Farmers Protests Everywhere: Are They Connected? | Current Affairs by political scientist Gerry van Kamp-Alons and economist Vincent Delabastita Lecture

Announcement

Bales of hay, fire and smoke on the highway. Farmers in Belgium and France are protesting. Are these farmers protests linked to farmers protests in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and other European countries? Is it an international trend? Do all farmers share the same goals? Or are farmers from different European countries merely inspiring each other to take action? How far can they go in blocking highways? Can they still count on the goodwill of citizens? Come listen to political scientist Gerry van Kamp-Alons and economist Vincent Delabastita, and learn more about the farmers' protests.

Causes

'We can’t go on like this’ is an often-heard phrase. European agricultural and nature restoration policies, national laws and regulations, increased costs, international competition of agricultural products, increased fuel prices; a list of problems overwhelms European farmers. Both international and national political trends come into play, as well as economic factors. In an increasingly globalized economy, farmers fear unfair competition from abroad. Is this accumulation of problems the reason behind the protests, or is there a specific reason why farmers have taken to the streets?

About the speakers

Gerry van der Kamp-Alons is a political scientist and associate professor of International Relations at Radboud University. Her research focuses on the EU Common Agricultural Policy and European and international free trade treaty negotiations.