Introduction:
The Europeans Union (EU) has been as divisive as much as it has brought Europe together. Opinion polls within counties such as the UK have shown that the EU is unpopular (YouGov 2011). Yet, the EU has opened up territorial borders, and united Europe within one monetary bloc. Euroscepticism is a wide-ranging belief encompassing any criticism of the EU (McCormick 2011). It criticises both the structure and the policies of the EU. Solidarity is the concept that there is a cultural homogeneity within a certain group of people (Jary and Jary 2000). Solidarity is ‘situated … at the crossroads between ‘liberty’ and ‘equality’, between ‘self-interest’ and ‘altruism’.’ (Ferrera 2008) Solidarity is known to occur within a state, as citizens share a uniform socioeconomic and political system. International solidarity can take on two forms; transnational sovereignty, and member state sovereignty. Transnational sovereignty is the common sharing of an ideology within a population. Member state solidarity involves active participation and cooperation between nation-states. The level of cooperation is above that of participating within an intergovernmental organisation. This essay will outline solidarity within the EU. It will then analyse the impact of euroscepticism on solidarity. This will look at how euroscepticism has affected solidarity beyond nation-states. This essay will argue that solidarity is possible beyond the nation-state.
Literature Review:
Many authors have examined solidarity within the European Union. Ferrera concludes that solidarity beyond the nation-state has grown (2008). She basis this on a study of the EU, and the growth of member state sovereignty. Sangiovanni also examines the EU, concluding that the EU...
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... countries; the UK, Greece and Spain (Torreblanca, Leonard et al. 2013). But the vast majority of other European countries are moderately Eurosceptic (Torreblanca, Leonard et al. 2013).
Conclusion:
Solidarity is possible beyond the nation-state. The development of European institutions has solidified solidarity within the European Union. European citizens have more common ground with one another since European integration. Solidarity can be seen within Europe through number of different examples, such as the European ‘Welfare State’ and the CFSP. This solidarity continues despite the rise of Euroscepticism. Euroscepticism is a challenge to solidarity, but a challenge which European solidarity can defeat. Eurosceptic elements of the community may continue into the indefinite future, but the European model has shown that solidarity can exist beyond the nation-state.
It is approximated that the Australopithecus, a hominid, lived approximately four to one million years ago. From that point in time, the world history of humans has been an exhaustive, arduous task to document. With that in mind, world historians attempt to capture the events most important to the development of contemporary humanity. In fact, Tamim Ansary states that “World history, after all, is not a chronological list of every damn thing that ever happened; it’s a chain of only the most consequential events, selected to reveal the arc of the story-it’s the arc that counts.” Some have taken a European approach to the restrictions, but in response to such thought, Tamim Ansary’s Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes presents a sequential restating of history through an Islamic viewpoint. From the beginning of Islam with Muhammad to recent happenings, like 9/11, Ansary presents Islamic history in a larger context to commendably combine said history with world history. Furthermore, Ansary claims that Islamic history has often been seen as a side to Western history, as Western history has “prevailed and churned” Islamic history, although it has it is crucially significant in the larger context of world history. In the larger sense, Ansary proves his argument that Islamic history has developed independently and is important, but he does not project the importance of the Islamic history over European history.
Prutha Patel Mr. Lougheed Social Studies 09 February, 2016 Has Europe United? Do you believe that the European Union has united Europe? A supranational cooperation is when countries give up some control of their affairs as they work together to achieve shared goals. The European countries have used supranational cooperation to create the European Union because they want to prevent future wars, and rebuild the weak economy that had formed after the two wars. The European Union has united Europe because it has made Europe have a common currency called the Euro, has a common “government” for the European Union, and has all of the countries influenced when one country that is part of the European Union is in “trouble”.
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891 during the Populist movement. It was most important in 1892-96, and then rapidly faded away. Based among poor, white cotton farmers in the South and hard-pressed wheat farmers in the plain states, it represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and hostility to banks, railroads, and elites generally. It sometimes formed coalitions with labor unions, and in 1896, the Democrats endorsed their presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan. The terms "populist" and "populism" are commonly used for anti-elitist appeals in opposition to established interests and mainstream parties. Though the party did not win much of anything it did however shape the United States we know today.
