Societal Insecurities
This cluster involves research that transcends the conventional levels of analysis that structure International Relations theory (individual, state, international system) to instead consider the relationships between them. This research reconceptualises insecurity, security, violence, identity, and society, borrowing and mixing across disciplinary boundaries.
Cluster members:
- Dr Alexandria Innes
- Dr Christopher McDowell
- Dr Koen Slootmaeckers
- Dr Leonie Fleischmann
- Dr Charlotte Godziewski
- Dr Kseniya Oksamytna
- Dr Anna Katila
News
Coming In: Sexual Politics and EU Accession in Serbia
Dr Koen Slootmaeckers has published a book, Coming In: Sexual Politics and EU Accession in Serbia (Manchester University Press, 2023).
LGBT rights have become increasingly salient within the EU enlargement process as a litmus test for European-ness. Yet, the promotion of these norms has provided a fulcrum for political contestation. Based on this observation, this book interrogates the normative dimensions of the EU enlargement process, with special reference to LGBT politics.
Reconceptualising Europeanisation, Coming in argues that the EU enlargement is a process of negotiated transformation in which EU policies and norms are (re)defined, translated, and transformed. Empirically, it analyses the promotion of and resistance to LGBT equality norms in Serbia's EU integration process, but moves beyond policies to also inquire the impact of the negotiated transitions on lived experiences.
Overall, the book raises important questions about the politics of Europeanisation, its political and social consequences, as well as to what we consider as progress.
The Politics of Health Promotion in the European Union
Dr Charlotte Godziewski has published a book, The Politics of Health Promotion in the European Union (Palgrave, 2022)
Much has been written about policy efforts to achieve ‘Health in All Policies’: an ambitious attempt to improve population health and reduce health inequalities by ensuring multiple policy areas are more attuned to their health impacts.
However, most accounts focus on technical challenges, such as implementing impact assessments.
In contrast, and focusing on the European Union, this book argues that ‘Health in All Policies’ is essentially a political project shaped by institutional power, competing ideas, and discourses.
We can only really understand the failure to realise its ambition through political analysis.