Monika Mokre

Inclusion and Exclusion in the European Public Sphere: Intersections of Gender and Race

Abstract Can transnational public spheres be envisaged for Europe, which, in fact, create accountability – that is, spaces of critical articulations, control mechanisms, and political correctives to the governing levels? Can the political, as a critical force and the willingness to struggle and decide, be re-introduced into the public sphere? In which ways are race/ethnicity, class and gender cleavages being (re)presented and articulated in the public sphere and how do they intersect? In attempting to answer these questions, we aim this article at exploring the potential for a European discursive space pertaining to issues of gender and diversity. The empirical focus is on the views of political parties and social movements that are participating in public debates. Addressing the inclusions and exclusions in the European public sphere at the intersections of gender and racial/ethnic minorities, we look at the shifts in rhetoric, discourses and policies. As a result, we find common discursive patterns on the intersections between ethnicity and gender which, however, can at best be interpreted as a sign of the emergence of broader European public spheres. Only if these debates can be generalised, European public spheres fulfilling the functions of creating accountability and control mechanisms can develop.

The MuseumsQuartier, Vienna: An Austrian Cultural Experiment

This paper focuses on an important Austrian development, which on closer examination enables consideration to be given to: (1) Austrian government cultural‐sector policy, practice and funding attitudes; (2) the nature of the structures, organisation, stakeholders, and legal relationships chosen to manage and market the MuseumsQuartier; (3) the tension between the individual autonomy of institutions and a state‐imposed umbrella organisation; (4) the characteristics of creativity in comparison with the requirements for conformity; and (5) the compatibility of facility and programming management. There is no pretence in providing a survey of museum cultural or creative quarters throughout the world or analysis of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that may be associated with this approach to urban regeneration. It is unashamedly a detailed analysis of a major cultural development, which may have value for the future management of similar projects. Perhaps more significantly it provides a useful insight into the Austrian approach to arts policy and management.

Deregulation and Democracy: The Austrian Case

In Austria, Emperor Joseph I in 1705 paid for a large opera house in Vienna and in 1708 for the building of the Theatre am Kärnthner-Tor. In 1776, the Burgtheater opened, with the Emperor Joseph II as its first manager. . . . Along with creating massive opportunities for artists to find employment and laying the foundations of institutions that survive today, the third great achievement of these royal patrons was to establish an atmosphere, in which support of the arts became widespread, both among those at the apex of society and among those who aspired to be. (Cummings and Katz 1987, 6)

European Public Spheres and Intersectionality

This chapter aims to relate the thoughts on intersectionality to the concepts of European Public Spheres (EPS). Our starting point is the theory of the public sphere developed by Jurgen Habermas. After presenting this theory as well as its feminist critique, we will give an overview of recent literature on EPS, mainly based on Habermas and further developments of his thoughts. Finally, we will present our own model of a plurality of EPSs intersected by different forms of diversities and inequalities.

The EU’s Gender and Diversity Policies and the European Public Spheres

In the history of European integration, policies addressing race and ethnicity are a relatively new phenomenon. Gender equality policies were part of policymaking in the European Community (EC) from the outset. The principle of equal pay for equal work of women and men was first enshrined in the Treaty of Rome of 1958, but it had a mainly a programmatic purpose and was later followed up by a directive on equal pay that had more direct national implications. The 1980s and 1990s brought issues of gender equality, such as how to reconcile work and family, gender and violence and women’s role in decision making, onto the political agenda. The European Parliament and its Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) have been important players in this development.

On Adam Smith and Gender Construction

This paper aims at applying Adam Smith’s considerations on exchange and deception on gender questions. It thereby reads the Theory of Moral Sentiments as a theory of the construction of identities out of perceptions and deceptions of one’s own wishes and needs. By complementing Smith’s concepts with the ideas of his contemporary, Mary Wollstonecraft, it can be shown in which ways the Theory of Moral Sentiments can enrich gender studies in clarifying the role of deception in the construction of gender specific roles.

“We Demand Our Rights!” The Refugee Protest Camp Vienna

The paper analyzes the Refugee Protest Camp Vienna from different theoretical perspectives. It first asks whether a specific political opportunity structure facilitated the beginning of the movement and, failing to find specific political opportunities, comes to the conclusion that the movement should rather be understood as an “event” in the sense of Alain Badiou. It then analyzes strategies of self-representation, taking as a starting point the assumption that migrants’ interests are “weak” for two reasons: (1) migrants have multiple and diverse interests, and (2) they are a marginalized group. According to Judith Butler, this marginalization can be described as “non-recognition” of the lives of migrants. The Viennese protest movement of asylum seekers defended its weak interests by combining universalist and group claims, as well as individual claims. While this incoherent strategy can be understood as a means of strengthening representation, it obviously also led to contradictions, exclusion, and normatively problematic attitudes. At the same time, the movement was unified by the subjectivization of asylum seekers as citizens. In the third section, the relations between refugees and supporters are described with regard to quantitative and qualitative mobilization, and strong and weak ties, and as a mixture of individual support and collective political action. Finally, the chapter establishes that the results of the movement were generally unfruitful on the political level and ambiguous in individual cases.

Negotiating Equality and Diversity: Transnational Challenges to European Citizenship

This chapter addresses gender equality and ethno-national diversity in democratic politics focusing on issues of EU citizenship as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the European Public Sphere. We propose that the intersectionality approach can contribute to understand the contestations by political actors about (gender) equality, ethno-national diversity and religion. These contestations can be interpreted as a sign of a vibrant public sphere with potentials to evolve into solidarity movements, as well as a dangerous sign of the growth of right-wing anti-migration forces. The migration and refugee crisis has challenged democracy, equal rights and social justice, but, at the same time, the transnational arena is potentially the only feasible alternative to solve the migration and refugee crisis and to develop timely concepts of democracy.

Conclusion: Intersectionality and the European Public Sphere

The aim of this book is to explore intersections of gender and diversity in the European Public Sphere (EPS). The individual chapters have therefore been applying the two perspectives, which figure prominently in contemporary research but have rarely before been combined.

Europa in einer globalisierten Welt, oder: Mit Egon Matzner weiterdenken.

Viele Jahre lang war Egon Matzner unser Gesprachspartner. Wir haben schriftlich und mundlich, offentlich und privat uber verschiedenste Themen diskutiert. Wir waren uns ofter einig als nicht — aber beides, das Einig- und das Uneinig-Sein — hat uns beflugelt und unser Denken vorangetrieben. Wir mochten diesen Artikel daher als einen „freien Austausch von Argumenten“ (Matzner 2001, S. 133) mit Egon verstanden wissen, der „nicht durch personliche Vorlieben und Abneigungen behindert“ (Matzner 2001, S. 133) wird.