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Focuses on options for reforming European governance. White Paper of the European Commission.

This paper addresses a central issue linked to research conducted on an eclectic conglomeration of people connected in various ways to the principal European site of the Japanese new religion of Tenrikyō. Although the center itself is in a Parisian suburb and the majority of its key actors are Japanese, the people connected to this center and its associated social world span beyond the Paris region and include various nationalities, countries of residence, and even religious identities. Moreover, the people connected to this center and the presence of the Tenrikyō religion in Europe are largely one and the same, but not entirely. A question commonly posed to the researcher by "outsiders" is how many Tenrikyō "members" there are in Paris, France, and/or Europe, and if they are Japanese or the nationality of the local country (French, German, etc.) The complexities of answering such questions are the focus of this discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper provides the socio-economic context of the MIGHEAL study, the results of which are presented in this special issue. The aim of the MIGHEAL study was to compare the physical and mental health of the native and migrant populations of Greece in the wake of the economic crisis that commenced in 2008. Methods The background of the migrant population of Greece is described, drawing on population censuses of Greece and data on residence permits held by foreigners. Then the migrant and native populations are compared with respect to several socio-economic outcomes, using Eurostat data on unemployment and the risk of poverty. Results The settled migrant population of Greece is largely of Central and Eastern European origin, resulting from the massive migrant inflowsthat started at the beginning of the 1990s after the collapse of socialist regimes in the area. Before the economic crisis, migrant unemployment was lower than that of natives, but after its onset, the unemployment of migrants surpassed that of natives. Prior to the crisis, migrants were already subject to greater risk of poverty than natives, but the gap widened considerably subsequent to the crisis. Conclusion The Greek institutional framework has restricted access to citizenship for both first- and second-generation migrants while conditions for permit renewal are onerous, rendering citizenship an important factor differentiating socio-economic outcomes. The different outcomes observed among the native and migrant populations after the onset of the Greek economic crisis create concerns regarding health inequalities between the two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancestors can be a source, as well as the genealogical practice can be a tactical devise to obtain a passport, which enables people to move easier in a hierarchic global space. In the Argentinean case, on the one hand, the number of genealogical researches to apply for an Italian second citizenship raised up, on the other hand, the practice of the genealogy itself has become more popular, above all along the middle classes, whereas a basic genealogical knowledge has spread within the young generations. Using interviews, as well as bibliographical and statistic data, this paper aims to mark the complex connection, not only the instrumental one, between different genealogical practices produced by Argentineans of Italian descendant, Italian citizenship applications and the new Argentinean migration flows to Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In several respects, the EU represents both a novel system of quasi-supranational governance and a novel form of political community or polity. But it is also a fragile construction for it remains a community still in the making with an ambiguous sense of identity and within which powerful forces are at work. This paper has three main aims: first, to stress the shifting nature of Europe's geographical frontiers and assess whether cultural frontiers have remained more stable throughout time. In particular, it examines the main criteria, which have traditionally been employed when having to decide who should be included and excluded from Europe. A different question concerns the requirements for EU membership and the monopoly of the adjective 'European' by the EU, which somehow has become to be identified with Europe. Second, to explore the prospects for the emergence of a European identity. Here, I argue that European identity stands as a 'non-emotional identity' in sharp contrast with traditional forms of national identity associated with intense nationalist feelings. Third, through the analysis of the most recent Eurobarometer (annual survey of EU's public opinion) to examine the views of Europeans regarding the EU at a time of a major global economic crisis. To conclude, the paper explores the main challenges to be faced by a still incipient European identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of naturalization of non-EU immigrant household heads with a fresh look at the role of integration and ethnicity. Design/methodology/approach -- Employing data on immigrant household heads from the German Socioeconomic Panel differentiation is made among those who already have been naturalized, those who plan to take citizenship, and those who do not have citizenship and do not want it, using multinomial probit models. The subject scope includes literature on naturalization, ethnicity, and integration. Findings -- A robust finding is that German citizenship is very valuable to female immigrant household heads and the generally better educated, but not to those educated in Germany. The degree of integration into German society has a differential effect on citizenship acquisition. While a longer residence in Germany has a negative influence on actual or future naturalization, arriving at a younger age and having close German friends are strong indicators of a positive proclivity to citizenship acquisition. Likewise, ethnic origins and religion also influence these decisions. Muslim immigrants in Germany are more willing to become German citizens than non-Muslim immigrants, but there are also fewer German citizens among Muslims than among non-Muslims. Research limitations/implications -- Future research should also investigate the second-generation naturalization proclivities and those of illegals. Practical implications -- Allowing for dual citizenship helps generate more naturalizations among Muslims. Originality/value -- The paper provides a test of the relative importance of the integration approach in comparison with the ethnicity model; demonstrating that integration in German society has a stronger effect on naturalization than ethnic origin and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In constructing a framework for the participation and inclusion in political life of subjects, the Enlightenment also produced a series of systematic exclusions for those who did not qualify: including 'idiots' and 'primitive races'. 