[ecrea] Call for Contribution special issue 3/2015 Comunicazione Politica (Il Mulino)

Call for contribution

Less Europe, different Europe(s)The controversial discourses of Europe
Comunicazione Politica monograph issue 3/2015
Editor Marinella Belluati (University Turin)

Feelings of scepticism and criticism towards the project of European 
integration have been playing a prominent role within the European 
public space. The 2014 elections in particular turned into an occasion 
to express the negative moods and growing disaffection together with 
antipolitical feelings and new forms of populism that are spreading 
throughout Europe.

The project of European integration, especially at these times of 
economic crisis, does not seem to be perceived with the same level of 
positivity with which it was often welcomed in the past. Such positive 
approach was often too hasty and premature, as demonstrated by the 
“permissive consensus” thesis. But the critical approach, openly 
supported by national political parties and populist movements, can hide 
the real nature of the phenomenon and remove those elements of 
complexity that help understanding the new season of Europe and 
Europeism. Alongside Euro sceptical narratives reported in the media and 
by anti-European party leaders, according to the European statistics the 
general level of trust in Europe is growing, as it is seen as a form of 
protection from the crisis while providing possibilities of 
institutional modernization. Moreover, the evaluation concerning the 
European institutions and policies is positive as in many countries the 
EU shows performances that prove more efficient and effective than the 
national ones.

It would be difficult to argue that the integration phase is not moving 
forward. There is a process of Europeanization of social systems and 
public opinions that can be observed more clearly in social practices 
rather than in cultural elaborations and which progresses 
notwithstanding political resistance and the lack of ability that media 
systems show when attempting to narrate it. This process consists in 
individual experiences, mobility for workers and students, marriages and 
new unions, integrated communication flows – such as for example the 
web. This is made possible by the existence of a common currency, a 
growingly open circulation space and a lingua Franca, English, which 
supplanted the idea of common language. This engenders a growing need 
for integrated policies and rules valid across all the EU countries.

But all this is hardly ever found in public and political speeches, 
reported and reinforced in the media who rather prefer to fuel the 
rhetoric of a distant and cold Europe to boost their internal consensus, 
a Europe that is a constraint rather than a resource, a product of banks 
and bureaucracy rather than a creation of citizens. There is undoubtedly 
some truth in this, but there is also the systematic removal of a 
different horizon.

The goal of this monograph is to bring together works that well explain 
the coexistence of such contrasting tensions. We would like to 
foreground the structural and narrative elements that keep being an 
obstacle to the affirmation of the European public sphere and that fuel 
the European lack of democracy, which is well rooted in the 
nationalistic rhetoric and the national institutions that are not ready 
to give up their power. As we often hear, the economic and financial 
agreements are not enough to create and strengthen a feeling of European 
citizenship; it is necessary to strengthen the political space and, 
according to Habermas, the voice of intellectuals who should fight 
populism and be supported by serious media outlets, to build good social 
representation. The latest elections legitimized the presence of 
Euro-sceptical political feelings: even though they have not taken a 
prominent role in the European institutional architecture – the 
anti-European parties are experiencing quite a few difficulties in 
creating coalitions across Euro-parliamentary groups – they are 
nevertheless letting a negative narrative emerge and this is spreading 
across politics and influencing the society at large. Still, it must be 
said that the space of Euro-criticism is ill-defined and lacks cohesion, 
bringing together extreme positions such as those of the Lega Nord and 
the Front National, sharing similar definitions, those of the British 
UKIP or Alba Dorada, openly hostile and contrary to Europe, and those 
who may be labelled as progressive such as Tzipras Other Europe or the 
Podemos movement, which gave a voice to the Indignados, together with 
the new transnational environmentalist or consumerist movements. All 
these are signals that a cognitive mobilization is taking place around 
Europe and calls for deeper understanding.

Starting from these tenets, the ComPol monograph is looking forward to 
collect analytical contributions dialectically exploring the tension 
between contrasting elements of pressure and resistance to the 
construction process of a European public space. Contributions focusing 
on the following topics will be welcomed:

-        The 2014 European Elections
-        Transnational experience of political organizations and 
leadership, with an anti-European approach or aiming for a European 
re-foundation
-        The European public sphere building debate and its actors
-        The sentiments of trust or mistrust in Europe (quantity and 
quality approaches).
-        The European communication flows (media representation, public 
communication and integrated media systems)
-        The European communication of national public actors (parties, 
governments, civil society)
-        The European deliberation decision processes

An abstract of max 500 words must be sent by 31st January 2015  - 
(compol.rivista /at/ gmail.com) .
Proposals will be selected by the 28th February.
Complete manuscripts must be sent by 15th June 2015 and they will be 
subjected to a double blind peer review.
Proposals and articles are welcome both in Italian and English.

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ComPol- Comunicazione Politica
Direttore:    Franca Roncarolo
Redazione:
Telefono:
E-mail:     (compol.rivista /at/ gmail.com)
Website:     www.compol.it



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