Theory and Practice? A Comparative Analysis of Migration and Development Policies in Eleven European Countries and the European Commission

This article analyses international policy discussions on migration and development (M&D) and contrasts these with the actual M&D policies and practices of 11 European countries who were among the main proponents of this international discourse. Desk research of public documents and accompanying information sought from these 11 governments as well as in the European Commission (EC) provide the basis for a comparative analysis of their overall M&D policies and strategies, and institutional settings for formulating and implementing these. The comparison shows that M&D policy and practice remains in a tentative and experimental phase, and that countries experience difficulties reflecting their international positions in their own policies, as well as in learning from their own efforts and those of others. While stressing the developmental potential of migration in international discussions, most of the countries’ policies still reflect an understanding of migration as a problem and a preoccupation with short‐term domestic interests.     

Framing European integration in mediated public spheres: an increasing nationalization and contestation of European issues in party political communication?

This article proposes a claims-making analysis of party political communication over Europe in mediated public spheres in France, Ireland, the UK and Spain between 1993 and 2006. It demonstrates that office-seeking parties and especially the representatives of the executive power generally dominate Europeanized debates. In contrast, peripheral parties and other party actors such as party MPs and extra-parliamentary politicians face significant difficulties in obtaining visibility and resonance for their Europeanized frames. The empirical and longitudinal analysis also shows the prevalence of claims directed towards the EU level and of nationalized debates over Europe. Overall, even though critical engagements with Europe have progressed over time, the domination of mainstream parties and party actors in framing European integration and the pro-European consensus between office-seeking parties nevertheless limit the potential for contestation on European matters.     

Contesting European policies without being (openly) Eurosceptic? An empirical analysis of the political communication of Attac associations towards European integration (2004–2008)

This article uses claims-making analysis to delineate the main features of the political communication of four Attac associations in France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. As one of the most prominent associations of the alter-globalization movement, Attac illustrates quite well the type of political communication that those social movements develop towards European integration. The empirical analysis suggests that Attac associations mainly address demands towards the European level, using the European Central Bank and the Commission as privileged targets viewed as non-majoritarian institutions far away from citizens' democratic control. It also shows that the nature of the discourse of contestation promoted by Attac associations is essentially related to the European policy-making process but not necessarily to the EU polity in itself. It suggests that, under certain circumstances, alter-globalization movements might be actively involved in a potential process of politicization of European issues at the national level.     

European Cohesion? Globalization,Autonomization, and the Dynamics of EU Integration

Globalization is frequently assumed to be responsible for creating the economic environment in which a much greater degree of European Union (EU) economic integration is deemed necessary. In contrast, this paper argues that globalization, in conjunction with neo-liberal growth, has led to autonomization as well as integration. The term autonomization designates both that economic governance is increasingly delegated to autonomous regions, and that neo-liberal economic policies tend to fragment and divide in their pursuit of growth. The paper investigates the tension between the role in which globalization has cast the region, and the region as a central player in the EU's cohesion strategy. Cohesion policy-measures to combat underdevelopment and backwardness-plays a key role in integration and growth strategies. It is argued that cohesion has become detached from its redistributive origins and incorporated in a discourse of competitiveness and growth. The region has emerged as both the site upon which the global acts upon the EU, and the level at which the EU has determined that the processes of globalization can best be accommodated. It is suggested that the tension between cohesion and autonomization introduced by globalization is a central dynamic at work in the contemporary EU.     

Subjective well-being in European countries��on the age-specific impact of physical activity

As an attempt to measure the ‘experienced’ utility of individuals in economics, the investigation of individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) was pioneered by Van Praag and Frijters (1999) and Kahneman et al. (1999). Since then, a number of studies has analysed the factors associated with SWB and policy makers are now recognising the importance of SWB as a policy target, with the implication being that one could target its factors associated with increase in the overall SWB in countries. However, despite its significance to economies, and increasing policy relevance, investigations on the impact of sport and physical activity on SWB are relatively rare [e.g. Rasciute and Downward in Kyklos 63(2):256–270, 2010]. More specifically, despite sports participation and engagement in physical activity having a strong age-specific profile (Breuer et al. in Eur Rev Aging Phys Act 7:61–70, 2010; Hinrichs et al. in Eur J Sport Soc 6(1):49–57, 2010; Mechling and Netz in European Rev Aging Physical Activity 6(2):89–97, 2009), there is no study that investigates whether the magnitude of this impact is age-specific. Consequently, this paper seeks to make a unique contribution to the existing literature by exploring the age-specific effects of physical activity on SWB for a broad cross-section of 19 European countries. Overall, the results suggest that engagement in physical activity generally contributes to the SWB of individuals on a European level but that significant age-specific differences exist.     

