Director of the Center for West European Studies and Jackson School Professor Sabine Lang has been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair in European Union Studies by the European Commission in Brussels. Lang will specifically hold the Chair in Civil Society, Inclusion, and Diversity in the EU, or CIDEU, until 2024. The role is based in the Jackson School’s Jean Monnet Center which is housed in the Center for West European Studies.
Jean Monnet Chairs are three-year teaching and research posts with a specialization in European Union studies for university professors. Following a global competitive selection process, the European Commission awards the Chair to qualified professors who focus their teaching and research on topics relevant to European integration.
Jean Monnet Chairs are named after Jean Monnet, who was one of the main architects of European integration.
The Jean Monnet Chair in CIDEU will promote research and teaching on European integration with a focus on civil society’s role in advancing civic and political inclusion of women and marginalized communities, and combating challenges to social cohesion and inclusive participation. Gender equality and diversity have become core norms in the EU.
Read a recent co-authored opinion piece by Professor Lang in The Washington Post titled, “‘The most powerful woman in the world’ is stepping down. What is Merkel’s legacy on gender equality?”
Next to political institutions, European civil society has a key role in promoting strategies to advance women, mainstream gender, and include diverse constituencies across policy areas. Civil society is also the main arena for contestations of these norms and strategies, for example, by rightwing populist movements and parties.
CIDEU will generate knowledge on the interaction of EU-level and member state institutions and civil society networks in advancing gender and diversity initiatives. Research will include a focus on how the Conference on the Future of Europe (May 2021 to April 2022) is used by civil society actors to promote inclusion and diversity.
