This public lecture is now available as: MP3 (please listen to the file below in four parts) and PDF (as a courtesy to the presenter, please contact him for permission to refer to his PowerPoint notes for the purpose of further research).
The view that the contemporary process of European unification has been driven by the initiative of European political elites is widely shared. Arguably, the last 20 years have witnessed a declining capacity of these elites to drive the process of integration along a clear-cut and straightforward pattern. Recent research has focused on the process of elite convergence in Europe, noting three trends: an increasing bifurcation of elite orientations; emerging threats to the notion of peaceful integration in Europe; the appearance different strands of euroscepticism. This presentation is grounded on extensive survey-based research into the attitudes and skills of European political elites. It will present an overview of the current state of the ‘Europeanness’ among top decision makers in European countries. The presentation will offer several hypotheses to explain the difficult process of convergence among national elites in EU member countries, based on key dimensions that constitute ‘Europeanness’: attachment, trust in EU institutions, and orientation to a broader scope of governance.
Luca Verzichelli is Professor of Italian Politics and Public Policy Analysis and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Siena. He received his PhD in Political Science at the University of Florence (1995). His research interests include the comparative study of political elites in Italy and Europe; budgetary politics in Italy and in the EU; and parliamentary institutions in Europe and USA. Professor Verzichelli has published over fifty papers in journals such as European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Legislative Studies and European Political Science, as well a number of books including La Politica di Bilancio (1999), Il Governo e i Suoi Apparati (2003, with Cristina Barbieri), Il Parlamento Italiano (2004, with Chiara de Micheli), Political Institutions in Italy, (2007, with Maurizio Cotta), Il sistema politico italiano (2008, with Maurizio Cotta) and Vivere di Politica: Come (non) Cambiano le Carriere Politiche in Italia (2010). He is Chief Editor of Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica.
To view the flyer for this event please see: The European Union: Still an Elite Project?
