Seeking an adversary: The radical right and the saliency of pro-immigration positions in green party speeches

Western European politics has experienced considerable change since the 1980s, with the emergence of new parties and immigration’s politicisation. However, no studies have examined Green party discussions of immigration, or their interaction with radical right parties. We hypothesise that increases in the radical right’s vote share, and the saliency they attach to immigration, will incentivise Greens to discuss immigration more. We also examine an alternative explanation that how salient immigration is for left- and right-wing parties will affect immigration’s saliency for Greens. We test this by applying structural topic models to parliamentary speeches in the Dutch Tweede Kamer for 2002–2019. We find that Greens react to the radical right, as the latter’s vote share is positively associated with immigration’s saliency for Greens, although radical right immigration saliency’s effect is not robust. Furthermore, we do not find evidence that Greens react to immigration’s saliency in left- or right-wing party speeches.

At the Digital Margins? A Theoretical Examination of Social Media Engagement Using Intersectional Feminism

This article applies an intersectional feminist lens to social media engagement with European politics. Disproportionately targeted at already marginalised people, the problem of online abuse/harassment has come to increasing public awareness. At the same time, movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo have demonstrated the value of social media in facilitating global grassroots activism that challenges dominant structures of power. While the literature on social media engagement with European politics has offered important insights into the extent to which social media facilitates democratic participation, it has not to date sufficiently accounted for patterns of intersectional activism and online inequalities. Using Nancy Fraser’s feminist critique of Habermas’ public sphere theory and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, this article explores patterns of gender and racial inequalities in the digital public space. By analysing both the role of racist and misogynistic online abuse targeted at women, nonbinary, agender, and gender-variant people in public life, as well as the opportunities for marginalised groups to mobilise transnationally through subaltern counter-publics, I argue that social media engagement is inextricably linked with offline inequalities. To fully understand the impact of social media on European democracy, we need to pay attention to gendered and racialised dynamics of power within the digital public sphere that have unequal consequences for democratic participation. This will involve expanding our methodological repertoire and employing tools underpinned by a critical feminist epistemology.

HUSTYNSKYI LITOPYS: A DOCUMENTARY MONUMENT OF UKRAINIAN HISTORICAL THOUGHT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Ukrainian historical thought of the seventeenth century is an interesting intellectual phenomenon, the genesis and social and cultural functioning of which took place against the background of political, geopolitical and interfaith confrontation in Eastern Europe. In Ukrainian historiography, this period of cultural and intellectual development was called “the first Ukrainian national and cultural revival”. Its characteristic feature was the growing interest of society in historical memory, in particular, in the memory of the Ancient Rus era as the origins of Rus-Ukraine, which is trying to find its place among other peoples of Europe. The question of reflecting the ancient n era in the historical thought of Ukraine in the late sixteenth − seventeenth centuries. in historiography it is elaborated in fragments, within the framework of side plots, at best, at the level of coverage of the views of individual authors (Feodosii Sofonovych, Inokentii Hizel, author of the Ukrainian Chronograph, some Polish writers, etc.). Among the monuments of historical thought of this tame period, the “Hustynskyi Litopys” attracts attention, the authorship of which is still the subject of discussion. The problem of authorship of the monument is quite old, but this issue has not been finally resolved. There is an assumption that y 20s of the seventeenth century. Zacharii Kopystenskyi worked on the chronicle. The list of Mykhailo Losytskyi, the hieromonk of the Hustyn monastery, made in 1670, is considered to be the final edition of the monument. This editing preserves the conceptual identity and consistency of presentation. The chronicle, despite its conceptual dependence on Polish literature, is based on its own concept, within substantiates the peculiarities of Rus' historical path among neighboring peoples, and explains the genesis of the Cossack factor, which became decisive in Eastern European politics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ukrainian historical thought in the form of a chronicle of the 16−17th century needs further meticulous research.

Polityka europejska Polski w latach 2004–2017

This article attempts to translate the Polish experience related to membership in the European Union (EU) into the European policy of Ukraine. The aim of this article is to present Poland’s European policy from 2004 to 2017, particularly from the perspective of the assumptions adopted by individual governments and the mistakes made. The Polish experience of changes in European politics may be a valuable hint for the Ukrainian political elites, particularly in the context of drawing conclusions from mistakes. Recommendations for Ukraine in relation to their membership in the EU boil down to the issue of building an appropriate state strategy and the stability of institutions that take care of the entire process. Another element is the need to develop the so-called critical European studies to initiate a real discussion among Ukrainian political elites and Ukrainian society.

The fate of the European Union and lessons for Russia

The monograph reveals the history of the creation of the European Union and its current situation, which is characterized by instability and lack of genuine unity. In an effort to integrate everything and everyone in a short time, European leaders and officials have overestimated their strength. Meanwhile, every European country retains its identity and is in no hurry to give it up. Russia and the participants of integration interstate associations should learn lessons from the fate of the European Union: not to force rapprochement, not to encroach on the state sovereignty of its members, to respect the opinion of ordinary people. The publication is intended for specialists in the field of European politics, European law, international relations, as well as for a wide range of readers interested in the political life of Europe.

«DISCOVERING» JAPAN ON THE PAGES OF THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS (1853-1854)

The Far East was an important economic direction in European politics of the second half of the XIX century. Closed for centuries from the outside world Japan became the object of attention of the West. An American squadron under the command of M. Perry arrived on the coast of Japan in 1853 to conclude a trade treaty with it and put an end to isolation. The «discovery» of the land of the Rising Sun became a significant event in world history which couldn’t pass unnoticed. The European press published reports about the progress and results of the USA expedition, about the mission of the Russian Empire under the command of E. V. Putyatin, pursuing the same goals, and ones about Japan, a little-known country for Europe, whose culture and art admired the European public. The article examines the publications of the British newspaper The Illustrated London News in 1853-1854, devoted to Japan. The author analyzes the image of the country which was presented to the Victorian readers, highlights the aspects that are most interesting to the authors of the articles and the tone with which the notes are written. The press of the Victorian era helps to look at the world through the eyes of contemporaries of Queen Victoria and to identify the features of the concept of the land of the Rising sun.

Do voters want domestic politicians to scrutinize the European Union?

In light of important political events that go beyond the nation state (e.g., migration, climate change, and the coronavirus pandemic), domestic politicians are increasingly pressured to scrutinize and speak out on European policy-making. This creates a potential trade-off between allocating effort to domestic and supranational affairs, respectively. We examine how citizens perceive legislator involvement in European Union (EU) politics with a pre-registered conjoint experiment in Germany. Our results show that Members of Parliament (MPs) are not disadvantaged when allocating effort to European affairs as compared to local and national affairs. In addition, voters tend to prefer MPs who engage in EU policy reform over those who do not. As demand for legislator involvement in European politics is on the rise, we provide empirical evidence that MPs can fulfill this demand without being disadvantaged by the electorate.