Schmidt Explores New Directions for the Future of the EU
On September 6, 2022, Vivien Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration and Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, participated in a plenary panel at the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) 2022 Annual Conference.
Joining Schmidt on the panel, titled “New Directions for the Future of the EU,” was Amelia Hadfield, Dean International, Head of the Department of Politics, and Founder/Former Co-Director of the Centre for Britain and Europe (CBE) at the University of Surrey; as well as Amy Verdun, professor of political science at the University of Victoria. The session was chaired by Andrew Glencross, Professor of Political Science and Deputy Director for International Affairs at the Université Catholique de Lille.
In her remarks, Schmidt suggested that the future of Europe depends on which of three ‘big’ ideas becomes dominant. She posed questions on the future of the union, including: will Europe move forward through progressivism, with new EU-level resources to ensure cooperation on investment in the future in response to Europe’s many crises, such as on economics, energy, climate, and security? Will it move backward through a resilient neo-liberalism, where austerity would return in response to fears of inflation, without common resources to address the challenges together? Or will it go off the rails with populism, in which case all bets are off?
For more details, visit the UACES Annual Conference website.
Vivien Schmidt is a Professor of International Relations and Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and was the first Director of BU’s Center for the Study of Europe, housed at the Pardee School. Schmidt’s research focuses on European political economy, institutions, democracy, and political theory—in particular on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis. Read more about Professor Schmidt on her faculty profile.