The Future of European integration: challenges and opportunities for the European democracy ahead of the 2024 EP elections

Call for Papers

15-16 May 2024, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Deadline: 20/02/2024

The Call for Papers for the Internationalconference “The Future of Europeanintegration: challenges and opportunities forthe European democracy ahead of the 2024EP elections”is now open.

 

Conference Objectives

Democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are founding values of the European Union. With local,regional, national and European elections, the EU and its Member States represent one of the deepestdemocratic experiences in the world and a model for other countries and regions. Free and fair electionsare the foundation of democracy, and independent and transparent electoral processes are vital to acompetitive electoral environment guaranteeing citizens’ trust and maximizing legitimacy.
Despite Jean Monnet’s dictum that European integration will be forged through crises, the multiple andprofound crises within Europe and around the world during these last years pose a significant challenge tothe founding values of the EU. These crises test the Union’s institutional and policy limits and increase thepoliticization of the integration process. At the same time, though, they have exacerbated challenges tothe democratic values and institutions of the EU and its Member States, bringing again to the limelight theEU’s often-cited democratic deficit. Promoting free and fair elections, strengthening media freedom,countering disinformation, and encouraging citizen and civil society engagement should thus become keypriorities for all European, national and subnational policy actors. In parallel, the international context fordemocratic values is worsening as illiberal governance proposals are strengthened around the world andbecome attractive even within Europe. Against this backdrop, the coming 2024 European elections will bea crucial test case for the resilience of European democracy.
The conference intends to analyse, in an inter-disciplinary perspective, the challenges for Europe ahead ofthe June 2024 elections and the opportunities a new debate on the meaning of European democracy canprovide both within Europe and as a model for the rest of the world. To this end, we invite submissions ofpapers from including (but not limited to) the following themes:

-European values in the context of a changing international order
-Can European democracy be a model for other supranational systems
-European institutions: discourses and legitimization
-Europe in the traditional media and social media
- The EU democratic deficit and the role of the European Parliament in the EU policy process
-The role of European political parties and political groups of the European Parliament in enhancing thedemocratic values of the EU
-The evolution of the European elections and the participation in EP elections
-Populist and anti - EU movements and electoral campaigns in European elections
-Public opinion towards the EU
-National political parties and the process of European integration
-EU’s multiple crises and their impact on the process of European integration
-Trust, legitimacy, EU solidarity


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