JM Workshop
External and internal challenges to European integration.
Interpreting security in the times of crisis
Jagiellonian University, Institute of European Studies
22-24 November 2018
JM Module Workshop took place on November 22-24, 2018 and was held by Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
Theme:
The main theme of the Workshop was security, which became one of the key themes in contemporary debates in Europe, both on national as well as supranational level.
The main rationale behind the choice of the theme are to be found in proliferation of challenges, such as the “migration crisis”, Brexit, or re-emergence of radical nationalism, populism, and growing Euroscepticism, that have brought the European Union into the state of existential crisis. With the increasingly polarized relations between and within the EU institutions and the Member States, the EU’s political climate has become increasingly contentious, hindering some of the key areas of European integration. Consequently, the EU public opinion has begun to question the ability of its political elites to manage or stabilize the events and processes, which have proved to be “overwhelming, disorienting or even terrifying to European citizens” (State of the Union 2016). In the midst of this uncertain political climate the narratives of security have quickly gained prominence in the European and domestic political discourses, becoming one of the focal points of the discussion on the fundamental aspects of the integration and the future of the European project.
In this workshop, building on critical perspective we aimed to discuss how different notions and interpretations of security intertwine in discourses on internal, external and transversal challenges to European integration. With the help of research inspired by but not limited to political science, security and military studies, sociology, law, history, and European studies we sought to unpack the dynamics of contestation of such notions as mobility, identity or nationalism visà-vis security and explore how they influence our understanding of European integration. The purpose of the discussion was not so much to look at differences between challenges but to explore how these challenges are interwoven within the common theme of security.
Programme:
The Workshop was comprised of:
- Openning lecture (chaired by Prof. Zdzislaw Mach (Krakow), with contributions from Prof. Hartmut Mayer (Oxford), Dr Pieter de Wilde (Trondheim) and Natalie Welfens (Amsterdam))
- Panel on Brexit and security (chaired by Dr Natasza Styczynska (Krakow), with speakers: Dr Pieter de Wilde (Trondheim), Dr Heidi Maurer (Oxford), Dr Karolina Pomorska (Leiden))
- Panel on mobility and security (chaired by Maciej Stępka (Krakow), with speakers: Prof. Francisco Miguel Gouveia Pinto Proença Garcia (Lisbon), Natalie Welfens (Amsterdam), Prof. Artur Gruszczak (Krakow))
- EU & Migration Crisis from the inside out (with an introduction from Maciej Stępka (Krakow). Photostory from the field was presented by Omar Marques (Krakow/Viana do Castelo))
Workshop participants:
Workshop gathered 23 participants, 12 of whom were students that arrived for this event from partner institution Europaeum, 11 were international students, the majority of whom were participants of JM Course (Challenges to the European Identity. The rebirth of nationalisms in Europe).
Workshop deliverables:
Participants were invited to actively participate in all sessions. Students (divided in groups during warm up session organised at the beginning of the Workshop) were asked to prepare short de-briefs of the sessions (see: Students’ contributions below). Their papers were presented and discussed at the end of the Workshop.
