So when I’m thinking about ending western imperialism one of the first institutions that is a major block is the EU. Not only does it facilitate global exploitation in favor of the global north, but it also forces austerity in Europe and my understanding is that you literally cannot be a socialist government in the EU- this is not something we can change/take power of, but something that must be ended entirely.
In terms of the current crisis, the EU is leading the charge to essentially rid Europe of all Russian energy. As someone who does not and has never lived in Europe, I’m wondering if I’m witnessing the beginning of the end for the EU and how easy or realistic it would be for countries to escape its grasp. I would also like to extend the time frame we’re looking at a bit- if this crisis doesn’t directly cause people to leave the EU this winter it could still cause it down the line. It just comes down to how decoupled Russia and China become from the west at the end of all this. Especially 10 years down the line, it is inevitable many countries side with China over the US if they’re forced to choose just 1. That’s not even including the amount of countries that are totally fucked without Russian gas. I just don’t get how the EU could maintain itself through such a crisis, a self caused one at that.
As someone who hopes to return to uni at some point, if the EU breaks up, scientific research particularly here in Germany is fucked big time, and when you look at the number of resigning heads of government all over Europe, this is a real possibility. There hardly remains any national infrastructure to fund, commission, and organise science; what is left mostly comes down to the DFG and the Max Planck society. Wherever you go on campus, you always see EU flags on research posters, on flagpoles, at events; rarely state flags, never the national flag. Perhaps old professors can still remember and fathom what science at German universities could look like in a national context, I and most people I know cannot. There could be a slim chance applied research can to an extent be continued in a similar manner through international corporate grants, pure research surely won’t. German, French, Italian, Spanish academia - pardon these figures of speech - would all descend into chaos and obscurity.
Instead of putting our research in the hands of a specialised worldwide institution independent of daily-political gusto, instead of at least delegating basic responsibilities away from a body as notoriously unstable and opaque as the EU onto literally any other level, our government chose to double down on the lunacy that scientists and doctors in one city should have to follow 26 election cycles to worry about whether they can get their lab equipment before their grant ends