As another month comes to a close, the AU and KU Leuven students came together for yet another engaging class, with a theme focused on the Rule of Law in transatlantic relations. Prior to delving into the scheduled agenda of today's class meeting, the professors and students had a brief discussion of Sunday evening's Academy Awards ceremony, aka the Oscars, specifically of an incident that involved Chris Rock, the host, being slapped on live television by Will Smith. Seemingly unrelated to the topic of transatlantic relations, the discussion focused on how this incident has since consumed the global new cycle, popping up across social media and numerous news outlets. The guiding question was on whether such an event taking place in a European context, like the Eurovision Song Contest, for example, would have elicited such a widespread and transnational response. The debate over this question highlighted an important element of transatlantic relations; how soft power, like America's ability to harness its Hollywood influence, should never be underestimated.
Alongside the presentations of two more Transatlantic Policy Memos on the Rule of Law, entitled "Divergences in Transatlantic legislative branch & Responses to Rule of Law backsliding," and "Defending the Rule of Law in the US and EU: Judicial Infringements and Policy Solutions." (see the tab to read the full documents), the class had a brief but fruitful discussion on populism and its place in the transatlantic order. Working in their policy memorandum groups, the students discussed two key questions:
How and to what extent does populism affect your area of study for the Transatlantic Policy Memo?
To what extent is populism an opportunity to revitalize the transatlantic order and to what extent is it a serious challenge to this same order?
Next week will be an exciting one as the KU Leuven student make their long-awaited trip to Washington DC! Many exciting and engaging experiences to look forward to.
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