Portugal and the EU Before and After the Crisis

In over four decades of Portuguese democracy, European integration has always been a central point. Europeanization was a factor in the consolidation of democracy in Portugal, while democratization helped legitimize Portuguese integration into Europe after centuries at the far end of the Iberian Peninsula and a more Atlantic vocation. Nonetheless, the assumptions about the symbiotic relationship between democracy, Portugal and Europe were challenged and continue to be put into question by the recent Euro crisis. This seminar examines the historical path of Portuguese European integration and the impact of recent crises on the Portugal-Europe relationship, while arguing that there is no reasonable alternative to a profoundly European Portugal.

Speaker: Nuno Severiano Teixeira, Professor of Political Studies and Director of the Portuguese Institute of International Relations, NOVA University Lisbon.

Sponsors: RCC; Southern Europe in the EU, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University.