Bio

Oliver Schmidtke is an Associate Professor and UVic European Studies Scholar in the Departments of History and Political Science. Since 2006 he holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European History and Politics. From 2005 to 2008 he was the Director of the European Studies Program at UVic and from 2004 to 2006 he served as the President of the European Community Studies Association Canada.

He received his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, worked at the Humboldt University in Berlin in the late 1990s and spent a year as a research fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University before coming to UVic in 1999. In 2007 Oliver Schmidtke spent six months as a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute.

His research interests are in the fields of comparative European politics and contemporary history, European integration, the political sociology of immigration and ethnic conflict, and the role of identities and collective memory in modern societies. Since 2005 he is involved in two collaborative international research projects focusing on different aspects of immigration and integration in Canadian and European societies.

Publications

Books (Monographs, Co-written and Edited)

2010

• Giving New Subjects a Voice. Political and Institutional Responses to Cultural Diversity in the Health Care System. Alderhot: Ashgate (C. Falge and C. , Ruzza, co-authors, forthcoming).
• Cultural Capital in Migration. The Labour Market Integration of Highly Skilled Migrants. (Nohl, A., Schittenhelm, K., and Weiss, W. co-authors) (under review).
• Göcte kültürel sermaye. Istanbul: Kitapyayinevi (co-edited with A. Nohl, K. Schittenhelm and A. Weiss; in press; translation of revised book: Kulturelles Kapital and Migration; forthcoming).
• The Conundrum of Integration: Managing Cultural Diversity in the 21st Century (in preparation for 2011).

2009

• Kulturelles Kapital in der Migration (co-edited with Arnd Nohl, Karin Schittenhelm and Anja Weiss), Frankfurt VS Verlag, 2009.

2008

• Of States, Rights, and Social Closure: Governing Migration and Citizenship (edited with Saime Ozcurumez ), New York: Palgrave/ MacMillan (308 pages), 2008.
• Europe's Last Frontier. Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova between Russia and the European Union (edited with Serhy Yekelchyk). New York: Palgrave/ MacMillan (252 pages), 2008.

2007

• Europe's Last Frontier. Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova between Russia and the European Union Palgrave (co-edited with Serhy Yekelchyk).
• Of States, Rights, and Social Closure: Governing Migration and Citizenship Palgrave (co-edited with Saime Ozcurumez ).

2004

• Die Einhegung des Anderen. Türkische, polnische und russlanddeutsche Einwanderer in Deutschland. Opladen: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften (Klaus Eder and Valentin Rauer, co-authors).

2003

• Das Ende der Politik? Globalisierung und der Strukturwandel des Politischen. (Co-edited with Albert Scharenberg), Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot.
• The Third Way and the Quest for Social Justice. The Normative claims and policy initiatives of the New Left in Western Europe and North America at the end of the 20th century. Aldershot: Ashgate.

2002

• The Third Way and the Quest for Social Justice. The Normative claims and policy initiatives of the New Left in Western Europe and North America at the end of the 20th century. Aldershot: Ashgate (pages 254).

2001

• Klasse und Klassifikation. Die symbolische Dimension sozialer Ungleichheit. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag (co-edited with A. Weiss, C. Koppetsch, A. Scharenberg).
• Collective Identities in Action. A Sociological Approach. London: Ashgate, March 2002. (K. Eder, B. Giesen, D. Tambini, co-authors).

1998

• Die Herausforderung der Buchwelt und der Informationsindustrie durch die neuen Medien. Berlin: FOE.

1996

• Politics of Identity. Ethnicity, Territory and the Political Opportunity Structure in Modern Italian Society. Sinzheim: Pro Universitate.

Journal Articles

2010

• Contested Neighbourhood: Toward the “Europeanization” of Moldova? (together with C. Chira). Comparative European Politics (Accepted, forthcoming).
• Integrating Highly Skilled Migrants into the Economy: Transatlantic perspectives” (together with K. Schittenhelm). International Journal (Accepted, forthcoming).

