Karachi: University of Karachi has organised a workshop on the topic of “Politics of Identity in Contemporary Europe: Challenges for the Cultural Coherence of the EU in the Context of National, Ethnic and Ultra Right Politics” in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.
Career Diplomat Shahid Ameen said that Europe is experiencing fast political and economic changes these days that have fueled its fears on terrorism and extremism, human and drug trafficking emerging from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He added that Pakistan should see how it can reduce Europe’s fear by effectively dealing the problems of extremism and terrorism emerging from this region.
He said this while speaking in a workshop on ‘Politics of Identity in Contemporary Europe’ organized by The Area Study Centre for Europe and The Hans Seidel Foundation, Islamabad at University of Karachi.
“Europe has to find out the solutions of its financial crisis, likewise Pakistan needs to focus on its biggest issue of extremism and terrorism itself as it has caused a lot of concerns in Europe about Pakistan,” he said.
Europe is facing problems of migration issues, euro zone crisis and the rise of right wing political parties but at the same time it is also trying to find out the problems of such issues, so one should not be much apprehensive of the future of Europe, he added.
Prof. Dr. Uzma Shujaat, Incharge, Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi in her introductory remarks highlighted that the increasing role of supranational, as opposed to intergovernmental, decisions-making and the establishment of a European citizenship have promoted to a certain extent the development of a political community of the European Union.
History has shown that the emergence of a sense of belonging and community and related issues such as perceptions of identity and solidarity takes a long time. Compared to the time that nation-states took to consolidate, the history of European integration is still rather short. Feelings of identity and solidarity can hardly have fully developed during these brief periods of history.
Europe is characterized not only by its common heritage. There is as much diversity and conflicts as there are common roots. The history of Europe suggests that the traditions of diversity, division, and conflict are at least as strong as the common cultural heritage.
European identity continued to be considered as something that would make Europe appear as one entity to outsiders; with the introduction of the common market however, the Maastricht Treaty also brought about completion of the economic union. Europe was from then on “in need of a soul” as Jacque Delors described in 2010.
Prof. Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan, Chairman Department of International Relations and Political Science, University of Sargodha elaborated on the difference between ethnic movements, nationalist movements and ethno-nationalist movements.
On the rise of right wing politics in Europe, Prof. Dr Mutahir Ahmed, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi said that the far right intellectuals of West propagated the fears of clash of civilizations in West in last two decades that has also played a big role in the current rise of far right politics in Europe.
The economic and immigration problems have gained much more importance in contemporary European politics. This is high time when Islamabad and Brussels – the headquarters of European Union – should invest in more close relationship on trade, extremism and terrorism, said Prof Dr. Tanveer Khalid, Department of Political Science, University of Karachi.
The framework of European Union is integration at regional level while at the sub-regional level states are experiencing nationalism and secession said Sajjad Ahmad, Senior Research Fellow at Area Studys Centre for Europe, University of Karachi. The West especially Europe has proved to be responsible democracy. The current tide of nationalism which Europe is facing is not conflictual rather consensual, as we see in the relationship of Scotland vis-à-vis rest of the United Kingdom, he added.
The nationalist movement of Scotland is not violent as compared to other parts of the world where such movements are violent and the response of the UK is also very accommodating rather than exercising its power to stop such demands. The referendum would result in the breakup of UK or not, he said, adding that the future of Scotland and its secession depends upon the attitude of voters and how Scottish National Party leads its nationalist campaign in referendum that is going to take place on September 18, 2014, he further expressed.
The program ended with question answer session.
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