-3), security and defense (Episodes 4-5), migration (Episodes 6-8), enlargement (Episodes 9-10), and energy (Episodes 11-14). This student-led podcast is a production of Prof. Kaija Schilde's European Integration class. Prof. Schilde i...

The Europe in the World podcast explores the process of European integration from a number of angles: development, humanitarianism, and crisis management (Episodes 1-3), security and defense (Episodes 4-5), migration (Episodes 6-8), enlargement (Episodes 9-10), and energy (Episodes 11-14). This student-led podcast is a production of Prof. Kaija Schilde's European Integration class. Prof. Schilde i...

The Europe in the World podcast explores the process of European integration from a number of angles: development, humanitarianism, and crisis management (Episodes 1-3), security and defense (Episodes 4-5), migration (Episodes 6-8), enlargement (Episodes 9-10), and energy (Episodes 11-14). This student-led podcast is a production of Prof. Kaija Schilde's European Integration class. Prof. Schilde i...

The Europe in the World podcast explores the process of European integration from a number of angles: development, humanitarianism, and crisis management (Episodes 1-3), security and defense (Episodes 4-5), migration (Episodes 6-8), enlargement (Episodes 9-10), and energy (Episodes 11-14). This student-led podcast is a production of Prof. Kaija Schilde's European Integration class. Prof. Schilde i...

The Europe in the World podcast explores the process of European integration from a number of angles: development, humanitarianism, and crisis management (Episodes 1-3), security and defense (Episodes 4-5), migration (Episodes 6-8), enlargement (Episodes 9-10), and energy (Episodes 11-14). This student-led podcast is a production of Prof. Kaija Schilde's European Integration class. Prof. Schilde i...

In this episode, Ines Garcia de la Puente talks about the massive societal changes the EU has undergone in the past 25 years. She emphasizes the importance of literature in influencing the development of children, describing how reading teaches people to be open minded to different experiences and cultures. Garcia de la Puente discusses the role of artists in connecting Europeans across geographic...

In this episode, Prof. Graham Wilson talks to Olya Yordanyan about the resilience of the European Union in the face of Brexit and other challenges, given the wave of antipathy towards EU institutions, not only in countries where it might be expected such as Greece, but also in northern Europe. He describes how attitudes toward Europe have changed over the years, the locus of European identity, and...

In this episode, Erik Goldstein discusses the diverse history of European countries and the need to support the organic convergence of the various forms and ideas of democracy across the EU member states into a single coherent project. He talks about the security threats facing the EU and the need for a reorganization of military commitments and a stronger Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)...

In this episode, German journalist Christian Feld and current Nieman Fellow at Harvard University highlights the role of journalists in facilitating a dialogue that exposes threats to democracy in an era of “disinformation” and “fake news.” He argues that that Europeans would have more trust in the EU if the project was perceived as helping citizens, who are not interested in democracy as an abstr...

In this episode, William Keylor talks to Olya Yordanyan about the emerging future in Europe. He focusses on the role of France, both from a historical and a contemporary perspective, and offers an analysis of the long-term implications of the upcoming French presidential election. He explains how economic strains and a concomitant identity crisis=are the contributing to the rise of populist moveme...

In this episode, Spanish politician Joaquín Almunia speaks about the centrality of integration to the European project of “peace, democratic values, human rights, and freedoms” and the need for Member States to come together if they are going to face the challenges of the 21st Century. He explains that while Brexit poses difficulties, the EU will continue the integration process at both the nation...

In this episode, Cornel Ban speaks about the long-term implications of Brexit and the need for Europe to return to something resembling post-war paradigm in which employment and measures to reduce social inequalities formed the core of European economic policy. He then weighs the costs and benefits of a two-speed Europe, while condemning the blame-shifting among EU Member States onto debtor states...

