EUCE Themes

 

The EU Center of Excellence brings together and fosters the deep reserves of specialized knowledge of the European Union at the UW-Madison.

Three themes serve to organize a series of activities intended to raise awareness of the transformation of the European Union among various audiences within the U.S. while also facilitating partnerships with European universities, scholars and legislative bodies:

 

The EU as a Global Actor
(Leader: Kris Olds , Geography)

This theme examines the global dimensions of EU policy-making and institution-building, particularly in the realms of the knowledge economy, technology and science, and energy and foreign policy. It comprises four projects:

  • Global Regionalisms, Governance and Higher Education (Kris Olds, Geography and Mark Johnson, Educational Policy Studies)

  • Global Health, Development and Security (Tom Oliver, Population Health Science)

  • Global Science: Communication and Ethics (Linda Hogle, Medical History and Bioethics and Dominique Brossard, Life Sciences Communication)

  • Global Energy Security (Paul Wilson, Engineering)

 

EU Legislation, Policymaking and Regulation
(Leader: Nils Ringe , Political Science)

This theme examines current transformations of European law and governance, focusing on who participates in processes of legislation, policy making and regulation, how, and with what outcomes. It comprises four main projects:

  • The Formal and Informal Politics of European Law Making (Nils Ringe, Political Science)

  • Performance Management as Governance Tool: Evidence from the European Union (Donald Moynihan, Public Affairs)

  • Civil Society Organization(s) in the Global Era (Elizabeth Covington, European Studies)

  • The Future of the Eurozone: Monetary and Financial Governance in the Wake of the Crisis (Mark Copelovitch, Political Science)

Diversity and Accountability, Rights and Responsibilities: Managing Challenges of Multi-Level Social Policy in Advanced Democracies
(Leader: Myra Marx Ferree , Sociology and Gender & Women's Studies)

This theme examines how EU policymaking across its 27 diverse member states poses particular challenges for realizing its commitment in the Lisbon Treaty to social inclusion in the face of multiple forms of inequality. It includes four main projects:

  • Women's Rights and EU Policy Development: Intersectional Perspectives (Myra Marx Ferree, Sociology and Gender & Women's Studies)

  • Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility in Comparative Perspective (Timothy Smeeding, Public Affairs)

  • Demography, Inequality, and Policy in New Member States (Theodore Gerber, Sociology)

  • European Union Constitutional Law and Human Rights (Heinz Klug, Law)