The 2011 Dahrendorf Symposium on ‘Changing the Debate on Europe: Moving beyond Conventional Wisdoms‘ took place at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science on 9-10 November 2011. The Symposium tackled broad questions on the future of Europe and encouraged researchers to think about Europe using the so-called Dahrendorf lens and applying it across a number of areas – it examined Europe as a political space, as an ideological space, as a social space, and as a global actor; whereas the Dahrendorf Symposium 2013. The Symposium proceeded along five core thematic pillars and each one was prepared by a lead academic based at either LSE (European Institute, LSE Ideas) or the Hertie School of Governance.
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Publications
Interviews
Watch all recorded keynote speeches and panel discussions here.
Themes
How should Europe be considered? The answer to this question lies in the middle: as a region of unity and diversity. Therefore, in order to answer this question successfully, Europe needs to be looked at from different perspectives. Five German-British research teams developed these perspectives as the main themes of their panels and presentations.
Europe as a political space of contestation and conflict management
This section brings together two themes in which Lord Dahrendorf made seminal contributions: first, conflict as something not only inevitable and endemic within society but necessary for structural change, and, secondly, European integration. In so doing it turns the traditional paradigm of European Union around and asks whether it should be seen not so much in terms of integration and problem-resolution but rather in terms of resolving and bounding conflicts. If so, it asks what are the nature and fault lines of these conflicts and what are the EU mechanisms for managing them.
Convener: Prof. Damian Chalmers, LSE
Europe as an ideological space and as a vision
This panel reviewed the main answers emerging to challenges such as the Euro crisis, the democratic deficit debate that has produced some new institutions but has not managed to shake the fundamental indifference of many Europeans towards the EU project, and multiculturalism that has recently been widely condemned as an idea that is subversive to the values and identity of the nations that created the EU.
Convener: Prof. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Hertie School
Europe as a social space
It is imperative to understand the transforming dynamics of European civil societies and the novel social and political relations created by diverse groups across those societies. What are ways through which people come together around issues that matter to them? How do groups across Europe engage with each other on issues commonly shared? How do they organize and participate in political change across Europe? What is European public space and how is it being transformed by new forms of social and political engagement? How do European societies relate to the global position of Europe and to the world outside Europe, particularly to countries from which migrants to Europe emerge?
Convener: Prof. Chetan Bhatt and Dr. Hakan Seckinelgin, LSE
Europe as a political economy
Considering ‘the crisis as a looking glass’ this panel addressed the future of the European political economy and looked at responses to the crisis that address the long term question of the compatibility of European economies and political imperatives. Participants found out more about the reactions of member states to the financial crisis and their answers to the sovereign debt crisis of the Eurozone.
Convener: Prof. Anke Hassel and Prof. Mark Hallerberg, Hertie School
Global Europe
Several issues have been addressed in the spirit of this panel’s theme. But three are especially important as we enter the second decade of the 21st century: What form of power can Europe hope to deploy? To which extent does Europe risk marginalization in a world where US priorities appear to be shifting away from the Atlantic towards the Pacific? Which challenges are posed by the EU’s broader relationship with actors including, firstly, Russia and, secondly, Turkey, the larger Middle East and North Africa?
Convener: Prof. Michael Cox, LSE
Publications
2011 Dahrendorf Symposium Paper Summaries
- Anheier, Helmut K.: Growing European Civil Society: A Case of Social Engineering
- Fassin, Eric: The New Racialisation of Europe
- Schelkle, Waltraud / Hassel, Anke: The policy consensus ruling European political economy: its attractions, flaws and possible departures
- Krastev, Ivan: Europe’s Disintegration Moment
- Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina: The Misguided Quest for European Identity
- Schwarzer, Daniela: The euro area crises, institutional change and shifting power relationships in the EU
- Tavares, José: Europe as Idea and Political Economy
- Tsoukalis, Loukas: The Political Economy of the Crisis: The End of an Era?
- Hallerberg, Mark / Wehner, Joachim: The Competence of Europe’s Economic Policy-makers
- White, Jonathan: Europe’s Left-Right Trajectories
- Zielonka, Jan: The Ideology of Empire: the EU’s Normative Power Discourse
Interviews
3 Questions on Europe
“3 Questions on Europe” – what do you think about Europe? What are some of the main concerns that the EU faces? Leading academics and politicians share their ideas and in so doing feed a changing debate on Europe that moves beyond conventional wisdoms. In this section you find short interviews unpacking the future of Europe from the perspectives of key thinkers and contributors of the Dahrendorf Symposium.
