Dissent, Protest, and Revolution: The New Europe in Crisis

By Andrew R. Myers
2012, Vol. 4 No. 03 | pg. 4/4 |

Conclusion

Despite the shortfall of potential in the cards for the European protest movement, the protestors need not have acted in vain. The historical analysis and lesson associated with such a significant political event should not be ignored. Instead, intellectuals and academics who study and interpret the events of history and current political struggles need to recognize the populace already asking the necessary overarching questions for the contemporary political age.

The threat remains in the loss of the political reigns of social-democratic governance to the rise of right wing parties in Europe. The left cannot afford to ignore the demands of protestors and radical leftists, but more importantly it cannot also allow itself to be split and lose electoral abilities in the European parliament. If the values and identity of Europe are to truly be upheld, intellectuals must resist the urge to succumb to totalitarian temptation in the face of social democracy’s “ambivalent and slack” response to the questions raised by protestors (Wolin 2011).

To completely cede politics and the progress Europe has made “implies a return to the darkest hour of twentieth-century European history: the hour of the ethnocentric or ‘racial state’ . . . European political culture must stress and nurture these values in order to offset the seductions and temptations of the new illiberalism of the ethnopopulist credo” (Wolin 2011). While the ‘postmodern’ tendencies of the new generation’s approach to politics may not offer a sound alternative, the general recognition that not all modernization brings ‘progress’ remains an important lesson for the political thinkers and actors of the future.

Though the protestors may be asking the question ‘Who is to blame’ the role of intellectuals must be the follow up question ‘What is the remedy?’ Without those who can engage that question thoroughly using the institutions in place, the answer may never arise. Each particular movement studied in this paper has a different answer. How can those answers be learned from and synthesized will immediately affect the prospects of an economic and politically stable Europe.

The protest movement rightly identifies a growing feeling in the American youth that neither the democrats nor the republicans have any answers. Yet, there cannot be a half-hearted rage against the systems inadequacies without a simultaneous movement within academia to call for action and thought together. This paper is of personal, national and global importance, but the people in a position to actually change political structures need to also step up. There must not be content with letting the dissent in Europe, and increasingly across the globe, become a misnomer of history.

Winston Churchill famously claimed, “Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” The international economic turmoil has the potential to destroy the “moral and institutional foundations of [our] social democracy” (Taylor 2008). Will we also ignore the increasing recognition by the protestors of this generation that the world really is teetering in the balance?


References

Bauman, Zygmunt. Europe: An Unfinished Adventure. Malden: Polity Press, 2004.

Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose, “EU Rescue Plans Hostage to Raw Politics,” The Telegraph, October 25, 2011. Accessed November 2, 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8849328/EU-rescue-plans-hostage-to-raw-politics.html.

Fisher, Mark. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?. Winchester: Zero Books, 2009.

Grossman, Andrew, Fox, Alison and Gardiner, Sean, “Wall Street Protestors Evicted From Camp,” Wall Street Journal, November 16 2011. Accessed November 16, 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204190504577040563377026378.html.

Marquand, Robert “Occupy Europe: How A Generation Went From Indifferent to Indignant,” The Christian Science Monitor, October 29, 2011. Accessed November 1, 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/occupy-europe-generation-went-indifferent-indignant-135500377.html.

Payne, Stanley G. A History of Fascism 1914-1945. London: Routledge, 1996.

Reid, T.R. The United States of Europe: the New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy. New York: The Penguin Press, 2004.

Taylor, Robert, “Europe’s Divided Left,” Dissent (2009): 5-9, Accessed November 3, 2011. EBSCO.

Taylor, Robert, “Does European Social Democracy Have a Future?” Dissent (2008): 5-11, Accessed November 3, 2011. EBSCO.

The Economist, “Not Quite Together,” October 22, 2011. Accessed November 3, 2011. http://www.economist.com/node/21533377.

United Press International, “Europe Protestors Distrust Leaders,” October 31, 2011. Accessed November 2, 2011. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/10/31/Europe-protestors-distrust-leaders/UPI-64551320082054/?spt=hs&or=tn.

Wolin, Richard, “Ghosts of a Tortured Past,” Dissent (2011): 58-65, Accessed November 4, 2011. EBSCO.

Suggested Reading from Inquiries Journal

Conceiving neoliberalism as a form of constructivism, an ideological project rather than a doctrine prefigured by ‘human nature’, illuminates a promising path towards countering its impoverishing effect on both the citizen subject and the ethos of democracy. This involves a concerted intervention at the level of discourse... MORE»
Advertisement
This essay will analyse the on-going events in the Eurozone single currency area. It will look at the current sovereign debt crisis, most obviously manifested in Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and try to envisage how it will change the future course of integration in the European Union. The European Union has evolved through time: the European debt crisis is just the latest in a string of... MORE»
Strong linkages between autocrats and the military are often seen as a necessary condition for authoritarian regime survival in the face of uprising. The Arab Spring of 2011 supports this contention: the armed forces in... MORE»
Over the last couple of decades, women-spearheaded social movements have mobilized to leave a lasting impression on civil societies across the globe. The Arab Spring challenged old ideas of oppressive regimes and signaled... MORE»
Submit to Inquiries Journal, Get a Decision in 10-Days

Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines.

Representing the work of students from hundreds of institutions around the globe, Inquiries Journal's large database of academic articles is completely free. Learn more | Blog | Submit

Follow IJ

Latest in International Affairs

2022, Vol. 14 No. 04
With over 10 million stateless people globally, statelessness has increasingly become a pressing issue in international law. The production of statelessness occurs across multiple lines including technical loopholes, state succession, and discriminatory... Read Article »
2021, Vol. 13 No. 09
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated current global challenges. However, this article argues that this time of crisis can also be a unique opportunity for the existing global economic institutions - G20, WTO, IMF, and World Bank (WB) - to make the... Read Article »
2021, Vol. 13 No. 02
On January 1st, 1959, a small band of Cuban rebels shocked the world, overthrowing the American-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. These rebels were especially known for their guerrilla tactics and their leaders, such as Fidel Castro and Ernesto... Read Article »
2021, Vol. 13 No. 01
Israel has increased the nation’s security presence around the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Here, the research project analyzes how transaction costs resulting from Israeli security policy impact the output of manufacturing activities... Read Article »
2020, Vol. 12 No. 09
The necessity of international relief is unending as new crises continue to emerge across the world. International aid plays a crucial role in shaping how affected communities rebuild after a crisis. However, humanitarian aid often results in a... Read Article »
2019, Vol. 11 No. 10
This article aims to present the biopiracy of traditional knowledge from India by the United States, which has occurred directly through the use of patent law and indirectly through economic power and cultural imperialism. Throughout this essay,... Read Article »
2018, Vol. 10 No. 10
After joining the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004, Estonians felt secure and in charge of their future. However, following the 2007 Bronze Horseman incident in the Estonian capital of Tallinn which included... Read Article »

What are you looking for?

FROM OUR BLOG

7 Big Differences Between College and Graduate School
How to Manage a Group Project (Video)
Presentation Tips 101 (Video)