Mirrors and triggers : historical approaches to printed press cartoons on the COVID-19 pandemic

As a team member of the GYA project The COVID-19 Pandemic and Art2 and the Science and Art = Peace + Justice working group, I was inspired to explore how artistic expressions mirror pluralistic, international and intimate expressions of living in a pandemic era, as well as how such expressions trigger alternative languages of the mind that are able to carve the foundations of hopeful and commonly inclusive futures

Salvador de Madariaga’s meeting points with Julien Freund : ‘Europe’ as construction and evolution

Published online: 23 June 2021As a precursor of “the idea of Europe,” Salvador de Madariaga defended a broad and inclusive conception of which territories should be included in “Europe,” advancing that this “idea” encompassed much more than a mere geographical continent. His approach was concomitant with that of Freund’s in the sense that he also considered that “the political is always in preparation of new destinies, whether it’s a matter of construction or of evolution”. Indeed, Madariaga’s particular contributions to the European integration process have been regarded as a form of “constructive Europeanism” within a timeline to be guided by “new generations which are called to orient the transition” as Freund purported

Transitional margins to re-join the West : Spain’s dual strategy of democratisation and Europeanisation

Published online: 28 November 201

Dialogues beyond the 'fortress Europe' : tracing back the genesis and evolution of the 'free circulation of persons' concept through European Parliament Schengen area debates, 1985-2015

This contribution aims to enhance the mapping and critical analysis of the evolving priorities and policy-making objectives of the EP key players upholding or resisting the building of the Schengen Area and, more particularly, the consolidation of the principle of the free circulation of persons within the EU. As this historical process touches upon the complexities of the construction of transnational identities, it also aspires to provide the complementary methodological viewpoints of history of concepts and critical discourse analysis for the study of socio-political relations and democratic decision-making. Indeed, the unconventional EP debates on this matter can help us to elucidate if free movement of persons was being granted as a subsidiary concession or if it constituted and end in itself, being, therefore, in direct relation with EU foundational propositions and long term hopes based on the principles of solidarity and sustainability. In short, the critical examination of such documentary corpus could play an essential role in empowering EU citizens and residents arguments against any possible involution of the Schengen area into the largely condemned ʻFortress Europe’. Hence, it could also aid to re-encounter that particular version of European integration devoted to transforming stumbling blocks into stepping-stones