Religion in the European Parliament's discourse on enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy

2019
book section
article
dc.abstract.enIn recent years in political sciences, we have been able to observe a renaissance of scholarly interest in the role of religion in politics. At its basis lies refutation of the claims of the secularisation thesis, which assume the privatisation of religion in modern societies and its irrelevance to politics. Scholars today stress that in fact this has never been the case, as "religion is not and never was entirely outside of power, in search of an opportunity to be publically resuscitated" (Hurd 2012: 946, see also: Casanova 1994; Haynes 1998; Minkenberg 2003). As a consequence of this theoretical reorientation, religion has become an important factor enabling better understanding of various developments in the international arena as well as in the field of foreign policy, and as such needs to be taken into consideration in policy analysis (Haynes 2008: 294). This interest in religion and politics is also expressed in studies on the European Union (EU), especially in research on the European collective identity (Checkel and Katzenstein 2009: 15), the role of religious organisations in lobbying at the EU level (Steven 2009; Leustean 2012), and, only more recently, European foreign policy (EFP) (de Jong 2015, Foret 2017, Wolff 2017a, b). It is to this final stream of research that this article contributes. I will investigate whether and in what capacity religion (and which religion?) features in the discourses on the European Union’s enlargement policy (EUEP) and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), as these two policies constitute components of EFP. Various actors and institutions are responsible for shaping the discourses underlying the formulation, execution, criticism and contestation of both these policies (see Góra, Styczyńska, Zubek in this volume). The articulations of these discourses take place at different levels, in domestic and international arenas. Among them, the European Parliament (EP) serves as a particularly interesting case. Firstly, the citizens of all the EU countries directly elect Members of European Parliament (MEPs), and this group, at least to some degree, reflects and presents domestic dynamics in this supranational arena (see Góra and Zielińska, forthcoming). Secondly, the EP functions in the European space in relation to other EU institutions, but also has various prerogatives in shaping EU policies, including EFP (Irrera 2015: 1). Moreover, the EP is involved in various initiatives related to religious issues, especially outside the EU (i.e. promotion of freedom of religion and beliefs, protection of Christian minority rights). This therefore all makes this arena particularly interesting for grasping competing discourses on foreign policy at EU level and analysing the role religion plays in their construction. The article unfolds as follows. Firstly, I briefly present the existing research on religion and foreign policy with a special focus on studies related to the EU. Secondly, I outline the recent discussions on the EUEP and ENP with a special emphasis on the dimensions related to European identity construction and religion. I then present the methodology of my research, followed by analysis of empirical data and the conclusions.pl
dc.affiliationWydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Socjologiipl
dc.contributor.authorZielińska, Katarzyna - 141997 pl
dc.contributor.editorGóra, Magdalena - 160082 pl
dc.contributor.editorStyczyńska, Natasza - 171973 pl
dc.contributor.editorZubek, Marcin - 157340 pl
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-30T07:15:59Z
dc.date.available2019-09-30T07:15:59Z
dc.date.issued2019pl
dc.description.physical231-257pl
dc.description.publication1,5pl
dc.description.seriesStudies In European Cooperation
dc.identifier.eisbn978-87-7198-323-4pl
dc.identifier.isbn978-87-574-4326-4pl
dc.identifier.projectNCN UMO-2012/05/D/HS5/01549pl
dc.identifier.projectROD UJ / Opl
dc.identifier.seriesissn1904-3171
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/83629
dc.languageengpl
dc.language.containerengpl
dc.pubinfoCopenhagen : Djof Publishingpl
dc.publisher.ministerialDjøf Forlagpl
dc.rightsDodaję tylko opis bibliograficzny*
dc.rights.licenceBez licencji otwartego dostępu
dc.rights.uri*
dc.sourceinfoliczba autorów 11; liczba stron 300; liczba arkuszy wydawniczych 18;pl
dc.subject.enEuropean Parliamentpl
dc.subject.enreligionpl
dc.subject.enenlargement policypl
dc.subject.enEuropean Neighbourhood Policypl
dc.subject.endiscoursepl
dc.subtypeArticlepl
dc.titleReligion in the European Parliament's discourse on enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policypl
dc.title.containerContestation of EU enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy : actors, arenas and argumentspl
dc.typeBookSectionpl
