Hans-Jörg Trenz becomes partner in Jean Monnet Networks: Post-Truth Politics
Post-Truth Politics, Nationalism and the (De)Legitimation of European Integration is an Erasmus+ co-funded Jean Monnet Network. The total amount of the grant is 300.000 euros. Jean Monnet Networks are research projects that are designed to promote excellence in EU studies worldwide and foster a policy-debate with the academic world. The project aims to address one of the major policy challenges facing the EU today, the impact of ‘fake news’, disinformation and ‘post-truth politics’ on the legitimation and delegitimation of European integration. In an era of post-truth politics, digital media has increasingly replaced traditional legacy media as the most important source and venue of political information and communication.
The central objective of the project is to analyze both the extent and possible impact of the proliferation of disinformation and fake news via digital and other media, but also through more conventional mobilization and communication mechanisms, on processes of legitimation and delegitimation of European integration
The University of Iceland is the lead partner, with five other universities participating in the project: The University of Birmingham, University of Oslo, University of Helsinki, University of Victoria and the University of Copenhagen.
Maximilian Conrad, Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland leads the project on behalf of the University of Iceland in cooperation with Pia Hansson, Director of the Institute of International Affairs and Auður Örlygsdóttir, Project Manager at Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre. Over the course of the project the six higher education institutions will develop a comprehensive network focusing on one of the major challenges facing the European Union and the legitimacy of European integration today - the proliferation of fake news and disinformation in an era of post-truth politics. The network will host workshops, roundtables for young researchers, publish academic papers, policy recommendations, and at the end of the project an academic book.
Hans-Jörg Trenz, Professor of Modern European Studies at the University of Copenhagen will lead a sub-project on journalism and its changing role of trust building. In collaboration with Asimina Michailidou at ARENA, University of Oslo, he will explore the reasons for the loss of trust in journalism across Europe and the Western world. The aim is to enhance our understanding of the limits but also of the new opportunities for journalism as a trust mediator between citizens, scientific experts and representative government. This relates to recent debates about climate change as well as the rise of political extremism.