In this episode, Betsy Carter describes her belief that current changes in the direction of the European project present an opportunity to not only increase the legitimacy of the EU but also to offer Member States an opportunity to implement policies that complement their own institutions. She then explains how the EU is based upon a “vision of visionaries” rather than the needs and concerns of Eu...

IIn this episode, Olya Yordanyan talks to German sociologist Wolfgang Streeck about his bleak vision of the emerging future in Europe and the reasons for his pessimism. He explains how the “one size fits all” approach in the EU and EMU has failed, adding, “groups hoping for the restoration of national autonomy are a democratic reaction of despair with international regime that neglects broad range...

In this episode, Alisa Sopova spoke about the way war is reported and documented in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR versus the rest of Ukraine. She explained her frustration with the Ukrainian media calling the Eastern territories "Mordor” or “black holes”, and talked about her personal decision to avoid the increasingly prevalent tactics of an information war by adhering to classic, objective jou...

In this episode, Robert Socha focused on the growing income gap in Europe and the United States, and the disconnection between elites and average citizens. Talking about his childhood in communist Poland, Socha expressed his love for the democratic, borderless European project and his pride in his home country advancing since the fall of the Iron Curtain. He admitted, "the EU is not a perfect plac...

In this episode, Isabel Schayani explained how she transformed a Facebook page into a platform for communicating directly with migrants, describing how her WDR project offers news, education, and entertainment for refugees entering Germany. The discussion moved toward a conversation about the situation facing asylum-seekers in Europe, as Schayani condemned the treatment of refugees in Eastern Euro...

In this episode, Dr. Jacqueline Cramer discusses her belief that EU Member States can pursue common goals at 'different speeds', allowing countries to act as frontrunners in fields such as sustainability and circular economic practices. Cramer emphasized the need for Brussels to reconnect with and engage citizens in order to foster a community of Europeans within an increasingly globalized world....

In this episode, architects Bernard Dubois and Pol Esteve talk about the turning point Europe faces today, specifically highlighting the imbalances between the supranational institutions of the EU and the national-based governments. Given their backgrounds growing up in Catalonia and Belgium, the two men agreed that there are many schisms in Europe - at the EU, national, and regional levels - but...

In this episode, Olya Yordanyan talks to Alberto Alemanno about European democracy and how citizens might engage politically to regain some power and influence over their own futures. They discuss Alemanno's new book, Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society, as well as the recent white paper on the future of Europe, and the threat to democracy presented by the populist part...

In this episode Olya Yordanyan talks to Dutch politician Esther de Lange, Vice-Chair of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament. De Lange focuses on the big challenges Europe faces, challenges she believes will require cooperation across borders. She stresses the need for Europe to reinvent itself: “We need a different Europe in the 21st century than we did in the 1950s and 60...

In this episode, Olya Yordanyan and Sandra Porcar talk to Aleksandra Sojka, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Granada, Spain, about political situation in Europe. Sojka discusses the disconnect between European institutions - at both the EU and national levels - and European citizens. She attributes the rise of populist parties to the growing perception of E...

In this episode of the EU Futures podcast, Markus K. Brunnermeier, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics at Princeton University and author of The Euro and the Battle of Ideas (Princeton University Press, 2016), discusses the fundamental differences between the economic policies in France and Germany, presenting their ideological bases and historical contexts. Brunnermeier thinks that the Euro...

In this episode, Olya Yordanyan and Toria Rainey talk to Chandler Rosenberger, Chair of the International and Global Studies Program at Brandeis University, about the emerging future in Europe. The conversation focusses on the different political cultures in Europe, different conceptions of nationalism, and the relationship between nationalism and democracy. Rosenberger shares his concern over the...

In this episode our visiting researcher Sandra Porcar talks to José María Beneyto about the emergence of populism in Europe and what it means for Europe's future. Beneyto discusses the need for European politicians to address citizens' concerns without acquiescing to populist demands. Globalization, he says, has exacerbated feelings of abandonment and anonymity among citizens who long for the secu...