The European Crisis of Politics: Ethnoreligious Pluralism and the Rise of Radical Populism and Far-Right in Europe

  • Cristina Astier
  • Ander Errasti
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-59-2018pp19-25
Keywords: european integration, political crisis, democratic challenges, rise of radicalisms, united in diversity

Abstract

It is not highly contentious to claim that the 2008 global economic crisis may be also understood as a failure of the welfare state in European countries. The rise of economic inequalities in Europe, as a major sequel of the 2008 economic crisis and the increase of migrant flows, has fostered and become a breeding ground for racial, religious, or ideological hatred in the western world. However, compared to previous periods in recent history when tensions arose, citizens can now channel their feelings, thoughts, and political ideals through the institutions of the state’s basic structure. Thus, citizens are having a say by channelling their claims through democratic means and different forms of political participation. One relevant articulation has been new expressions of radical populism, nativism, and far-right ideologies which have burst into the public sphere, at the local, regional, and European levels. This combination has turned the economic and refugee crisis into what is mainly a crisis of European politics.

Published online: 31 October 2018

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Author Biographies

Cristina Astier
Cristina Astier is a PhD student in Political Philosophy at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), a researcher at Globernance (Institute for Democratic Governance in San Sebastián) and a researcher at GISME (Group on Innovative Mathematical Solutions for Entities), a multidisciplinary group of the University of Barcelona. She graduated with a BA in philosophy from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in political philosophy from Pompeu Fabra University. She has been a PhD visiting student at the Department of Politics and International Relations and at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice at Oxford University. Her research focuses on issues of global ethics, global distributive justice, justice in international trade and consumption, and the legitimacy of global governance institutions. Astier combines academic work with non-academic professional activities, especially in European funded projects. From 2012 to 2016, she was the coordinator assistant and head of communications of the European project SIforAGE (Social Innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing) funded under the 7th Framework Programme by the European Commission. Since 2016, she is the content and communications manager of the European project Ccentre. The project is funded by EIT (European Institute of Innovation & Technology) Health, a body of the European Union.
Ander Errasti
Ander Errasti holds a PhD in Humanities —Ethics and Political Philosophy— from UPF, supervised by Dr Sonia Arribas and Dr Daniel Innerarity. His research focused on a normative analysis of Ulrich Beck’s Cosmopolitanism (“Nations and Nationalism in a Cosmopolitanized World: Some Lessons from Ulrich Beck’s Work”). He has been a Visiting Doctoral Student at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University. BA in Philosophy at University of Barcelona (UB), MA in Political Philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Business Administration Diploma at UB, Advanced LLM in Legal Sciences at the UPF. He has been working at the Basque Institute of Democratic Governance since 2013, where he has organised several conferences, publications, and research activities. He is currently developing a research project in cooperation with the University of Edinburgh (supervised by Professors Michael Keating and Nicola McEwan) on the impact of Brexit and the 2014 independence referendum on Scotland’s self-government institutions. Finally, Errasti is a member of the GISME group at the UB since 2010, directed by Professor Javier Tejada. In that capacity, he has organised several dissemination activities, including collaborations with the Prado Museum, the Spanish Foundation of Science and Technology, or Jakiunde (the Basque Academy of Science and Humanities). He is the Coordinator Assistant of the “CCentre: Towards Citizen Centered Active Ageing and Well Being” project (2016-2019) financed by the EIT Health and Coordinated by Professor Elena Lauroba. He was the Project Manager of the European Commission funded SIforAGE Project on Social Innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing for Sustainable Economic Growth (2013-2016).
Published
2018-10-31
How to Cite
Astier, Cristina, and Ander Errasti. 2018. “The European Crisis of Politics: Ethnoreligious Pluralism and the Rise of Radical Populism and Far-Right in Europe”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 59 (October), 19-25. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-59-2018pp19-25.
Issue
No. 59 (2018): The European Crisis of Politics: Ethnoreligious Pluralism and the Rise of Radical Populism and Far-Right in Europe
Section
Introduction

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