EU Views: Aleksandra Sojka
Name: Aleksandra Sojka
Nationality: Poland, Spain, United States
Occupation(s): Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Granada in Spain; Visiting Scholar at The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University (2016/2017)
Connection to Europe: Sojka studied in Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain, and developed research visits in Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Her principal research interests lie in the area of EU politics, comparative European politics, and political sociology of European integration.
Date of interview: March 3, 2017
In this episode, Olya Yordanyan and Sandra Porcar talk to Aleksandra Sojka about political situation in Europe. Sojka discusses the disconnect between European institutions – at both the EU and national levels – and European citizens. She attributes the rise of populist parties to the growing perception of European citizens that they have been denied any say in their political future, stressing the need for policies that address citizens’ concerns. She describes the disappointment of many in Central and Eastern Europe, who have not experienced personally the benefits of enlargement.