Patterns of governance in the modern state: towards hybridity?
Professor John Loughlin , Von Hügel Institute (VHI), St Edmund's College and University of Cambridge
One of the central questions in contemporary social science is the fate of the nationstate.
The nation-state reached its apogee during the period of post-war economic boom and
expanding welfare states. European integration was a means of ‘rescuing’ nation-states during
this period. Neo-liberalism mounted a serious challenge to the welfare version of the nation-state
following a series of political, economic and social crises in the 1970s. The nation-state survived
albeit in a form different from the previous version. It is now more characterized by a combination
of centralist interventionism and ‘choice’ in its territorial organization and policy approaches.
This may be seen in patterns of central–local relations, public administration and fiscal relations.
This we have called the ‘hybrid state’.
About the speaker
Professor John Loughlin is the Director of the Von Hügel Institute (VHI) and a Fellow of St Edmund's College and a Senior Fellow of the Department of Politics and International Studies of the University of Cambridge. Before joining Von Hügel Institute, he was Professor of European Politics in Cardiff University, where he is now an Honorary Professor, and has held Visiting Professorships and Fellowships in Oxford, Paris, Florence and Princeton. Prof Loughlin has carried out extensive research on territorial politics in Europe and on the relationship between religion and politics. His current projects are on: Catholic Social teaching and the Big Society, religious freedom in international affairs, the role of religious NGOs in the United Nations. He is writing a book on how theology helped shaped the modern state in Europe. He is also working on a Madison Trust funded project on the implications of the financial crisis for European federalism. He has been an expert for the Council of Europe and UN-Habitat and he has acted as an advisor to the UK government, the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, the French Senate, and the EU’s Committee of the Regions. In 2012 he has been appointed to the Chaire Ganshof van der Meersch at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) for the academic year 2013-14. In 2010, the French Government appointed him an Officier dans L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in recognition of his contribution to the spread of the French language and culture and his contribution to research on European politics. In 2009, the University of Umeå in Sweden awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his research on European politics and territorial governance. He is an Academician of the UK's Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS), a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHistS) and of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He recently been elected a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has published more than a hundred and fifty articles and book chapters. For more see: http://www.vonhugel.org.uk/people/prof-john-loughlin
Venue: Conference Room
Date: 11 November 2013
Time: 12:30 - 13:30 CEST