Adolescents' understandings of binge drinking in Southern and Northern European contexts – cultural variations of ‘controlled loss of control’

Previous research on youth drinking has brought out important features in young people's time- out cultures as and how they relate to the current neo-liberal social order with its expectation of self-governing individuals. However, previous research has not sufficiently considered cultural variations on the meaning of binge drinking for young people; in particular, there have been very few studies dealing with under-aged drinkers. This paper considers the applicability of binge drinking as ‘controlled loss of control’ in Northern and Southern European contexts by comparing young people's perceptions of binge drinking in Finland and Italy, which have conventionally been considered as representing sharply contrasting drinking traditions. The data consist of 28 focus-group interviews conducted at schools among 15-year-old pupils (N = 148) in Helsinki and Turin. In both countries, binge drinking was seen as risky, but it was associated with social norms that defined the limits of successful or failed drinking experience. Cultural variations were found especially in the ways self-control was defined with regard to drinking regulation. However, in both data the competence of the drinker and self-control was emphasized, thus contradicting the interpretation of binge drinking as loss of control or a time-out from the neo-liberal social order.     

The Integration of Immigrants in Sweden: a Model for the European Union?

In an overall ranking by the Migration Policy Group of 2006 measuring immigrant integration policies in 28 countries, Sweden scored more points than any other country. This result is especially interesting given that Swedish integration policies differ considerably from integration policies applied in other EU countries. Whereas in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and France integration conditions have become increasingly restrictive in recent years, in Sweden the participation in integration courses is still voluntary and no integration requirements must be met for long‐term residence or citizenship. Moreover, the Swedish integration programme is characterised by an increasing number of labour‐market related integration measures. Yet, in contrast to the Migration Policy Group ranking, data collected from the OECD and Eurostat seem to indicate unfavourable integration outcomes in Sweden, at least in terms of labour market participation. The gap in employment rates between the native and foreign‐born population in Sweden widened during the 1990s and has not narrowed significantly since then. This means that the outcome of Swedish integration policies is at least ambiguous, which makes the use of Sweden as a model for integration policies in other member states inconceivable.     

Does more knowledge about the European Union lead to a stronger European identity? A comparative analysis among adolescents in 21 European member states

Strengthening European identity is often considered as one of the mechanisms to address the perceived lack of legitimacy of the European Union (EU). In this study we test the explanatory power of cognitive mobilization for the development of European identity (more knowledge about the EU leads to a stronger European identity) and we challenge this model by the inclusion of both an economic utilitarian explanation for European identity (benefiting more from EU integration leads to a stronger European identity) and a political trust approach (having more political trust leads to a stronger European identity). The multilevel regression analysis on the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 data, which is collected among adolescents in 21 member states, shows that knowledge about the EU has a significant but limited effect on European identity. Personal economic benefits because of EU membership and having trust in national political institutions, in contrast, are more important determinants for the development of European identity.     

From partisan war to the ethnography of European Turkey: the Balkan career of Ivan Liprandi, 1790–1880

The Balkan entanglements of the Great Powers have long interested historians of war, diplomacy, and nation-building in South-Eastern Europe. Although tsarist officers played a central role in Russian policies in the region, historians have rarely treated their writings as expressions of specifically military concerns and preoccupations. The present article seeks to fill this gap by reconstructing the Balkan career of Ivan Liprandi, a Russian officer, partisan leader, and self-styled expert on the European part of the Ottoman Empire during the middle decades of the nineteenth century. The article traces Liprandi’s effort to turn his direct experience of partisan warfare into knowledge and place that knowledge at the disposal of the Russian military command. Liprandi’s remarkable Balkan career testifies to the growing interest of the Imperial Russian military in the ethno-confessional profile and political attitudes of the local population as factors contributing to victory or defeat. Liprandi’s statistical and ethnographic writings on the Balkans are also indicative of the nexus between the military and civilian forms of knowledge that emerged in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.     

Władysław Konopczyński: a Polish Historian of European Caliber

Władysław Konopczyński, a Polish scholar and an investigator of modern history, certainly deserves to be recalled and to reappear yet again in all-European awareness. It must be done due to the fact that the name of that very outstanding and titled pre-war scholar was forced to disappear completely from the European humanities for fifty years. The decision of expelling Konopczyński from the world of European historians was made by the communist leaders of Poland. However, before that time, Konopczyński had played an important role in Europe. It is just enough to mention that during Poland's twenty years of independence after World War I, in the year 1931, Konopczyński was granted a membership in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Moreover, he was awarded the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star and the French Legion of Honour. Furthermore, the historian participated in many international congresses and his works were printed in many countries of Western Europe. In 1947 in Stockholm the heir to the throne himself attended Konopczyński's lecture. An erratum to this article is available at .     

