BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.1//EN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Eastern Standard Time BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:Eastern Standard Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250301T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:Eastern Daylight Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:The Moynihan Institute's Center for European Studies welcomes&n bsp\;Frédéric Mérand from the University of Montreal Centre for Internatio nal Studies (CÉRIUM).Traditionally viewed as a “post-sovereign” project\, the European Union is undergoing a profound semantic shift. While the term sovereignty \;was long the rallying cry of anti-EU nationalists\, it has recently been reclaimed by mainstream leaders to advocate for “strateg ic autonomy” in a fragmenting global order.This research explores the idea tional struggles shaping the European project from its inception to the pr esent. By analyzing sovereignty as “meta-capital”—the ultimate political a uthority—I track how different coalitions have vied to define Europe’s str ategic nature. I argue that the recent rise of “European sovereignty” is a deliberate framing strategy used to unite an unlikely coalition of geopol itical Europeanists and nationalist Europeans. Through a political sociolo gy lens\, this paper examines three pivotal “battles of ideas” to explain how the concept of sovereignty has moved from the fringes to the center of European power\, and what its dominance implies for the continent’s futur e.Frédéric Mérand \;is a professor of political science and scientific director of the University of Montreal Centre for International Studies ( CÉRIUM). Specializing in European politics and International Relations\, h e was visiting professor \;at Sciences Po Paris\, McGill University an d at the universities of Toronto\, Strasbourg\, Toulouse\, Lille and Guido Carli in Rome. Previously\, he worked as foreign policy advisor for the C anadian government. \;His current research projects focus on relations between Europe and Russia\, European political economy and the decline of great powers. He is the author of \;European Defence Policy: Beyond t he Nation State \;(Oxford University Press\, 2008) and coauthored  \;Introduction à l’Union européenne. Institutions\, politiques et sociétés  \;(De Boeck\, 2011). He has published in academic journals such as&nb sp\;Security Studies\, Journal of Common Market Studies\, West European Po litics\, International Studies Quarterly\, \;Cooperation and Conflict\ , Politique Européenne\, Canadian Foreign Policy\, and International Journ al. DTEND:20260417T210000Z DTSTAMP:20260510T210456Z DTSTART:20260417T190000Z LOCATION: SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Frédéric Mérand | The Struggle for European Sovereignty: A Battle o f Ideas UID:RFCALITEM639140294962162783 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The Moynihan Institute's Center for Europea n Studies welcomes \;Frédéric Mérand from the University of Montreal C entre for International Studies (CÉRIUM).

Traditionally viewed as a “post-sovereign” project\, the European Union is undergoing a profound sem antic shift. While the term sovereignty \;was long the rallying cry of anti-EU nationalists\, it has recently been reclaimed by mainstream leade rs to advocate for “strategic autonomy” in a fragmenting global order.

This research explores the ideational struggles shaping the European pr oject from its inception to the present. By analyzing sovereignty as “meta -capital”—the ultimate political authority—I track how different coalition s have vied to define Europe’s strategic nature. I argue that the recent r ise of “European sovereignty” is a deliberate framing strategy used to uni te an unlikely coalition of geopolitical Europeanists and nationalist Euro peans. Through a political sociology lens\, this paper examines three pivo tal “battles of ideas” to explain how the concept of sovereignty has moved from the fringes to the center of European power\, and what its dominance implies for the continent’s future.

Frédéric Mérand \;is a professor of political scie nce and scientific director of the University of Montreal Centre for Inter national Studies (CÉRIUM). Specializing in European politics and Internati onal Relations\, he was visiting professor \;at Sciences Po Paris\, Mc Gill University and at the universities of Toronto\, Strasbourg\, Toulouse \, Lille and Guido Carli in Rome. Previously\, he worked as foreign policy advisor for the Canadian government. \;

His current research pr ojects focus on relations between Europe and Russia\, European political e conomy and the decline of great powers. He is the author of \;Euro pean Defence Policy: Beyond the Nation State \;(Oxford University Press\, 2008) and coauthored \;Introduction à l’Union européenne. Institutions\, politiques et sociétés \;(De Boeck\, 2011). He ha s published in academic journals such as \;Security Studies\, Jour nal of Common Market Studies\, West European Politics\, International Stud ies Quarterly\, \;Cooperation and Conflict\, Politique Européenne\, Ca nadian Foreign Policy\, and International Journal.

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