This article investigates the ‘conflict parabola’ of the negotiations between EU member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis reopened the foundational controversy over cross-national solidarity under economic adversities. After a peak of conflict in March–April 2020, the political climate gradually shifted from antagonism to appeasement, creating the conditions necessary for the adoption of the Next Generation EU plan. Building on the negative experiences of past crises, some EU leaders engaged in a strategy of ‘polity maintenance’, i.e. keeping the EU polity together, regardless of interest-based divisions. This strategy mainly rested on public communication. The article documents both conflict and appeasement by analysing a corpus of leaders’ quotes drawn from the press (covering eight countries) and a corpus of speeches by Angela Merkel. The Chancellor made a high political investment in EU polity maintenance, presenting European cohesion as part and parcel of Germany’s national interest.

Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the COVID-19 crisis / M. Ferrera, S. Ronchi, J. Miro' Artigas. - In: WEST EUROPEAN POLITICS. - ISSN 0140-2382. - 44:5-6(2021 Sep 19), pp. 1329-1352. [10.1080/01402382.2021.1905328]

Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the COVID-19 crisis

M. Ferrera
Primo
;
S. Ronchi
Secondo
;
J. Miro' Artigas
Ultimo
2021

Abstract

This article investigates the ‘conflict parabola’ of the negotiations between EU member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis reopened the foundational controversy over cross-national solidarity under economic adversities. After a peak of conflict in March–April 2020, the political climate gradually shifted from antagonism to appeasement, creating the conditions necessary for the adoption of the Next Generation EU plan. Building on the negative experiences of past crises, some EU leaders engaged in a strategy of ‘polity maintenance’, i.e. keeping the EU polity together, regardless of interest-based divisions. This strategy mainly rested on public communication. The article documents both conflict and appeasement by analysing a corpus of leaders’ quotes drawn from the press (covering eight countries) and a corpus of speeches by Angela Merkel. The Chancellor made a high political investment in EU polity maintenance, presenting European cohesion as part and parcel of Germany’s national interest.
No
English
COVID-19 crisis; cross-national solidarity; discourse analysis; European integration; Merkel; polity maintenance
Settore SPS/04 - Scienza Politica
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Pubblicazione scientifica
   Policy Crisis and Crisis Politics. Sovereignty, Solidarity and Identity in the EU post 2008 (SOLID)
   SOLID
   EUROPEAN COMMISSION
   H2020
   810356

   Policy Crisis and Crisis Politics. Sovereignty, Solidarity and Identity in the EU post 2008 (SOLID)
   SOLID
   EUROPEAN COMMISSION
   H2020
   810356
19-set-2021
mar-2021
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
44
5-6
1329
1352
24
Pubblicato
Periodico con rilevanza internazionale
scopus
orcid
crossref
wos
datacite
Aderisco
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the COVID-19 crisis / M. Ferrera, S. Ronchi, J. Miro' Artigas. - In: WEST EUROPEAN POLITICS. - ISSN 0140-2382. - 44:5-6(2021 Sep 19), pp. 1329-1352. [10.1080/01402382.2021.1905328]
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Prodotti della ricerca::01 - Articolo su periodico
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Article (author)
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M. Ferrera, S. Ronchi, J. Miro' Artigas
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/863847
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