Norbert Röttgen, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
The biggest challenge at the moment is certainly the Greek debt crisis, which is a burden to the whole of the euro zone. Over the past few decades Europe has not only become a huge single market, it has also come to share a common political destiny. Europe now has to demonstrate that, from this common ground, it can overcome the challenge of Greek debt at political and economic level.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
We need to revitalise the pioneering spirit, the sense of community in Europe. This calls for a broad public campaign to underline that we can only achieve our political goals in a complex world if we stand together as Europeans. This includes continuing to promote European integration, which strengthens our position in international competition and gives us greater influence in shaping the world order – be it in combating climate change or taming the financial markets. But this also means continued democratisation, for Europe can only succeed if it works with its citizens, not against them. The European Parliament received important additional rights when the Lisbon Treaty was adopted, and should be the driving force behind the development of democracy at EU level.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
There can and will be no perfect Europe. Europe can be proud of its historic accomplishments of the past decades. The open borders, the euro, the preservation of peace and prosperity. Today the European Union is the most modern and successful form of political integration in a globalised world. It symbolises the link between a liberal economic order and a social system based on solidarity. If the European Union can overcome the challenges it now faces in a way which gains the approval of the European public – that would be perfect.
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Simon McDonald, British Ambassador in Germany
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
The priority is for the Eurozone member states to take action to stabilise the Euro. Right now, the Eurozone is a threat not just to itself but to the worldwide economy. As Prime Minister Cameron has said, action needs to be taken in the coming weeks to strengthen Europe’s banks, to build the defences that the Eurozone needs and deal decisively with the problem of debt. The Eurozone has got to get ahead of the markets, irrespective of the changes that some might choose to make in the future about greater economic co-operation. Of course, the UK is not a member of the Eurozone, nor is it going to become one. But we cannot insulate ourselves from the fact that other European economies – including France and Germany, the two biggest economies in Europe – have stalled. If the Eurozone remains in intensive care, that has a direct effect on our own prospects.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
It is in the UK’s national interest to be an active player in the EU. As a trading nation, it is vital for our economic future to support and promote the single market. Our collective goal therefore has to be to get European economies growing again. The UK’s vision is for a Europe which provides opportunity, encourages entrepreneurial activity, deregulates and facilitates growth. If we are collectively to arrest the relative decline in comparison with the emerging economies, we need to get the single market working properly. There are huge steps we could take in Europe to promote growth: establish a single market in energy; complete the single market in services; open up European markets; and make sure that we reduce the costs being imposed on business through the EU. In this respect, the PM has also made clear his view that we have transferred too many powers to Europe and there are some areas where he would like to restore competence to national Governments and parliaments. In the medium term, therefore, we will seek opportunities to do just that.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
Europe’s success has been the removal of unnecessary limitations – not only of course on people’s freedom of speech, movement and place of work, but also on their expectations. It is not the Institutions or Treaties which have guaranteed peace and prosperity in Europe for 60 years, but the ability of individuals to pursue their endeavours in a single European space governed by the rule of law. No surprise therefore that I endorse the principle of subsidiarity – Europe works best where it liberates and devolves rather than limits and dictates.
Colin Budd, Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at the present?
The biggest of all is the need for the European project to win back the understanding and sympathy of public opinion. The original integrationist thesis and the nationalist antithesis of the last two decades need to be bridged by a new synthesis. That will require much more wide-ranging public debate, an increased acceptance of the emerging European polity, and full acceptance by the political and bureaucratic elites of the need on a permanent basis to explain to the people of Europe, above all to the younger generation, the purpose and value of the project. That apart, the most pressing challenges are the need to remedy Europe’s lagging economic performance and to increase Europe’s influence in the world by strengthening and making more effective its common foreign and security policy.
If you could set the agenda fpr a refreshed debate on Europe, what would you include, and why?
I would put up front the need for the elites to understand that they must work with the grain of the people of Europe, and not against it. A strong idealism remains essential, but so does the need to remember Kant’s comment that “Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made”. The debate requires pragmatism, and an unending readiness to explain to our peoples why Europe is valuable. The unifying essential theme which still needs an effective demotic translation is what the elites (unhelpfully) love to call the principle of subsidiarity. There are people all over Europe who feel or believe that ‘integration’ is axiomatically something to be feared and seen as a threat. Much, much more effort is needed to explain that action is only, must only, be taken at the European level when it is clear that the member states (or their regions) cannot on their own achieve the outcomes that people want. Once that is understood, it becomes much easier to demonstrate that the European Commission is no tyrant, the European Court of Justice no enemy of the European peoples, and the European Parliament not the illegitimate cuckoo in the parliamentary nest that many make it out to be.
What does your perfect Europe look like?
There is no fixed state ‘perfect Europe’, because the world around us will continue to change, and in response to it Europe too must be ready to adapt. That requires above all inspiring leadership from the statesmen of Europe, who in changing circumstances must constantly chart a way forward which is both navigable and inspiring. At the same time they must work unceasingly to convince our peoples that the prizes to be won are worth the sacrifices which need to be made en route; that the European Union is by far the best available platform from which Europeans can exploit the opportunities and respond to the demands of globalisation; and that all those who want to see Europe increase its prosperity and promote freedom and democracy should see the Union not as a threat but as an essential means of achieving those ends.
