Wolfgang Schmale is a professor of contemporary history at the University of Vienna, a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts as well as the European Academy.
Šmale is a member of the Scientific Council of the House of European History in Brussels, and deals with human rights research and cultural studies. His books were also published in Serbian by "Klij": "History of the European Idea" and "History of Masculinity in Europe 1450-2000", and recently "What will happen to the European Union?" History and future", translated from German by Maja Matić.
The book "What will happen to the European Union? History and the Future" deals with an important question: Can the European Union still find its way into the future? In the focus of interest not only of the European but also of the world public is the question of what will happen to Europe, i.e. the European Union.
This is a particularly important issue for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, because these countries are preparing to join the European Union.
Faced with Brexit and the financial crisis, populism and the fear of a rising right, the only choice seems to be between conflict and stagnation.
This book is encouraging and expertly provides answers that are very useful especially for young people, students and experts in the fields of political studies, history and law, sociology and other social sciences, as well as non-governmental organizations and media workers.
Through the eyes of a historian and the attitude of a convinced European, Wolfgang Schmale explores the roots of the mentioned phenomena and thinks about the relationship between the nation and Europe.
Above all, it shows how the European Union can still find its way into the future.
What answers does your book "What will happen to the European Union: History and the future" offer?
- The most important answer is that the European Union must seriously understand and implement the goals and values specifically stated in Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union. These are: human dignity, freedom, democracy, rule of law, equality, human rights, especially including minority rights, pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and gender equality. Article 2 is based on a very specific model of society guided by those values. More and more countries are moving away from it, ignoring these values and moving in an anti-democratic direction. The EU is a union of values, so its future is only secure if all member states fully respect the values of this union.
Another answer is that the EU must think about its future goals in accordance with the values stated in Article 2. What do we need in particular in the future? Do we need more army? Should it become even more of a fortress because it cannot influence negative political developments in its neighborhood (Middle East, North Africa, etc.) because of their weakness? There is no doubt that the EU must do more than it has done so far to protect its population, but it must also remain open. Instead of nationalism, it needs greater cooperation.
The third answer is that the EU needs to monitor more how it works. There is a day-to-day EU that functions fairly well, but its means of effectively sanctioning members who violate the EU Treaty - which are currently Poland and Hungary in particular - are cumbersome and small. A union of values such as the EU needs mutual trust between its members, and that trust must not be constantly undermined. In other words, in the future, the question will likely arise whether members can be excluded again if they permanently and massively violate the Agreement. Before the Union receives new members, it cannot avoid amending the Treaty.
Personally, I am very much in favor of accepting the countries of the Western Balkans that are not yet members, but in those countries there must be honest discussions about the fact that membership in the EU is not primarily about money, but about values to which politicians, but also society, the population, must commit.
Which ideas of the European Union have been realized so far, and which ones need to be realized?
- Economic cooperation, which was at the beginning of European integration, works very well and contributes to prosperity in the entire EU. The internal market and its freedoms are priceless. People gained freedom through the EU, they can move around the EU or the European Economic Area without fear. How much it is worth can be seen from the way in which people are persecuted, arrested, tortured and killed in Belarus, the Russian Federation, Turkey and many other countries.
EU member states keep the peace together. Considering Europe's war-torn history, this is a great achievement.
There are many details that simplify people's lives. This is often forgotten - there is a daily EU routine that works well and everyone benefits every day.
European integration has a seven-decade long history. How much have the ideas about the Union changed, given that Europe is not the same, if we only take globalization into account?
- I think the problem is that attitudes about the Union are not changing enough. Globalization was already playing its role in 1950, but then there was no talk of climate change and its dire consequences. Around 1950, globalization was mainly economic, technical and concerned with issues of international relations. Today, globalization means much more, including global threats from terror, from organized crime, from cyber attacks, from more and more dictatorships that try to sell themselves as model states and despise democratic countries as weaklings and failures. Faced with this threatening situation, the European Union must develop further and become a federal state ("Democratic United States of Europe").
How much has the migrant crisis affected the current image of the European Union?
- Not all member countries see refugees and migrants as an expression of crisis. Far-right parties portray it that way because they reject the humanitarianism that is Europe. Most people in Europe have a humanitarian mindset and are charitable. They know the great need and often mortal fear of refugees. One must see the crisis in which some member countries are behaving in a disloyal manner and giving too little support to Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.
Are different European nationalisms a destabilizing factor for the European Union?
