Wk. 5 The European Dis-union

1. Wk. 5 The European Dis-union Brexit and after

2. Summary of the journey to Europe • European disunion: Brexit and after -Populism, nationalism and the revolt of people • The rich and the poor: Grexit and left wing populism -Globalism and Neo-liberalism • Retreat of democracy: Poland and right wing populism -Authoritarianism and revision of history 4. Mirroring USA: Comparative storytelling -What does Europe tell about America?

3. Comparative analysis/writing (From Harvard College Writing Center, How to write comparative analysis) • One of the most common type of analytic writing is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (comparison) and/or different from (contrast) one another. • When you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them. • Classic compare-and-contrast papers: You weight A and B equally, may be about two similar things that have crucial difference. • Lens (or keyhole) comparison: You use A as a lens through which to view B. Often, lens comparisons take time into account: earlier texts, events, or historical figures may illuminate later ones, and vice versa.

4. Comparative analysis in Journalism: • An implicit than explicit form of comparison is more often. • You find similarities and difference between people, nations and cultures to strengthen newsworthiness. • A technique is to show either “differences among similarities,” or “similarities among differences.” • Another is to use text-by-text or point-by-point. That is, you discuss all of A, then all of B, or you alternate points about A with comparable points about B. • Use transitional expressions of comparison and contrast (similarly, moreover, likewise, on the contrary, conversely, on the other hand) and contrastive vocabulary (in the example below, Southerner/Northerner).

5. Flow of reporting • Frame of Reference. This is the context within which you place the two things you plan to compare and contrast; The frame of reference may consist of an idea, theme, question, problem, or theory. • Grounds for Comparison. The rationale behind your choice. Let's say you're writing a paper on global food distribution, and you've chosen to compare apples and oranges. Why these particular fruits? • Relationship: Set up a relationship between the two. • Thesis: As in any argumentative paper, your thesis statement will convey the gist of your argument, which necessarily follows from your frame of reference.

6. The current state of Brexit - clueless • British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a stunning 432-202 defeat in Parliament this week when the Brexit deal her government had negotiated with the E.U. was voted down. British media classified it as the biggest parliamentary defeat in modern history. • According to the Guardian, Remainers are angry, ashamed and fearful. • For Leavers, the merit of voting to leave the EU wasn’t only in winning. It was in getting their opponents to feel loss – to feel what they had felt, that deep unease at the shattering of their representation of the world.

7. What is EU? • European countries started to cooperate economically in 1951. Initially, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands participated. • Over time, more and more countries decided to join. The Union reached its current size of 28 member countries with the accession of Croatia on 1 July 2013.

8. Ideas that created EU • The idea of European integration began at the end of World War Two, when leaders concluded that, after three wars in less than a century, the time has come to build an edifice to prevent any future wars. • The ideas centered around the bilateral relationship between France and Germany, and Europe’s largest coal and steel production site, the Ruhr Basin.

9. The belief that economic integration will lead spread to political integration. • Jean Monnet, “There will be no peace in Europe if states re-establish themselves on the basis of national sovereignty.” • Schuman plan: In 1950, French Foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed integrating the French and German coal and steel industries under a supra-national institution called ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community). • In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union. • In 1993, the European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force. In 2002, Eurozone was created by adopting common currency.

10. What is Brexit? Explained. • A shorthand way of saying the UK leaving the EU. Analogy from Grexit, a possible Greek exit from the euro. • A referendum was held on June, 2016, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. Leave won by 51.9% to 48.1%. • Negotiation to leave EU is still underway. The exit is projected to be March 2019. • Hard Brexit is a complete exit. UK will be like any other non-EU countries. Soft Brexit is that UK retaining membership of the EU single market for goods and services and at least some free movement of people. BBC, All you need to know about Brexit

11. The result of the referendum was unexpected and divided. • According to polling by Lord Ashcroft, younger voters were much more likely to vote Remain than older voters. • The level of education had a higher correlation with the voting pattern than any other major demographic measure from the census.