For centuries philosophers have debated over the presence of free will. As a result of these often-heated arguments, many factions have evolved, the two most prominent being the schools of Libertarianism and of Determinism. Within these two schools of thought lies another debate, that of compatibilism, or whether or not the two believes can co-exist. In his essay, Has the Self “Free Will”?, C.A. Campbell, a staunch non-compatiblist and libertarian, attempts to explain the Libertarian argument.
The European Union is an example of successful political globalization as there is stability in the region. The European Union has united several countries, specifically “twenty seven European countries” (Davies 1) and there has been benefits to this system. There has been a “reduction in crime, a rise in population, life expectancy and income as well as an improving government.” (Rich 3). Through this political system there has been improvement in not only in the government but in the people’s wellbeing.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.
Europe will not run the 21st century because of a combination of economic, institutional, and cultural factors. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on the economic aspects of European society that will impede EU ascendency. I do not believe that the EU will cease to exist in the coming century, but I do believe it will become obsolete because it will be unable to make the necessary changes to their demographic problems, defense policies, and economic culture in response to the increasing American ascendency. Europe has long been known as the continent home to the great powers of the world. From Caesar to Napoleon to the British Empire, the European empires have continuously been at the helm of the ship of progress. The wars of the 20th century however, left Europe in a wake of destruction and chaos period before. The continent was devastated and had little hope to recover. In this new era of European descent, the great American Era came into existence. The US, one of the remaining superpowers, became the helping hand that Europe needed. With the aid allocated by the Marshall Plan and the creation of programs and institutions, Europe had a future. The creation of the European Union (EU) united the European countries over the common goal of preventing war another war. The United States intended for these programs to be a stepping-stone to build the economic and institutional powers of Europe, because a stronger Europe was good for the US. However, instead of using these as a springboard to create self-reliant union, the EU remains reliant on US military and hard power to support them their social efforts.
All so called "Native Americans," were once immigrants. There were two waves of immigration between the early 1800’s through the early 1900’s. The first wave of immigrants called the "old immigrants" came to America between 1890-1897. They were primarily from Northern Europe: Great Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia. The second wave of immigrants called the "new immigrants" came to America from 1897-1924. The "new immigrants" primarily came from Southern and Eastern Europe countries such as Poland, Russia, and Italy. Nativist parties, like the Know-Nothings and the Order of the Star Spangled Banner verbalized their distaste and disapproval of immigrants. Actions and regulations against immigration did not begin until near the end of the "old immigration" and the beginning of the "new immigration." Nativists had many fears and concerns regarding immigrants. These concerns included being socially ill-suited to live with the older stock Americans, stealing jobs from the native work force, and bringing new, radical ideas to the country. These fears and concerns caused nativists to come up with schemes to keep immigrants out of the country. These strategies had a great impact on immigration in our country.
In conclusion, Solidarity was a movement that helped change the course of two continents. It was a movement by the people and for the people. The iron grip of communism was destroyed, and democracy was born throughout Eastern Europe. Solidarity will always be remembered as the revolution that succeeded where so many others had failed. Today in Polish politics Solidarity's role is somewhat limited, and it has reverted back more toward the role of a more traditional trade union than a political party. The summer of 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement, and was a time to remember the hardships of its humble beginnings and to celebrate the changes those hardships inspired across the continent” (Local Life 1). Many of those changes are still being felt today across Eastern Europe.
The European Union stands on the threshold of unparalleled change over the coming years. The next waves of enlargement will be unprecedented in nature and continental in scale. This process has gained so much political momentum that it is now irreversible.
Senior, Nello Susan. "Chapters:4,15." The European Union: Economics, Policies and History. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
Scholars of the European Union (EU) have a strong interest in the concept of European Union identity (Cram, 2009). The ‘European union’ identity can be identified nowadays, although there are still conflicts between national identities and a shared European identity which can be illustrated by the data from Eurobarameter and other sources. Most people perceive themselves as Europeans, as Anderson (1991) state, there is no contradictory between Europe and nation-state, ‘country first, but Europe, too’ is the main feeling of the public. However, some people don’t consider themselves as European which result from a strong attachment to the national culture. Even though, the tendency of the convergence of diverse national identity cannot be resisted (Cram, 2009). Migration of population within Europe and the implementation of Europe policy accelerate the progress of formation of the shared identity. This article is going to focus on two reasons why people are willing to define themselves as European by showing how their national identities interact with the European identity, mainly in two countries UK and Poland .The first reason is the issue of Euro, which can be regarded as a tangible symbol of a shared identity and can be perceived easily. The second reason is the collective memory shared among countries and entire Europe.