Tim King, Editor of European Voice
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
At the moment, there are plenty to choose from: Whether (and how) to move forwards or backwards with the euro. How to respond to revolutions in north Africa and the Middle East. The prospect of demographic and economic decline relative to other parts of the world, notably China, India and Brazil. Climate change seems to have slid back down the scale of priorities, for understandable reasons (because the euro-crisis is all-consuming and because few politicians want to contemplate the cost, in economically straitened times), but it is still an enormous challenge. I think it’s useful to think of Europe’s current situation as an eco-system under stress. Its ability to withstand shocks, whether internal or external, whether economic, political or environmental, has apparently been reduced. So how will Europe cope with the next wave of shocks? The scenario, for instance, of famine, a sharp rise in food prices and a wave of migration is not improbable.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
I start from an observation that the EU is not the only political structure with problems of legitimacy, credibility and lack of engagement. Local and regional governments are failing in vast swathes of Europe (not to mention the United States). I think it’s hard to build credible European government on top of such flimsy foundations. A reinvigoration of local politics and regional government would benefit the EU.
Raising the level of political engagement and awareness is the first and most difficult step. After that, the topics are obvious. They are the ones that the European Union’s leadership has been shying away from and not wanting to debate publicly. Do we believe anymore in a transfer union? What do we do about migration? Is the European social model compatible with Europe’s changed economic circumstances? If you try to have a “refreshed” debate on Europe without addressing those big questions, you only reinforce the impression that the EU is out of touch and unaccountable.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
One of the striking features of Europe is that there is so much variety – of language, landscape, history, culture and human endeavour, in such a (relatively) small area. At its best, Europe manages to respect that variety, while also recognising that Europeans share common interests and are often stronger and happier when they work together. A perfect Europe is not uniform. That’s one of the reasons why I think it matters to the health of the European political construct that local and regional government should be reinvigorated. And Europe has to get cleverer about distinguishing when it is in the common interest to work together at a European level and when it is right to let regional differences flourish.
Cem Özdemir, Co-Chairman of the German Green Party
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
The main current problem is the euro crisis of course. Will the member states stick together and send a strong signal to the financial markets? Do the politicians make the rules or are they defined by the bank system? But the crisis of the European Union is even deeper than this. A lot of the European citizens lost their confidence in their national governments and the European institutions if they basically will be able to solve this crisis.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
First of all I would use the possibility of article 48 (3) of the Lisbon treaty to call a new European convention. From my point of view this is the best place to discuss what we can learn from the crisis of the last years and what we can improve. The convent should not only be a closed club of the governments of the member states. It should include the European and national parliaments and representatives of the European civil society. At the end there should be a real debate between the politicians and the citizens of the EU about the conclusions of the European convention and the future of the EU. And this should be followed by a referendum. The citizens should make the final decision. I am convinced there would be a majority that would say “Yes”. This could be a mayor step to a new contract between “Brussels” and the people of Europe.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
Can there ever be a perfect Europe? Since the times of Schuman and Adenauer the process of the European integration was always a dynamic and unique one and – I hope – it will always go on. Perhaps one day we all will live in the “United States of Europe” or in a “United Europe”. The name is not important but the content: I want “more Europe” if it has a benefit for the citizens like in the question of controlling of the financial markets or in the question of defending of the human rights in- and outside of the EU.
But perhaps the most important point is: Will the Europeans stand united and solve the challenges together? And will the people and politicians in Germany, France, Greece or Poland respect that it´s better to talk to the neighbours instead of talking about them.
R. Andreas Kraemer, Director of the Ecologic Institute Berlin
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
The greater power awarded by the Lisbon Treaty has been celebrated as a useful tool for promoting a united European front, especially for pursuing European interests at the international level. This is especially necessary given Europe’s increasing diversity, which is heightened with each enlargement. Yet there is a reoccurring question that remains unanswered: whether and how this development towards increasing unity is matched by a similar development of a European “public”. This question becomes more pressing with each enlargement and each step towards deeper integration. The challenge is therefore not to simply align the degree of integration and enlargement but to ensure that these processes are in symbiosis with the development of a European public.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
Europe was set up as a project for peace and unity and this aim has been achieved to a large extent but needs to be defended in the future. Whichever new goals Europe now sets for itself, consideration must be given to maintaining the pace of progress at all levels. A refreshed debate would therefore include a discussion of how the EU can bring together its external goals; the goals of citizens; and the goals of its institutions. The prevailing, but not necessarily accurate, wisdom seems to be that the development of a European public will follow integration more or less automatically. An agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe should thus address the question of how increasing integration and the development of a European public could emerge in a more intertwined manner.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
A perfect Europe would be content with its imperfection and without endless competition between MS and institutions for power. In this way, each aspect of the system should be interlinked and move forward together to achieve joint goals.
Arne Westad, LSE
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing Europe at present?
Economic growth, social equity and relations with the Middle East/North Africa and Russia.
If you could set the agenda for a refreshed debate on Europe what would you include and why?
The above, with a special emphasis on the social agendas.
How does your perfect Europe look like?
There is no perfect Europe. But there might be a Europe that develops its social agendas further, that emphasises innovation and economic growth, and that slowly integrates its economies with those of the surrounding regions.That would be a good enough Europe for its peoples and for the world.