2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Crisis or Opportunity? European Integration and party politics at the national and EU-level in the wake of Brexit
| Project/Area Number |
17K03544
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| Research Institution | Oita University |
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Principal Investigator |
Day Stephen 大分大学, 経済学部, 教授 (60404357)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | Brexit / Europarties / European elections / Spitzenkandidaten |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the past year I have sought to follow and analyse: 1) the day-to-day machinations of the on-going Brexit saga; 2) the run-up to the May 2019 European elections and Spitzenkandidaten 2.0.; 3) the push-pull tensions between mainstream and populist political forces across the EU. My understanding of what has been unfolding has been enhanced by the opportunity to experience developments, first-hand, via research visits to: Brussels (research interviews at the European Parliament, September 2018); the Congress of the European People's Party (Helsinki, November 2018); and the UK (March 2019 to follow Brexit developments). I made one domestic (March, 2019) and one international (European Union Studies Association-Asia Pacific, June 2018) presentation. I have also periodically updated my blog site. My analysis has been informed by drawing upon an 'actor-driven approach' from the school of new institutionalism and driven by the methodological tool of 'process-tracing'. During the year I made one domestic and one international (European Union Studies Association-Asia Pacific) presentation.
Central to the legacy of this project is that a book contract for a Japanese language monograph about Brexit (co-written with Professor Rikihisa, Doshisha University) with Minervashobo has been secured. I am also in the process of seeking a publishing deal for a book about the Europarties. I am being assisted in this endeavour by Professor Yoichiro Usui, NUIS). He will also translate the manuscript if we are successful. At the moment Akashishoten is considering the proposal.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I feel that the project has continued to evolve at a reasonable pace. I received key insights from the research trips and invaluable feedback from the presentations which have enhanced my understanding of events.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I plan to continue following developments on a day-to-day basis and start the process of writing the Brexit manuscript. This has a May 2020 submission date.
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| Causes of Carryover |
In my original application a small amount of money was set-aside to pay for translation assistance (from English to Japanese) during the second year of the project. This proved not to be necessary. As a result of the on-going Brexit saga, I hope to utilize these funds to pay for a number of newspaper subscriptions.
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| Remarks |
I periodically keep the blog site going with short entries. A longer than usual piece on the Spitzenkandidaten process was written in February 2019.
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