The conference
The conference 'Europe in crises, Europe as the crisis?' was staged in Oslo on 14-15 March 2013. The event gathered international scholars to discuss the profound existential crisis that the EU finds itself in. What started as an American financial crisis has come to question the very existence of the European Union, and indeed, has revived secessionist tendencies in several of its member states (in particular Spain and the UK). Why is this? What is the present status of crisis? The multiple crises facing the European Union speak to the need for radically rethinking the European Union and the way in which decision-makers, intellectuals, scholars, and the public approach it.
Podcast
This is a recording from the initial presentations from the panel debate. For technical reasons, only the first two speakers are included.
- Asimina Michailidou on Greece (1:40)
- Mark Gilbert on Italy (14:20)
Duration: 29m32s Size: 13.4MB
Discussants
Asimina Michailidou
is a political communications scholar and a researcher at ARENA, University of Oslo. Previous and current projects of hers cover the EU’s public communication strategies; online media, mobilisation and crises; online journalism and European elections; and Euroscepticism in the media sphere. Among her main publications are: The European Union online (2012, Akademiker) and articles in the Journal of European Public Policy, Journalism Practice, European Journal of Communication Research and the Journal of Contemporary European Research.
Research interests: Public perceptions of the EU and Europe, including the role of media and political actors in shaping the EU debate; the impact of online news and social media on EU politics, both in terms of public discourse and citizens’ mobilization; crisis communication strategies.
Relevant recent publication: Contesting Europe, ECPR Press, 2012 (with Pieter de Wilde and Hans-Jörg Trenz)
Mark Gilbert
is a historian at the John Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies at Bologna (Italy). His main interests concern 20th century Italy and European integration (and the close relationship between the two). He is the author of a concise history of European Integration (whose second edition came out last year with Rowman and Littlefield) and of two key books to understand contemporary Italy. The first deals with the secessionist Padanian movement Lega Nord (The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics) and the other with the end of the First Italian Republic (Italian Revolution: The End of Politics, Italian Style?).
Research interests: History of European Integration, Political Parties, Regional Cleavages, Political Upheavals
Relevant recent publications: European Integration: A Concise History, Rowman and Littlefield, 2012;
‘Don’t panic! Why Italian Elections could trigger reform not instability’, World Policy Blog, 2013
Bent Sofus Tranøy
(not on podcast)
is a political economist at the Hedmark University College and Oslo School of Management. He was a member of Norwegian Financial Crisis Commission (NOU 2011:1) and of Norwegian Inquiry Commission for the Power Relations in the Food (NOU 2011:4) and is currently on a member of the Technology Board. He has published widely on a range of topics, including globalisation, financial regulation, public policy and Europeanisation. He received Brageprisen in 2006 for the book Markedets makt over sinnene (The market's power over the minds). Other publications include Økonomisk globalisering og politisk styring (with Dag Harald Claes and Helge Hveem).
Research interests: Financial stability, Governance, Market Power.
Relevant recent publications: ‘All that Glitnirs is not Gold’: The Political Economy of the Icelandic Financial Crisis, Symposium in European Political Studies, 10(3), 2011; ‘Recommodification, residualism and risk: The political economy of Housing bubbles in Norway”, in The Politics of Housing Booms and Busts, 2009