ISIG | EUROPA 2017. AN ELECTORAL REVOLUTION?

2017 has been an election year that has brought with it some major changes in the European political landscape. Talking about “revolution” may seem far-fetched. However, if we trace the concept of revolution back to the idea of ​ “permanent revolution” that Paolo Prodi considered as the fundamental feature of European history, we can grasp a crucial aspect of European politics, “the revolutionary ability to continually transform its political, legal and economic structures. ”

There are different political transformations that the election appointments in the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Austria and Germany have contributed to reveal or to make it more clearly recognizable. Among them: the decline of traditional parties, the growing difficulty for European leaders to communicate with their electorate of reference, the emergence of a new split between Europe supporters and Eurosceptics, the success of a xenophobic right and, more generally, a crisis in politics that has far-flung origins. The conference pursues two goals closely linked to each other. On the one hand, to render a photograph of Europe as it shows at the end of 2017; on the other hand, to offer insight, suggested by historical and political reflection, in order to examine the causes, impact and implications of what could be understood as an “electoral revolution”.

Scientific Coordinators
Christoph Cornelißen, ISIG-FBK, University of Frankfurt
Gabriele D’Ottavio, University of Trento

In collaboration with
University of Trento – Department of Sociology and Social Research

Free admission