'Idiocy' emerged as part of wider strategies of governance in Europe and its colonies. This opened up the possibility for pedagogy to become a key technology for the transformation of the savage, uncivilised Other into the citizen. This paper explores the transformative role of pedagogy in relation to colonial discourse, the narrative of the wild boy of Aveyron - a feral child captured in France in 1800 - and the formation of a medico-pedagogical discourse on idiocy in the nineteenth century. In doing so, the paper shows how learning disability continues to be influenced by same emphasis on competence for citizenship, a legacy of the colonial attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores questions of citizenship and the role of universities in the context of the policy changes in the UK and in Europe over the last two decades. Twenty fi ve years after the political transitions in Eastern Europe, and 70 years since the end of the Second World War, Europe is more united than ever before. New political, social and economic configurations across the continent are bringing expectations and pressures to its citizens and institutions, with universities at the front of many economic and social projects. What do these new conditions mean for citizenship in the context of European universities, and how do member states respond to this changing context? The article will use England as a national case study within the EU to illustrate the tensions between the humanistic visions still carried out by many universities, although interpreted differently across the sector, and the pressures for the creation of the 'knowledge economy' that are shared at the national and transnational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the questions on the European citizenship and the democratic debt of the supranational institutions. In this sense it addresses the institution of the European Provider of Justice. It is about an individual appointed by the European Parliament with the task of, either by its own initiative or based on complaints presented by European citizens and inhabitants, investigating and proceeding to investigation about irregularities on the actuation of the communitarian organs, as well as to emit recommendations with the aim of correcting the cases of bad administration and violation of the human rights detected by it. The object of actuation of the European Provider of Justice is the enforcement of political activity and the providing of public services in a communitarian set. It is an access channel for the citizenship to the organs of political power, controlling the bad actuation of the institutions or communitarian organisms and the violation of rights, with broad powers of supervision with the aim of the enforcement of the fundamental right to a good administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legal instruments adopted by the European Union (EU) to ensure free movement within the territory of the Member States are closely linked to the control of the external borders. Over the past ten years, EU member states have created various mechanisms to prevent, control, and punish irregular immigration to the European community, whose migration model is characterized by an instrumental vision that cheapens the value of fundamental rights and reduces the low-skilled labor migration needed by the labor market. From there, EU states derive laws that recognize rights according to the person's nationality and immigration status. In this context, this paper will analyze, with a focus on human rights and from physical, symbolic, political, and legal points of view, what is supposedly a radical "advance" of this process of externalization: the operations created to impede migration of people in "canoes" or "boats" to Europe from the coasts of countries like Morocco, Algeria, Senegal or Mauritania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of democracy is probably one of the easiest to get consensus about in contemporary societies, while at the same time there are clear symptoms of political disaffection. The explanations for this political disaffection phenomenon are quite varied. While some argue that the lack of political implication is a consequence of individualism and «civic privatism» that threatens to break the bonds within the political community, others argue that this is a consequence of the crisis of the politics led by elites, which gives way to new forms of political participation driven by the masses. Lying behind these contradictory explanations there is a debate about the normative concept of citizenship or the «good citizen». In this paper I analyze empirically different conceptions of citizenship in Europe, as measured by how much value individuals attach to different civic duties that belong to the definition of citizenship from a normative point of view. In order to do that, I distinguish one dimension of normative commitment and one of community commitment. I then explain the value attached to each dimension at the individual level using multilevel analysis techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the very beginning of this new century the university has been living paradigmatic changes. Reflecting on new qualifications that can fulfil the new professional demands is not the only issue on discussion. If the European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) really aims to achieve its foundational objectives, it should incorporate in the curriculum some citizenship related subjects. This paper aims to explain what competences should become part of the curriculum so that the university itself contributes in the education of citizens ethically and morally compromised with our society and with the development of a European citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

information about several papers discussed at a conference held May 10-11, 2012 at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) in Freiburg, Germany, titled "Making Moral Citizens - Democracy, Maturity and Authority in Postwar Western Europe" is presented. Topics include youth mobility in postwar Europe, paternal and state authority in postwar Great Britain, and youth delinquency in postwar Greece.