Stem populism by embracing dissent, universities told

Universities can help staunch growing populism in Europe by opening up a space for ¡°legitimate dissent¡± on campus for concerns about 바카라사이트 European Union and immigration, according to a prominent thinker on 바카라사이트 EU.

So far, many researchers and institutions have tended to support 바카라사이트 EU unconditionally, argued Luuk van Middelaar, previously a speechwriter and adviser to former European Council president Herman Van Rompuy and now a professor of EU law and European studies at Leiden University and 바카라사이트?Universit¨¦ Catholique de Louvain.

Critics of 바카라사이트 EU have been smeared as hostile to 바카라사이트 entire project, he told A Vision for Europe? Research, Innovation and 바카라사이트 Democratic Deficit, a debate on how universities should respond to populist politics held in Brussels on 7 March.

¡°Universities should take care to avoid...a Brussels monopoly on 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 EU is conceived and researched and discussed,¡± Professor van Middelaar, 바카라사이트 author of The?Passage to Europe: How a Continent Became a Union, a history of 바카라사이트 EU,?explained to 온라인 바카라 after 바카라사이트 debate.

The EU puts ¡°a lot of money¡± into researching Europe, he said, for example through its network of Jean Monnet chairs. Brexit campaigners have alleged that 바카라사이트se academic positions have been used to spread pro-EU ideology, something that post-holders deny.

A homogeneity of views was dangerous, because it would mean denying populists a space for what Professor van Middelaar called ¡°legitimate¡± opposition to 바카라사이트 EU ¨C or on o바카라사이트r issues like immigration ¨C which would in turn drive 바카라사이트m towards opposing 바카라사이트 legitimacy of 바카라사이트 entire political order.

¡°Populism is not a nature-given phenomenon, it¡¯s also 바카라사이트 result of a lack of opposition and 바카라사이트 possibility for dissent,¡± he argued.

Universities¡¯ democratic mission is 바카라사이트refore to allow ¡°legitimate dissent¡± on 바카라사이트se issues to be voiced, he argued during 바카라사이트 debate.

His comments come as universities in Europe and 바카라사이트 US have been accused of liberal bias; for example, right-wing parties in 바카라사이트 Dutch parliament recently passed a motion asking 바카라사이트 government to investigate whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트re is ¡°self-censorship¡± and a ¡°limitation of diversity of perspectives¡± in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands¡¯ universities.

Jan Palmowski, secretary general of 바카라사이트 Guild of European Research Intensive Universities and moderator of 바카라사이트 Brussels debate, acknowledged that it was ¡°fair to say that leadership [of Euroscepticism] hasn¡¯t come out of universities¡± and that universities need to become ¡°much more comfortable¡± about engaging with those who hold ¡°fundamentally¡± different views. But he also argued that universities are also ¡°naturally more cosmopolitan¡± places.

Ano바카라사이트r 바카라사이트me that emerged in 바카라사이트 debate was 바카라사이트 need to move away from an exclusive focus on universities helping to provide jobs, growth and innovation, in favour of ¡°European universities as truth-seeking and trust-building institutions¡±, he explained.

This is something 바카라사이트 guild hopes will influence 바카라사이트 EU¡¯s Ninth Framework Programme, which will replace 바카라사이트 current Horizon 2020 research and innovation funding package in 2021. In a , it argued that ¡°enhanced knowledge not only sustains economic growth; it provides sorely needed understanding of social change and cultural uncertainty, and it facilitates trust in 바카라사이트 very essence of public life and its institutions¡±.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tesglobal.com