The Labour Party’s European policy under Jeremy Corbyn: no Brexit, no Grexit

Jeremy Corbyn’s surprise election as leader of the Labour Party shone an unexpected light on his views regarding European integration. A previously known Eurosceptic, he has stated since his elevation that he’d campaign for the UK to remain in the EU regardless of the result of any putative renegotiation. Here, Isabelle Hertner casts an eye over Corbyn’s new European policy, and argues that a ‘no Brexit, no Grexit’ European policy places us in the midst of interesting times

‘Seven, or seven and a half out of 10″: Jeremy Corbyn’s conspicuous absence from the referendum campaign

Labour has been “almost invisible” during the referendum campaign, according to one study. Isabelle Hertner explains how Jeremy Corbyn’s abiding Euroscepticism has led him to call for EU reform rather than choose to highlight the Union’s achievements, despite pressure from colleagues in the party

The Europe Jeremy Corbyn wants is very different from the one David Cameron seeks

As Labour’s In campaign gets underway, Isabelle Hertner asks what we can expect from a leader who, despite voting to leave the EEC in 1975 and deploring the austerity demanded of Greece by fellow EU states, has backed a Remain vote

Germany's Strategic Narrative of the Eurozone Crisis

This article outlines how Germany has sought to project a strategic narrative of the Eurozone crisis. Germany has been placed center stage in the Eurozone crisis, and as a consequence, the German government's crisis narrative matters for the future of the common currency. We highlight how the German government has sought to narrate a story of the cause of the Eurozone crisis and present policy solutions to influence policy decisions within the EU and maintain domestic political support. This focus on the public communication of the crisis is central to understanding the development of Germany's policy as it was negotiated with EU partners, the U.S. and international financial institutions. We draw on speeches and interviews by Chancellor Angela Merkel and two of her senior cabinet ministers delivered at key moments of the Eurozone crisis between May 2010 and June 2012. The article argues that while Merkel and her governments have been able to shore up domestic support for her Eurozone policies, she has struggled to find a coherent strategic narrative that is both consistent with German domestic preferences and historical memory, and with those of other Eurozone members.</jats:p

Europhiles or Eurosceptics? Comparing the European policies of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats

The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are often portrayed as Britain’s pro- European parties. Indeed, both parties express a keen interest in keeping Britain in the European Union (EU) and in promoting a constructive engagement with other member states. Yet, to what extent can the two parties be characterized as Europhiles? In this article, we develop Taggart and Szczerbiak’s (2008) concept of hard and soft Euroscepticism, extend it to Europhile party positions, and apply it to Labour and the Liberal Democrats’ recent European policies. For this purpose, we analyze manifestos and party leaders’ key speeches on the EU. We find, overall, that the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are ‘soft’ Europhiles whose discourses have focused on EU reform. Yet, whilst their EU policies are very similar, their EU strategies differ: the Labour leadership have generally tried to contain the salience of EU issues, whereas the Liberal Democrats have followed a more offensive EU strategy after 2014. This can best be explained through electoral incentives and internal dynamics

UK general election preview: what to look out for as Britain goes to the polls

The UK’s snap election on 8 June initially looked like being a comfortable victory for Theresa May and the Conservatives, but with the polls tightening in the last few weeks, there is now far more uncertainty about the outcome. We asked some of our contributors for their reflections on the campaign and the key things to watch out for when the results come in. Patrick Dunleavy: Three things we’ve learned already from the 2017 campaign turnaround Eunice Goes: Corbyn will lose the election, but he has already changed British politics Thomas J. Leeper: The Brexit election that never was Eleanor Knott: EU citizens – taxation, but no representation Isabelle Hertner: The Liberal Democrats’ pro-EU campaign has fallen flat Stuart Brown: The SNP will win in Scotland, but the story of the night might well be the revival of Scottish Labour Julian Göpffarth: The view from Germany – a longing for British pragmatis

Psychische Belastung und Substanzkonsum geflüchteter Menschen – Die Rolle der sozialen Ökologie

