Read more
Redefinitions of EU borders (enlargements, Brexit), geopolitical challenges (conflicts, migrations, terrorism, environmental risks) and the economic and financial crises have triggered debates on the common values that hold European countries and citizens together, justify public action and ensure the sustainability of European governance.
This book discusses the genesis of and increasing references to "European values", their appropriation by diverse groups of actors and their impact on public action. It argues that European values are a broad and flexible symbolic repertoire, instrumental to serving diverging ends, and a resource for both negotiation and conflicts. Looking at the broader picture, the book reflects on the role of values in the institutionalization of the EU as a political order and paves the way to an assessment of its singularity in comparison with other polities across time and space.
This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in EU politics, comparative politics, IR, public policy, sociology and cultural studies.
List of contents
Analysing European Values: An Introduction [François Foret and Oriane Calligaro] Part I: Human Dignity and the Rise of Morality Politics 1. The Duality of Human Dignity in Europe [Aurora Plomer] 2. Human Dignity in EU Bioethics Politics: A Bridge-Building Incentive or a Conflict Driving Force? [Emilie Mondo] 3. Conflict over Values in the European Multilevel Space: The Case of Morality Issues [Eva-Maria Euchner and Isabelle Engeli] Part II: Rule of Law and the Enmeshment of Political and Legal Repertoires 4. Values in EU Governance: How and Why do Political and Social Actors Stand for the Rule of Law? [Ramona Coman] 5. The Values of the Court of Justice of the European Union [Sabine Saurugger and Fabien Terpan] Part III: Democracy and its Policy Avatars: Transparency and Participation 6. Transparency in the European Crisis: Between Ethicisation and Economicisation [Marylou Hamm] 7. From Democracy by Proxy to a Stakeholder Democracy: The Changing Faces of a Founding Value of the EU [Philippe Aldrin and Nicolas Hubé ] 8. Overcoming the Taboo: Disputes over European Values via the European Citizens’ Initiatives [Alvaro Oleart and Luis Bouza ] 9. Conclusion: Resilience and Elusiveness of European Values [François Foret and Oriane Calligaro]
About the author
François Foret is Professor of Political Science, Director of Cevipol and Researcher at the Institute for European Studies at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
Oriane Calligaro is Research Fellow at Cevipol and at the Institute for European Studies at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Summary
This book discusses the genesis of and increasing references to "European values", their appropriation by diverse groups of actors and their impact on public action.
