European Union Law and Governance in Populist Times

The University of Central Lancashire Cyprus (UCLan Cyprus) has launched a Jean Monnet Module entitled ‘European Union Law and Governance in Populist Times’ (EU-POP) which runs from 2019-2022.

Project Background and objectives:

The EU is faced with a threat to its very foundations through the rise of right-wing populist narratives and political parties. The current climate of uncertainty, migration flows, without adequate integration policies in many European countries, including Cyprus, and the rise of fake news, particularly online, constitute a fertile setting for the rise of right-wing populists. Such phenomena are damaging in themselves and also in their manifestation, such as in relation to the protection of the rule of law and human rights. The proposed module is established on research informed teaching of the soft and hard tools available at an EU level to challenge the right-wing populist threat and its manifestation in the form of (i) the deterioration of the rule of law or risk thereto (ii) hate speech including online hate speech and (iii) aggressive Euroscepticsm currently tainting Europe at a local, national and regional level. To this end, the module entitled ‘European Union Law and Governance in Populist Times’ was developed on the premise that there exists an urgent need to (i) develop research in the area which continues to remain underdeveloped (ii) enhance teaching excellence in the field so as to ensure that young professionals and graduates are well equipped with the ability to understand the regulatory framework in the EU (iii) foster coherent dialogue between stakeholders, civil society and academics on the chosen theme and (iv) offer a core output to the commission on guidelines for improvement of the current regulatory framework.

Jean Monnet Activities:

Jean Monnet Activities are designed to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union studies worldwide. The activities also foster dialogue between the academic world and policy-makers, in particular with the aim of enhancing governance of the European Union. For more information on Jean Monnet Activities click here. 

For information:

For more information, please contact us at info@eupopulism.eu.