Joris Melman
The public and the Euro: on legitimacy, visibility and political imagination
ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo
ESR9 | e-mail | Twitter: @JorisMelman
PhD project
While the Euro is argued to be more and more bound up with the future of European integration, Europe’s single currency at the same time has increasingly come to be contested as an undemocratic straitjacket. Against this background, my project studies public opinion on the Euro. On the one hand, the purpose is to better understand its legitimacy. On the other, it is to gain insight in citizens’ legitimating reasoning. Given that the Euro’s politics have been impactful, but also distant and technical, this study uses them as a test case for the question how citizens deal with Europe’s ‘invisible constitution building’.
Supervisor: Christopher Lord, ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo
Co-supervisors: Dirk De Bièvre, University of Antwerp and John Erik Fossum, ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo
Secondment
Bruegel, Brussels
Background
In addition to my academic background, my thinking has been shaped by several other experiences. Professionally, I gained experience in a broad range of organizations, amongst which the Embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi, De Groene Amsterdammer (the Netherlands' oldest newsmagazine), and fintech startup TAPP. In a more personal sense, several stays abroad might even have been more influential. I have been living in Istanbul and Delhi, and have traveled several times for longer periods to Asia, Africa and South America. Nationality: Dutch
- MSc in Political Science, Leiden University
- MA in Philosophy, University of Amsterdam
- BSc in Political Science, University of Amsterdam
News
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Preparing PhDs for non-academic careers
Bringing together 20 partners across sectors and disciplines, PLATO equips 15 researchers with innovative training at doctoral level. We asked our project partners about the benefits of collaborating with other sectors during a doctorate.
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The euro: no legitimacy without solidarity?
The dissemination event The euro: no legitimacy without solidarity? took place on 25 September 2020 and presented some of the findings from PLATO and their implications to a broad online audience.
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Citizens’ perceptions of the euro after the financial crisis
After the euro crisis in 2009, the common currency was heavily criticised by many politicians. But how do European citizens perceive the euro? Joris Melman studies this question in his PhD project.
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What happened after the financial crisis?
Fifteen young researchers from all over Europe are starting their PhDs this fall, all with the same question: Did the financial crisis lead to a crisis that now calls into question the very existence of the European Union?
Publications
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Influential but indifferent? Assessing the role of the public in European politics
In this blog post, first published on E-International Relations, Joris Melman reflects on the public’s distance towards the EU. Even though most Europeans seem to lack interest in (or at least knowledge of) European policy-making, the role of public opinion is bigger than ever.
Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 28 December 2020
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Shaping public support: national governments’ discourse on Europe
Based on an original study on public opinion which finds that citizens are ambiguous, inconsistent and undecided, Joris Melman provides some recommendations for national governments in this first in a series of project policy briefs.
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The Netherlands doesn’t understand Southern Europe’s pain
In the Netherlands, the public underestimates how much Southern Europe has already suffered. And how we benefited ourselves, says Joris Melman, analysing the Dutch stance in the negotiations on the EU’s economic responses to the corona crisis.
Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 20 April 2020
Translated and adapted version of an opinion piece published in Trouw.
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The euro: scapegoated by politicians, supported by the public
Public opinion has a central role in the politics of the Eurozone. But how do citizens form their opinions? Joris Melman’s original research indicates that opinions on the euro are often embedded in more general political orientations. For most people, the euro is above all a practical artefact in their daily lives, which makes them less likely to question it.
Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 19 March 2020
Presentations
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PLATO kick-off conference
PLATO's kick-off conference brings together the project's partners in Oslo for academic discussions and networking.
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The euro: no legitimacy without solidarity?
Join us online for a discussion among academics and practitioners on findings from the PLATO project and their implications.
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Joris Melman at the ECPR's virtual joint sessions
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, this year's ECPR Joint Sessions was held virtually 14-17 April 2020. Joris Melman took part with a paper on public opinion on the euro and what it tells us about the EU's legitimacy.
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PLATO panel at the ECPR conference
PLATO coordinator Chris Lord is chairing a panel with papers by five PLATO PhD researchers as part of the ECPR General Conference in Wroclaw.
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Synthesising research findings (RTC4)
ESRs will be presenting their contribution to the PLATO anthology and their overall research results, with an emphasis on the first.