- The EU was founded as a community of nation states. This means that, in principle, the nation-state is not a problem. However, in recent years aggressive nationalism has developed again, as we know it from the time of imperialism and the first half of the 20th century. This is a dangerous development. No European country today can exist independently in the long term without the EU community. Even large European countries, such as France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Italy, are only dwarfs who owe their stability to the Union. The current aggressive nationalists are not only destroying the EU, but also their own country. They are the gravediggers of the civic nation-state.
The issue of the European Union is important for Montenegro, because Montenegro is preparing for membership. How do you see Montenegro in the European Union?
- Montenegro must be one hundred percent committed to the values of Article 2 of the EU Treaty, otherwise conflicts will appear very soon after accession. Furthermore, we must not be naive when it comes to powers like China. China's economic and foreign policy do not follow EU values. Membership in the EU will only be successful if the model of society based on Article 2 is recognized and realized in Montenegro. This must be discussed openly.
What mark did the pandemic leave on the European Union?
- The pandemic is not over yet, it is too early for analyses. With this caveat, it can be said that there is a willingness to learn from wrong reactions. The pandemic led to the fact that for the first time in the EU, debts were jointly incurred to finance a large program in the amount of 750 billion euros. It may be possible to actually use this money for innovation (digitalization, climate pact, etc.) and thus contribute to the future. Unfortunately, it must be said that corruption is quite widespread in the EU and that money often does not serve the purpose for which it is available. In general, the fight against the pandemic proves that the fields of cooperation in the EU must be expanded.
Let's go back to your earlier book, A History of Masculinity in Europe. In your opinion, is there a crisis of masculinity in the modern world?
- In my book I say that nothing is as unstable as masculinity. It's constantly changing. Seen in this light, it makes no sense to keep talking about the "crisis of masculinity", as is often done. Social and individual concepts of masculinity must constantly adapt to real circumstances. Such adjustment processes can of course be called "crisis", but even if crises are "unpleasant", they have a constructive function, namely they can lead to adjustment. In the 21st century, the possibilities to become human in one way or another are greater and more varied than ever before in history, but not all options can be taken everywhere in the world.
We must try to identify the real problems: Many terrorist groups live by the model of dictatorial masculinity and try to impose it on women and girls, but also on boys, who have no choice in how they want to be men when they grow up. This is not a crisis, but deadly violence.
What made you write this book? No one has dealt with a similar topic before you. Does your book open up any new perspectives on masculinity?
- As a university professor, I always have to deal with many mostly young people who are searching for their identity. With the book, I show that there is no reason to submit to a single concept of masculinity. There are choices. The choice is not always easy. Even in some European countries, homophobia still exists or exists again. It often takes courage to be different from other people, not from the mainstream. But history shows that there is no "natural" model of being a man, but social conventions that are not as narrowly defined as the supporters of hegemonic masculinity would have society believe. Kant's famous saying "Sapere aude!" it also applies to masculinity.
How individual is masculinity?
- How individual masculinity is depends on the social environment - and of course on the individual, how much courage someone can muster to be different from others. Of course, one's own masculinity does not depend only on one's own will. Family, friends, society, profession, clubs, politics, violence in a certain society, etc. They have an impact on it.
The overarching requirement of non-discrimination in the EU allows for individual choices, but especially right-wing conservative and right-wing extremist political forces, as well as religious fundamentalist tendencies, try to coerce and promote hegemonic masculinity, which is always aggressively nationalistic.
Is masculinity today freed from the Christian concept?
- In Christianity, there are very different models of male roles. The New Testament in particular offers a great variety. This should be separated from the Christian churches as institutions, which partly more partly followed the model of hegemonic masculinity. If one looks at Christianity in terms of concepts of masculinity, that person should read the New Testament carefully, but not imitate the institution.
Honor and manliness were pronounced as one word in the 16th century. How much has masculinity evolved over time and what importance is given to it?
- Masculinity is constantly changing. There are social ideal types, but they should not be confused with the diversity of life's reality. Even in the age of hegemonic masculinity during imperialism, the highest different forms of masculinity lived. By studying history, we try to show that diversity.
How do you see the current masculinity in the Balkan countries? How different is it from Europe?
- First of all, I would like to state that the Balkans is also Europe. Nor is it "another Europe". "Another Europe" exists everywhere in Europe. Traditional family structures based on fixed gender roles are still present in the 21st century in very different parts of Europe. Patriarchy can be found everywhere, you have to look carefully. I don't want to participate in spreading stereotypes.
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