dspace.entity.typePublication
dc.abstract.enpl
In recent years in political sciences, we have been able to observe a renaissance of scholarly interest in the role of religion in politics. At its basis lies refutation of the claims of the secularisation thesis, which assume the privatisation of religion in modern societies and its irrelevance to politics. Scholars today stress that in fact this has never been the case, as "religion is not and never was entirely outside of power, in search of an opportunity to be publically resuscitated" (Hurd 2012: 946, see also: Casanova 1994; Haynes 1998; Minkenberg 2003). As a consequence of this theoretical reorientation, religion has become an important factor enabling better understanding of various developments in the international arena as well as in the field of foreign policy, and as such needs to be taken into consideration in policy analysis (Haynes 2008: 294). This interest in religion and politics is also expressed in studies on the European Union (EU), especially in research on the European collective identity (Checkel and Katzenstein 2009: 15), the role of religious organisations in lobbying at the EU level (Steven 2009; Leustean 2012), and, only more recently, European foreign policy (EFP) (de Jong 2015, Foret 2017, Wolff 2017a, b). It is to this final stream of research that this article contributes. I will investigate whether and in what capacity religion (and which religion?) features in the discourses on the European Union’s enlargement policy (EUEP) and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), as these two policies constitute components of EFP. Various actors and institutions are responsible for shaping the discourses underlying the formulation, execution, criticism and contestation of both these policies (see Góra, Styczyńska, Zubek in this volume). The articulations of these discourses take place at different levels, in domestic and international arenas. Among them, the European Parliament (EP) serves as a particularly interesting case. Firstly, the citizens of all the EU countries directly elect Members of European Parliament (MEPs), and this group, at least to some degree, reflects and presents domestic dynamics in this supranational arena (see Góra and Zielińska, forthcoming). Secondly, the EP functions in the European space in relation to other EU institutions, but also has various prerogatives in shaping EU policies, including EFP (Irrera 2015: 1). Moreover, the EP is involved in various initiatives related to religious issues, especially outside the EU (i.e. promotion of freedom of religion and beliefs, protection of Christian minority rights). This therefore all makes this arena particularly interesting for grasping competing discourses on foreign policy at EU level and analysing the role religion plays in their construction. The article unfolds as follows. Firstly, I briefly present the existing research on religion and foreign policy with a special focus on studies related to the EU. Secondly, I outline the recent discussions on the EUEP and ENP with a special emphasis on the dimensions related to European identity construction and religion. I then present the methodology of my research, followed by analysis of empirical data and the conclusions.
dc.affiliationpl
Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Socjologii
dc.contributor.authorpl
Zielińska, Katarzyna - 141997
dc.contributor.editorpl
Góra, Magdalena - 160082
dc.contributor.editorpl
Styczyńska, Natasza - 171973
dc.contributor.editorpl
Zubek, Marcin - 157340
dc.date.accessioned
2019-09-30T07:15:59Z
dc.date.available
2019-09-30T07:15:59Z
dc.date.issuedpl
2019
dc.description.physicalpl
231-257
dc.description.publicationpl
1,5
dc.description.series
Studies In European Cooperation
dc.identifier.eisbnpl
978-87-7198-323-4
dc.identifier.isbnpl
978-87-574-4326-4
dc.identifier.projectpl
NCN UMO-2012/05/D/HS5/01549
dc.identifier.projectpl
ROD UJ / O
dc.identifier.seriesissn
1904-3171
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/83629
dc.languagepl
eng
dc.language.containerpl
eng
dc.pubinfopl
Copenhagen : Djof Publishing
dc.publisher.ministerialpl
Djøf Forlag
dc.rights*
Dodaję tylko opis bibliograficzny
dc.rights.licence
Bez licencji otwartego dostępu
dc.rights.uri*
dc.sourceinfopl
liczba autorów 11; liczba stron 300; liczba arkuszy wydawniczych 18;
dc.subject.enpl
European Parliament
dc.subject.enpl
religion
dc.subject.enpl
enlargement policy
dc.subject.enpl
European Neighbourhood Policy
dc.subject.enpl
discourse
dc.subtypepl
Article
dc.titlepl
Religion in the European Parliament's discourse on enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy
dc.title.containerpl
Contestation of EU enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy : actors, arenas and arguments
dc.typepl
BookSection
dspace.entity.type
Publication
Affiliations

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