György Schöpflin
Encyclopedia
György Schöpflin (born on 24 November 1939 in Budapest
) is a Hungarian
academic and politician
. He is a Member of the European Parliament
for Fidesz and the European People's Party
, and sits on the European Parliament
's Committee on Foreign Affairs
. Schöpflin is a substitute member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
, and a member of the Reconciliation of European Histories Group
.
Formerly Jean Monnet
Professor of Politics
at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
, University College London
, he has published extensively on questions of nation
hood, identity
and political power
.
, followed by an MA in 1960 and an LLB in 1962 at the University of Glasgow
, and a Certificate of Advanced European Studies
from the College of Europe
, Bruges
, in 1963. He then worked at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London
from 1963-67, followed by a spell at the BBC
until 1976. He then returned to academia at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London
, becoming Jean Monnet Professor of Politics in 1998. In 2004, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament. He is currently also teaching at the University of Bologna
's Forlì
centre.
He was reelected to the European Parliament in 2009 and serves as a full member on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and as substitute on the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET).
In March 2010, he was awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the University of Tallinn.
and Hungarian
. When writing in English, he is known as George; in his Hungarian publications he is György.
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) is a Hungarian
Politics of Hungary
Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Prime Minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the President is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position.Executive power is exercised by the...
academic and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He is a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Fidesz and the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
, and sits on the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
's Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs (EU)
The Committee on Foreign Affairs , previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament...
. Schöpflin is a substitute member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
The Committee on Constitutional Affairs is a committee of the European Parliament dealing with institutional matters such as the treaties and the Parliament's rules of procedure. As of 2008, it is chaired by Jo Leinen MEP .-External links:*...
, and a member of the Reconciliation of European Histories Group
Reconciliation of European Histories Group
The Reconciliation of European Histories Group is an informal all-party group in the European Parliament involved in promoting the Prague Process in all of Europe, aimed at coming to terms with the totalitarian past in many countries of Europe...
.
Formerly Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
Professor of Politics
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies is a school of University College London . It is the largest centre for the study and research of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and Russia in the United Kingdom...
, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, he has published extensively on questions of nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
hood, identity
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
and political power
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
.
Career
Schöpflin lived in the UK from 1950 to 2004, gaining his secondary education certificate in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, followed by an MA in 1960 and an LLB in 1962 at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, and a Certificate of Advanced European Studies
Certificate of Advanced European Studies
The Certificate of Advanced European Studies is a postgraduate qualification, equivalent to a master's degree, that was awarded by the College of Europe, a postgraduate elite school in Bruges, Belgium, from its foundation in 1949 until the late 1980s, upon completion of its 1-year programme...
from the College of Europe
College of Europe
The College of Europe is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges, Belgium...
, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, in 1963. He then worked at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from 1963-67, followed by a spell at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
until 1976. He then returned to academia at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, becoming Jean Monnet Professor of Politics in 1998. In 2004, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament. He is currently also teaching at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
's Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
centre.
He was reelected to the European Parliament in 2009 and serves as a full member on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and as substitute on the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET).
In March 2010, he was awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the University of Tallinn.
Publications
Schöpflin has published academic works in both EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
. When writing in English, he is known as George; in his Hungarian publications he is György.
- Politics in Eastern Europe 1945-1992 (Blackwell, 1993)
- Nations, Identity, Power (Hurst, 2000)
- Myths and Nationhood (Hurst, 1997, co-edited with Geoffrey HoskingGeoffrey HoskingGeoffrey Alan Hosking is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union and formerly Leverhulme Research Professor of Russian History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College, London....
) - State Building in the Balkans: Dilemmas on the Eve of the 21st Century (Longo, 1998, co-edited with Stefano Bianchini)
- Az identitás dilemmái (Attraktor, 2004).
- "The Dilemmas of Identity" (Tallinn University Press, 2010).