Category Archives: Uncategorized

Following the Great Recession, many solutions have been put forward to “rein the markets in”, and try to plug the inequality that has been on the rise since. These have included rent controls, increased banking regulation, and efforts to harmonise corporate taxation and discourage international tax havens. Most are in agreement that the long termContinue reading “The Financial Transaction Tax: Has the Market Finally Met It’s Foe?”

Over the last decade, the power of social media as an independent media outlet has grown exponentially. Its ability to provide free and non censored information to the masses has allowed it to become a critical tool for political demonstration. @UCD_Politics student, Hazel Nolan, argues that social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook enabled andContinue reading “#Ash-shab’yuridisqatannizam: How 140 characters shaped the world.”

EU-US relations have been marked by a significant volume of trade and close diplomatic ties for most of post-WWII history. Together the EU and US currently account for half of world GDP and a third of global trade (EU Commission Trade Department). The first transatlantic regulatory cooperation agreement was signed 1991 in the area ofContinue reading “Ordoliberalism was the main inspiration behind EU competition law.”

  Against the background of the Eurozone crisis, Germany’s economic thinking has been subject to intense public debate in the english speaking world, and historical experiences and cultural differences have sometimes been adduced to explain Germany’s preoccupation with balanced budgeting and independent central banking. In this post Caroline Bhattacharya argues that German economic policy is deeply intertwinedContinue reading “The role of language in shaping German economic philosophy”

Labour mobility imbalances between European Core and Periphery: evidence from Italy and Portugal In this post Vincenzo Maccarrone argues that much of the debate on the European economic crisis has concentrated on the presence of structural imbalances between Northern and Southern European countries[1]. When discussing this inequality most commentators focus on the differences in current accountsContinue reading “With No Direction Home?”

The following blog post is part of an ongoing conversation on on the EU Global Strategy published on the Global Justice Blog of the GLOBUS H2020-funded research programme Reconsidering European Contributions to Global Justice. _______________________________________________ The delivery of the EU Global Strategy does indeed renew the EU’s commitment to adapt to today’s challenging times. ItContinue reading “The EU Global Strategy: The perils of pragmatism”

Everyone is trying to second guess the negotiating strategy of Theresa May, and how the EU will respond. No country should be more concerned about this than Ireland, the only EU country to share a border with the UK. Next week, the Irish government will host an all Ireland civic dialogue.  Political economy considerations have neverContinue reading “The Political Economy of Brexit: London Will Adapt.”

A fortnight after the British referendum on EU membership, Britain is still in turmoil. Some of the negative lessons are all too clear: don’t try to solve party political problems by invoking existential issues; referendums are volatile and uncertain; if you must have one, get a crack team together first. But, as weary politicians are fond of saying,Continue reading “‘Taking back control’? After the Brexit referendum”

  In its EU-related judgements, the German Federal Constitutional Court has frequently reminded the Bundestag of its government-related responsibilities, that is, to hold the government accountable and to scrutinise executive behaviour in EU-level negotiations. During the eurozone crisis, the parliament’s budget autonomy has also entered the limelight. One the one hand, the Court has beenContinue reading “The German Federal Constitutional Court – Defender of Parliamentary Democracy or an Alternative ‘Political’ Arena?”

Britain has voted to leave the European Union (EU), or more accurately, England has voted to leave. The majority in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar voted to remain. The opinion polls, the bookies and the markets did not predict this outcome. The mood of the nation, it would seem, is becoming increasingly difficult to measure. Or is it?Continue reading “Brexit and the Idea of European Disintegration”