Documents political aspect 312 results

"It is one of the most pressing and controversial questions of our time -- vehemently debated, steeped in ideology, profoundly divisive. Who should be allowed to immigrate and who not? What are the arguments for and against limiting the numbers? We are supposedly a nation of immigrants, and yet our policies reflect deep anxieties and the quirks of short-term self-interest, with effective legislation snagging on thousand-mile-long security fences and the question of how long and arduous the path to citizenship should be.

In Exodus, Paul Collier, the world-renowned economist and bestselling author of The Bottom Billion, clearly and concisely lays out the effects of encouraging or restricting migration. Drawing on original research and case studies, he explores this volatile issue from three perspectives: that of the migrants themselves, that of the people they leave behind, and that of the host societies where they relocate.

Immigration is a simple economic equation, but its effects are complex. Exodus confirms how crucial it will be that public policy face and address all of its ramifications. Sharply written and brilliantly clarifying, Exodus offers a provocative analysis of an issue that affects us all"

"Lorsque nous avons publié l'article de Gabriel Salerno, fin 2018, qui présentait les diverses interprétations de l'effondrement identifiables dans la littérature sur le sujet, nous étions loin d'imaginer qu'un an plus tard, une rupture majeure — la Covid-19 — allait bouleverser les sociétés à l'échelle planétaire. Bien entendu, la crise sanitaire n'a pas « effondré » le monde dans lequel nous vivons, mais elle a montré la grande vulnérabilité des sociétés et signifié à l'homme qu'il n'était pas à l'abri de grands ébranlements. Nous avons donc invité Gabriel Salerno à revenir sur le concept d'effondrement et ce qui a pu le faire évoluer depuis 2018.
Après avoir rappelé que les représentations de l'effondrement se déclinent à diverses échelles d'espace et de temps, Gabriel Salerno précise les questionnements philosophiques qui les accompagnent. À commencer par la façon d'appréhender le progrès scientifique et technique qui, jusqu'ici, a accompagné le développement des sociétés, en particulier en Occident, mais qui n'est plus unanimement considéré comme un vecteur positif dans le processus civilisateur. Cette remise en question de la place du progrès, jusqu'ici moteur de l'Histoire, brouille la vision de l'avenir de l'humanité et interroge sur le sens de l'Histoire. Les trois grandes interprétations de l'effondrement oscillent entre une vision cyclique, une vision progressiste et une vision décliniste de l'Histoire ; mais on constate, selon l'auteur, une tendance à un raffermissement des positions, voire une radicalisation, entre ceux qui acceptent de considérer l'effondrement et ceux qui refusent. Outre les clivages relatifs aux questions environnementales et sociales, l'auteur pointe une crise de la cognition, qui s'observe notamment au travers de la diffusion des théories du complot. Pour éviter que les thèses conspirationnistes n'entravent la cohésion et l'analyse objective des changements à l'œuvre dans notre civilisation, il est important de remédier à la perte de sens en cours et de remobiliser les sociétés en redonnant un sens à l'Histoire — proposer un nouvel élan pour conjurer les risques d'effondrement… S.D."

"Societies and economies are experiencing deep and intertwined structural changes that may unsettle the perceptions European citizens have of their economic and employment security. Such labour-market perceptions are likely in turn to alter people's political positions. For instance, those worried by labour-market competition may prefer greater social protection to compensate for the accrued risk, or might prefer more closed economies where external borders provide protection (or the illusion of protection). We test these expectations with a conjoint experiment in 13 European countries on European-level social policy, studying how citizens' demands align with parties' political supply. Results broadly corroborate our expectations on the moderating effects of different types of concerns about perceived sources of labour-market competition on the features of preferred European-level social policy."

" « Un peu des deux » répondra souvent le Belge lorsqu'on lui demande s'il est Flamand ou Wallon.
Étrange territoire où vivent ces populations qui ne semblent plus partager de communauté de destin, mais qui ont pourtant bien plus d'affinités qu'on ne pense.
Ce livre invite le lecteur à un parcours plein de surprises dans ce pays étriqué mais si varié. Une diversité qui se reflète dans ses paysages et ses villes qui, à elles seules, valent le voyage : Anvers, fière et rebelle, Namur la placide, Liège la francophile, l'innovante et festive Gand, Bruges l'étape obligée, ou encore la royale Ostende, face à la mer du Nord.
Guerres, invasions, catastrophes... La Belgique a subi tellement de chocs qu'elle a fini par avoir le cuir épais, baigné de sa légendaire autodérision. Faut-il y voir un début d'âme belge, de « belgitude », ce concept flou qui masquerait la non-identité ? Et si c'était ce « creux » qui faisait à la fois son drame et son charme ?
Ce petit livre n'est pas un guide. Il lève le voile sur un étrange pays, parfois surréaliste et à l'humour caustique, une toile en clair-obscur qui cultive avec détermination son art de vivre."