12. There was a broad pattern in several urban areas of deprived, predominantly white, housing estates towards the urban periphery voting Leave, while inner cities with high numbers of ethnic minorities and/or students voted Remain

13. Why did people vote leave? • EU was ineffective and bureaucratic: • Opponents of the EU argued that it is a dysfunctional economic entity. The EU failed to address the economic problems that had been developing since 2008… for example, 20% unemployment in southern Europe. • According to the advocacy group Business for Britain, EU has issued 3,589 new regulations totaling 13 million words only since David Cameron was elected prime minister in May 2010.

14. Why did people vote Leave? 2. Immigration and Refugees The Leave campaign showed a line of refugees with the caption "Breaking Point." It was widely condemned and likened to Nazi propaganda.

15. 3. Populism and the revolt of people • Brexit was a vote against the British elite. Voters thought politicians, business leaders, and intellectuals had lost their right to control the system. • People were hurt by globalization and trade deals. Thus, the long-awaited popular backlash has begun.

16. Story idea 1: Age Gap, what happened after? • Independent, “Young people are bemused, angry and resentful at the decision to leave the EU which they largely blame on older generations.” The story. • The Times, “The U.K.'s Old Decided for the Young in the Brexit Vote.” The story. • The Sun, “Older people have been subjected to torrents of abuse since Brexit vote.” The story.

17. Story idea 2: “People had enough of experts (elites)?” • Michael Gove, the then justice secretary made this famous remark. In an interview, he was told told that the leaders of established organizations all disagreed with him about Brexit. • He said, the people have “had enough of experts from organizations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong.”

18. Do you see any similarity with US?

19. Story idea 3: Comparison with “Making America Great Again” • Voters thought the elite had contempt for their values—for their nationalism and economic, social interests. Nigel Farage said, “Brexit is a victory for real people.” • Anti-elitist populism is a prevailing political phenomena in the Western world. • Focus on one of the similarities between Brexit and Trumpism, e.g., people, catch phrases, anti-immigration policies, or low trust in politics/media. • Read the article of the Times, How Brexit and Donald Trump Gained Support. • Read article of Politico, Why the New Nationalists Are Taking Over

20. People analysis: Nigel Farage • Nigel a British politician, broadcaster who was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2016. • Farage has said that he supports Muslim immigrants who integrate to British society, but is against those who are "coming here to take us over", and that there is a "fifth column" of Islamic extremists in the United Kingdom. • In a May 2016 interview, he said if he were an eligible US voter he would vote for Trump to prevent Hillary Clinton becoming president.

21. People analysis: Boris Johnson • Former Mayor of London. Incumbent Foreign Secretary • Some called him Donald Trump’s spiritual son. Boris Johnson shares some striking similarities with Donald Trump – I think a paternity test is in order • As a journalist in the 1990s, Johnson was instrumental in making the EU an object not just of fear but of mockery, with his stories about bumbling bureaucrats and bendy bananas. As a campaigner, he put a cheerful, optimistic face on Brexit — and made it much harder for Remain to label the Leave side as a bunch of backward-looking xenophobes

22. So what happened after Brexit? • The British economy has done better than expected since the Brexit vote. House prices are steady, unemployment has dropped, recession has been avoided. This was not meant to happen. See the article. • The question is whether this unexpectedly good performance can continue. As Britain’s departure from the EU in March 2019 nears. Business are already very much worried. See the article of the Guardian.

23. Fake news, lies and accountability. • Similar to the 2016 presidential election in the U.S., the aftermath of the Brexit referendum has been plagued by fake news, even the allegations of Russian interference. • Last January, U.S. Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a report highlighting alleged actions taken by Moscow to influence the vote. • French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the United Kingdom’s failure to successfully negotiate its exit from the European Union (known as Brexit), calling the propaganda supporting the leave campaign a “lie.”

24. Is the media to blame for Brexit? • How global media are reporting Brexit • As for the British media, they have framed negative image of EU on people’s mind for decades. • After the bitter referendums over Scottish independence and Britain’s EU membership, after newspapers and TV failed to predict the successes of Donald Trump and Brexit, confidence in the media has taken a battering. • Guardian, Media failed Brexit’s test • Independent, Media coverage of EU referendum ‘acrimonious and divisive’