An elusive new world order, 1991-2020 - Integration and fragmentation in wider Europe - Straining the European idea

15 important questions on An elusive new world order, 1991-2020 - Integration and fragmentation in wider Europe - Straining the European idea

What did the EU uphold?

The EU upheld liberal democracy, with emphasis on universal rights and freedoms, the rule of law, and belief in the value of pluralism and inclusion as key to human progress.

What was going on in Europe around 2020?

By 2020 the process of continent-wide integration was placed on the defensive, buffeted by economic uncertainty, the return of hypernationalist impulses, the exit of one of its leading member states, and the sudden inconsistency of its American ally.

What three crises tested the EU after 9/11?

  1. The first crisis involved money. In 2008 there was a financial crisis.
  2. The second crisis involved displaced people. In 2015 an unprecedented number of migrants entered the EU.
  3. The third crisis involved rules. In 2018 there were problems with Poland and Hungary regarding judicial independence.
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What consequence did the financial crisis of 2008 have for public opinion?

Across the EU, voter disillusionment over higher taxes and cuts to public spending, and more generally with an economic system that appeared to fuel income inequality, triggered growing resentment against the perceived elitism and indifference of the governing class.

How did the 2008 crisis begin?

  • Beginning in the US with the collapse of an overvalued real estate market and irresponsible mortgage lending by financial institutions large and small, sharp reverses in the US economy led to downward pressure on markets worldwide.
  • By the end of the year a global recession had taken hold, battering confidence across business, housing, and consumer sectors, and raising serious concerns about the future of liberalism's free-market orthodoxy. 

What eventually outlined a path to recovery after the 2008 crisis?

Only the intervention of the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), offering low-interest loans and extended repayment plans to debtor nations, restored financial stability and outlined a path to recovery.

What kind of migrants entered the EU in 2015?

The overwhelming majority were seeking asylum from war-torn Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, while others were economic migrants and refugees from failed states in North Africa.

What challenge were political leaders faced with?

Political leaders were suddenly faced with an unprecedented challenge to the EU's vision of integration, open borders, and protection for the stranger in need.

What allowed more extreme politicians to move into mainstream politics in EU? What did these politicians want?

  • As criminal actors sought to erode public confidence in the values of open and free societies with repeated surprise attacks, and the heightened sense of uncertainty and vulnerability that such acts fostered, more extreme politicians were allowed to move into the political mainstream across the EU.
  • Populist parties on the far right, once relegated to the margins across Europe and largely absent in the US, began to build support by standing against open borders, free-trade practices, rapid cultural changes, and a perceived loss of national sovereignty.

What was tested because of the immigration emergency?

The immigration emergency severely tested the principle of shared sovereignty and the executive authority of EU institutions.

What happened in Poland and Hungary that the EU responded to?

EU ministers responded in 2018 to growing concerns that two member states, Poland and Hungary, were encroaching on judicial independence, interfering with press freedoms, and drifting towards authoritarian rule.

How did Erdogan respond to a failed coup attempt?

Erdogan responded to a failed 2016 coup attempt by jailing his critics and firing thousands of judges, military officers, and civil servants, the chances for membership under his leadership disappeared.

What did Erdogans political style look like?

  • Controlling state-owned media outlets and dominating private television during the 2018 presidential campaign, Erdogan easily secured another five-years term of office.
  • The country's move from the only democratic, Muslim majority member of NATO to a personality-centered authoritarian regime created a serious fissure within the Western alliance.

What did the EU's clash with illiberal member states highlight?

The EU's clash with increasingly illiberal member states highlighted the growing divide between mainstream integrationists and anti-establishment political figures from the so-called Eurosceptic camp.

What did the formal break with the EU represent?

The formal break with the EU in 2020 was an assertion of identity politics writ large, a form of provincial nationalism and affirmation of difference that viewed globalization as the purview of politicians and monied interests who had little understanding of or respect for common people.

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