The Occupational Integration of Male Migrants in Western European Countries: Assimilation or Persistent Disadvantage?

This paper looks at the migrants' occupational integration process. Two main theoretical perspectives are tested: the first one (assimilation view) claims that in the short‐run migrants are penalized, but as they settle in the receiving country they get integrated into the host society; the second one (segmented assimilation view) claims that disadvantages persist in the long‐run. EU‐LFS and ESS data are described and modelled, in order to compare the labour market performances of migrants in four European old‐receiving countries (Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden) and in two new‐receiving countries (Spain and Italy) both in a short‐term and in a long‐run perspective. We find that a) in the short‐run, migrants' labour market condition is worst with respect to the natives; b) this gap decreases with older migrants; c) the ethnic penalty disappears with the second generation, when they achieve a level of education comparable to that of the natives.

Policy Implications

• Labour market policies appear to face a trade‐off: policies oriented towards the flexibilization could improve migrants’ occupational integration, but such policies are also likely to increase the risk of poverty for the natives.
• In the case of the Southern new‐receiving countries, a similar tradeoff could emerge for policies aiming at stopping the underground economy.
• Concerning integration in the long run, our results definitely point to the importance of education. We would suggest policies oriented towards a full educational integration of the migrants’ offspring, since such policies could eliminate the gap separating them from the natives.

     

Territory,structures and interpretation — Two case studies of the European Union's LEADER I programme

This paper reflects on the nature of the EU LEADER I local (participative) rural development programme using two empirical case studies. The two initiatives are analysed temporally as they moved from the construction of a territorial rationale, through the establishment of local structures of participation and finally into a philosophy and modus operandi in the implementation phase. The central argument of the paper is that this style of approach reflects the basic principles of the local, territorial policy approach and that evaluation methods need to evolve to be able to focus on process, structures and interpretation/learning rather than on the measurement of concrete activity.     

Transcending the Nation-State?: The European Commission and the (Re)-Discovery of Europe

Abstract: This article examines the process of European integration from a cultural perspective. Taking up questions posed by social scientists and European Community (EC) officials concerning the possibility of transcending nation-state and nationalism in Europe, it explores the European Commission's attempts to do this, particularly through the EC's campaigns and initiatives for forging a sense of European identity and culture at the level of popular consciousness. Following Hobsbawn and Ranger, I argue that the history of EC cultural politics provides an interesting case study of invented traditions and manufactured heritage. The political implications and problems of using culture as a vehicle for nation-building at a pan-European level are analysed. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of the concept of European identity and questions whether the EC's project for constructing a post-nationalist political order in Europe is feasible or politically desirable.     

The pitfalls of European risk governance: a question of design or application? Some empirical results from the food safety sector

The separation of science-based risk assessment from policy-based risk management is meant to safeguard scientific autonomy while improving evidence-based policy-making. This risk regulation model is used in several policy domains and especially those targeting public health like food safety. Research reported in this article shows this approach to be deficient despite its conceptual simplicity and strong organizational basis. The problem is twofold: first, risk regulation as currently practiced is associated with a biased take on “science” at both stages of risk assessment and risk management; second, it displays an over-reliance on legislative measures with few follow-through mechanisms. The article illustrates how these problems are played out and discusses their implications using two examples from the area of chemical contamination, namely aflatoxins and dioxins in food     

Sociological ambivalence: The case of East European peasant-immigrant workers in America, 1880s–1930s

The paper develops an understanding of the tensions experienced by East European immigrants by drawing on the concept of sociological ambivalence: being pulled in cognitively and emotionally opposed directions generated by the social situations in which the actors are located. Using a variety of sources created by East European peasant-immigrants themselves—letters, diaries, poems, prayers, newspaper articles, and oral history collections—the paper discusses four kinds of sociological ambivalence experienced by the immigrants: (1) resulting from the multiplicity of interests incorporated in different social positions occupied by the same person; (2) induced by the opportunity structure characterized by the disjunction between culturally prescribed aspirations and socially structured avenues for realizing these goals; (3) generated by conflicting values and goals contained in a group's cultural system and in normative role expectations prescribed for its members; and (4) resulting from individuals' simultaneous orientation to several different sets of cultural values and reference groups.I wish to thank Renée Fox and Robert Merton for their very helpful comments on the original version of this paper.