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DemCP colloquium - GILLES PITTOORS: "Home is where the Heart Is? A Comparative Analysis of Flemish and Danish Parties' Linkages with the EU"

When:We 01-06-2022 16:00 - 17:30
Where:online

Research colloquium of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Cultures and Politics

Gilles Pittoors (University of Groningen)
Home is where the Heart Is? A Comparative Analysis of Flemish and Danish Parties' Linkages with the EU

Abstract

This paper assesses the connection between the politicisation of the EU and the organisational Europeanisation of political parties. In the early 2000s, scholars anticipated a Europeanisation of party organisations, meaning an organisational adaptation to operating in the EU’s multilevel political system. However, research showed that parties adapted little if at all. The main explanation for this non-Europeanisation was a lack of incentives due to the fact that the EU was not politicised enough. Today, however, many scholars argue that the EU is politicised. Therefore, we ask the question whether, in the wake of EU politicisation, party Europeanisation is now finally moving. Our study of Flanders and the Netherlands shows that parties still adapt little, despite clear indications of EU politicisation. We argue that the reason for this non-Europeanisation is thus not lacking EU politicisation, but rather a misfit between the national and European ways of doing politics.

About the speaker

Gilles is lecturer in European Politics and Society at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, and postdoctoral fellow at Ghent University in Belgium, where he  is  involved in an interdisciplinary  project (GOA)   on   participatory democracy . He holds a BA in History, MA in European Studies and MSc in European Politics from KU Leuven. He obtained his PhD in 2021 on the multilevel organisation of national political parties in the EU. His broader research interests include the Europeanisation of politics, the democratisation of the EU, and transnational partisanship. Before returning to academia, he worked at the European Commission and several Brussels-based advocacy groups.