Mental distress and substance (mis)use among refugees is often discussed as determined by premigration traumatic experiences, such as violence and war. By applying the ecological framework of refugee distress (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017), the dissertation presented, shifts the perspective from pre-migration experiences to the social ecology, i.e. the setting of everyday life, provided to refugees in Germany, Lebanon, and Turkey. Unlike the pre-migration experiences, this setting remains modifiable, while continuously producing suffering. Tracing the roots for mental distress and substance (mis)use within the social ecology of refugees in countries of refuge allows for deriving structural prevention measurements. With this aim, two studies were conducted and integrated within the mixed-method synopsis presented. The examination of displacement-related stressors through a transnational lens, employing a mixed-method approach embedded in a theoretical framework is a novel contribution to the field of research. Study 1, the qualitative assessment (Hertner et al., 2023), includes 108 semistructured interviews (SSI) and ten focus group discussions (FGD) with key persons. The qualitative content analysis identifies as associated with increased substance (mis)use: insecurities regarding the legal status, the lack of prospects and meaningful activities, being accommodated in refugee shelters, family separation and aspirations to belong to a community. In Study 2 (Ruhnke et al., 2024), survey data from 2491 Syrian respondents in Lebanon and Turkey are employed to transnationally compare factors within the social ecology of refugees that influence mental distress (defined by a PHQ-8 sumscore >10). Syrians residing in Lebanon reported more adverse living conditions, in-cluding unemployment, poverty, discrimination, and social isolation, and a greater prevalence of mental distress (26%) compared to respondents in Turkey (15%). Between the two study contexts, the predictive value of single factors of refugees’ social ecology, as included in the logistic regression analysis differs not only in magnitude, but also in the effect’s direction. For instance, poverty, day-to-day work, unemployment, and family support reveal varying predictive values and relationship, while social isolation and discrimination emerge as significant predictors in both countries. The observed differences between the countries of refuge examined (Germany, Lebanon, and Turkey) lead to the conclusion, that the link between social ecology and substance (mis)use or mental distress cannot be painted with a broad brush but needs to be nuanced to account for the individual, local, community and national context. Such an approach is crucial not only in research and psychosocial practice, but also from a policy perspective as it underlines the significance of implementing measures aiming at reducing displacement-related stressors and improving refugees’ social ecology in the countries of refuge.Psychische Gesundheit und (missbräuchlicher) Substanzkonsum Geflüchteter werden oftmals als Folgen von traumatischen Erlebnissen vor der Migration, wie beispielsweise Gewalt und Krieg, diskutiert. Durch die Anwendung des ecological model for refugees distress (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017) verschiebt die vorgestellte Dissertation den Fokus von den Erlebnissen vor der Migration hin zur sozialen Ökologie, d.h. den alltäglichen Lebensumständen, die Geflüchtete in Deutschland, dem Libanon und der Türkei geboten werden. Im Gegensatz zu den Erlebnissen vor der Migration sind diese Lebensumstände veränderbar, während sie fortwährend Leid produzieren. Die Ursachen psychischer Belastung und (missbräuchlichen) Substanzkonsums zu erforschen, die in der sozialen Ökologie der Geflüchteter in Aufnahmeländern eingebettet sind, ermöglicht es strukturelle Präventionsmaßnahmen vorzuschlagen. Hierfür wurden zwei Studien durchgeführt und in einer Mixed-Methods-Synopsis integriert. Die theoriegeleitete, transnationale Erforschung Migrations-bezogener Stressoren im Rahmen eines Mixed-Method Ansatz stellt einen neuartigen Beitrag zum Forschungsfeld dar. Studie 1, das qualitative Assessment (Hertner et al., 2023), umfasst 108 semistrukturierte Interviews (SSI) und zehn Fokusgruppendiskussionen (FGD) mit Schlüsselpersonen. Die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse identifizierte einen unsicheren Aufenthaltsstatus, einen Mangel an Perspektiven und sinnvoller Beschäftigungen, die Unterbringung in Gemeinschaftsunterkünften, familiäre Trennung sowie den Wunsch Dazuzugehören, als assoziiert mit einem erhöhten Substanzkonsum. Studie 2 (Ruhnke et al., 2024) verwendet die Umfragedaten von 2491 Syrer*innen im Libanon und in der Türkei. Syrer*innen im Libanon, im Vergleich zu jenen in der Türkei, bewerteten ihre Lebensumstände in puncto Arbeitslosigkeit, Armut, Diskriminierung und sozialer Isolation, schlechter und berichten häufiger von psychischer Belastung (26% vs. 15%). In der logistischen Regression zeigt sich, dass sich zwischen den beiden Kontexten Prädiktoren in ihrer Relevanz aber auch in der Richtung des Zusammenspiels mit psychischer Belastung unterscheiden, z.B. für Armut, Arbeitslosigkeit und familiäre Unterstützung. In beiden Ländern treten soziale Isolation sowie Diskriminierung als signifikante Prädiktoren auf. Die Unterschiede zwischen den untersuchten Aufnahmeländern (Deutschland, Libanon und Türkei) führen zum Schluss, dass das Zusammenspiel zwischen sozialer Ökologie und (missbräuchlichem) Substanzkonsum bzw. psychischer Belastung Geflüchteter nicht pauschal betrachtet werden kann, sondern erst durch das Einbeziehen des individuellen, lokalen, gesellschaftlichen und nationalen Kontexts valide wird. Eine entsprechende Sensibilisierung ist in der Forschung, aber auch im Rahmen psychosozialer Angebote mindestens ebenso relevant wie die Umsetzung von politischen Maßnahmen zur effektiven Verbesserung der sozialen Ökologie Geflüchteter in den Aufnahmeländern

Interpreting toxic masculinity in political parties: A framework for analysis

The term ‘toxic masculinity’ was coined in the 1990s by sociologists and psychologists. It has since been appropriated by scholars and commentators interested in gendered behaviours and outcomes in politics. However, despite the attention belatedly being paid to masculinities as part of that research, our appreciation of, specifically, toxic masculinity’s part in shaping political practices remains underdeveloped. This article proposes a move in this direction by designing a conceptual framework for exploring toxic masculinity inside political parties. We adapt findings from the original toxic masculinity literature to generate a series of indicators of toxic masculinity spanning the policy and discursive aspects of party political action. We then test the framework using a paired comparison of two parties of the populist right where we might expect to see relatively high levels of toxic masculinity: the Alternative for Germany and the UK Independence Party. Our empirical findings give us confidence that drawing on the concept of toxic masculinity can provide us with novel insights into the interplay between masculinity and political party cultures. We also hope that it will inspire a significant body of new research into toxic masculinity in political parties from across the party spectrum as well as globally

Going from bad to worse? Well-being of Syrian refugees in Turkey in the aftermath of the February 2023 earthquakes

Key points: (1) Social and economic disadvantages and poor living conditions of Syrians in Turkey prior to the earthquakes made them particularly vulnerable to the destructive force of the earthquakes. (2) Syrians have less social, financial and material resources to cope with the earthquake-related losses and damages, amplifying inequalities and vulnerabilities. (3) Rather than receiving the social and economic support that could help compensate for existing inequalities, some Syrians report experiences of discrimination and serious problems because of inadequate aid.Peer Reviewe