"This report investigates the political dimensions of social cohesion in Europe, offering a 20-year perspective derived from 10 rounds of the European Social Survey. It scrutinises trends and regional variations in political participation, examining correlations with levels of institutional distrust and discontent. In addition, the report explores political engagement amid the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising insights from the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey. Unemployment emerges as the primary driver of political disengagement, a pivotal finding of the analysis.

Furthermore, the report uncovers significant disparities in political engagement across European regions. Regions with well-educated populations tend to exhibit higher levels of political activity, and economic prosperity and migration rates have only a modest influence on political activity.

The report also highlights the variation in institutional distrust across regions. Nordic countries display markedly lower levels of distrust in their institutions than continental countries, whereas in eastern European and Mediterranean countries levels are markedly higher."

"By means of a long-run analysis on electoral and inequality data, this article shows that there exists a temporal correlation between inequalities and non-voting behaviour. Non-voting is progressively becoming a widespread phenomenon, beyond specific national contexts, and challenges the functioning of democracies in advanced capitalist countries. Notably, data on electoral results in Italy do not show a clear leading group of non-voters. Although historically concentrated in southern Italy and predominantly female, non-voters are proportionally increasing in the centre and in the north of the country, independently of the gender dimension. The root causes of the phenomenon should be traced back not only to the political and institutional dimension, but also to a widespread socio-economic determinant, namely labour market inequality, the driver addressed in this article."

"Eurosceptic actors often mobilize legal concepts and institutions against European integration. This article makes three contributions to the understanding of this phenomenon. First, it proposes a conceptual definition of the Eurosceptic use of law as part of political strategies, with the aim to make a theoretical contribution to literature in the field. Second, to anchor this idea in the empirical reality, the article exhaustively analyses instances of use of law in the manifestos of medium to large size Eurosceptic parties in national elections, focusing on right wing Eurosceptic parties in the period 2010 to 2021. Third, the article presents some core features of how law is used by the Eurosceptic parties covered by this research at the strategic, conceptual, empirical and political levels, evidencing its widespread utilization and discussing its risks for the process of European integration."

"Political opposition to fiscal adjustments has varied significantly across countries. Our analysis links this variation to differences in the congruence of voter attitudes towards fiscal trade-offs across political blocs in different countries. These differences in attitudes, in turn, coincide with the implications of the distinct macroeconomic growth strategies that these countries pursue. Based on original survey data, we show that in Germany, supporters of different parties not only share similar views on the appropriate size of fiscal adjustment, but also on how to distribute these cuts across various spending items. In Spain, there is fundamental disagreement on the amount of austerity, but voters largely agree on the composition of fiscal adjustments. In the UK, there is disagreement between voters of diverging political blocs on both accounts. Variation in public attitudes, therefore, gives rise to very diverse political dynamics surrounding fiscal adjustments in different countries."

"The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) purport to cleanly separate politics and technical matters, embodied by the political negotiation of goals and targets, and the technical creation of an indicator framework. This article analyses how this boundary between science and politics is managed in practice. The statisticians tasked with selecting indicators through the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) are seconded to a global process from national statistical offices. Boundary management requires acceptance of certain normative and political aspects of creating an indicator framework, such as claims to national relevance. Others, like overt national intervention, are however considered impermissible. Each statistician must manage their role as a boundary expert that experience irresolvable tensions due to representing specific countries while being mandated to propound scientific practices and norms. Building on this empirical inquiry, the article sketches out a new normative ideal for knowledge pluralism in the measurement of sustainable development. It argues that indicator processes would benefit from more pluralistic indicator bodies than the IAEG-SDGs. Including diversified knowledge and perspectives from civil society and international organisations would explicate already existing political contestation. It would also contribute to capturing more of the complexities of sustainable development in future monitoring frameworks through consideration of a broader selection of methodologies."

"Questions have long revolved around the European Union's (EU) capacity to develop ‘post-national' political myths – sacred narratives that provide a basis for long-term political legitimacy. The need for new EU political myths has become particularly severe with the declining power of the Union's foundational myths of peace and prosperity, and as the EU has entered an era of almost permanent crisis. This article critically assesses whether one contemporary EU policy innovation – the European Green Deal (EGD) – has the potential to transform from a set of policies and an accompanying narrative into a sacred narrative for the Union. The analysis is conducted by applying a novel framework that assesses a myth's features, including significance, development, and impact, to draw conclusions about the EGD's mythic capacity. Drawing on key speeches, texts, and Eurobarometer findings, the conclusion is drawn that the EGD does have mythic capacity in terms of its significance and development. However, its impact has been limited by critical voices on both sides of the climate action debate. This conclusion has important implications for the possibilities of post-national mythmaking."