2009

• Kanada als Einwanderungsland, - ein Beispiel für Deutschland? In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschehen. 44, pp. 25-32. Oktober 2009.

2008

• Kanadischer Interkulturalismus. In: Blätter für Deutsche und Internationale Politik, No. 8, August 2008, pp. 20-25.

2007

• "Bound by national categories? The promises and limitations of Kymlicka's Multicultural Odysseys". In: Ethnopolitics (in press).
• "(Dis-) Empowering immigrants: Cultural diversity in the health care sector and political advocacy in Canada". In: International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care. Vol. 3 (3): pp. 20-28.
• "In Search of a European Identity: Towards a Genuine Political Community?". In: Behind the Headlines, Vol 64 (2), pp. 9-15.

2006

• "Kultur der Einwanderung oder Krise der Integration. Nordamerika und Europa im Vergleich". In: Blaetter fuer Deutsche und Internationale Politik, No. 7, June 2006, pp. 837-844
• "Cultural Capital during Migration - A Multi-level Approach for the Empirical Analysis of the Labor Market Integration of Highly Skilled Migrants" (together with Nohl, Arnd-Michael; Schittenhelm, Karin; & Weiß, Anja). In: Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 7(3), Art. 14.

2005

• "Re-mapping Europe: Collective memory and identity in an enlarged European Union. In: EUROSTUDIA. Transatlantic Journal for European Studies. Vol. 1, No. 1.

2003

• "Das kanadische Einwanderungsmodell: wohlverstandenes Eigeninteresse und multikultureller Ethos". In: Leviathan. Migration im Spannungsfeld von Globalisierung und Nationalstaat, pp. 205-226.

2002

• "Trans-National Migration: A Challenge to European Citizenship Regimes". In: World Affairs, September, 164 (1), Summer 2001, p. 3-16.
• "Integration als Exklusion? Zum medialen und alltagspraktischen Umgang mit einem umstrittenen Konzept. Berliner Journal für Soziologie, No.3, pp.277-296. (V. Rauer, co-author).

2001

• "The Paradox of Culture. A critical appraisal of Brian Barry's Culture and Equality". In: Ethnicities Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 274-279.

1998

• "Trans-National Migration: A Challenge to European Citizenship Regimes". In: World Affairs, September, 164 (1), Summer 2001, p. 3-16.
• "Ethnische Mobilisierung und die Logik von Identitätskämpfen. Eine situationstheoretische Perspektive jenseits von "Rational Choice"". Zeitschrift für Soziologie, No. 27, pp. 418-437. (Klaus Eder, co-author).

1996

• "Abschied vom Antifaschismus? Der Aufstieg der 'modernisier¬ten' Rech¬ten in Italien". Vorgänge, Heft 3, September, pp. 13-21.

1995

• "Kollektive Identität in der politischen Mobilisierung territorialer Bewegungen: eine analytische Perspektive". Forschungsjournal Neue Soziale Bewegung, No. 1, pp. 24-31.

1993

• "The League and the Crisis of Italian Politics". Telos, 96, pp. 34-48 (Carlo Ruzza and Sebastiana Pileri, co-authors)
• "The Populist Challenge to the Italian Nation-State: the Lega Lombarda/Nord". Regional Policy and Politics, 3/3, pp. 140-162.
• "Regionalistischer Protest als 'Life Politics'. Eine Studie zur Formierung einer Sozialen Bewegung: die Lega Lombarda". Soziale Welt, No. 1, pp. 5-29. (Carlo Ruzza, co-author)
• "Roots of Success in the Lega Lombarda: Mobilization Dynamics and the Media". West European Politics, 16/2, pp. 1-23. (Carlo Ruzza, co-author)

1992

• "La formación de la Liga". Debats, No. 42, pp.12-23. (Carlo Ruzza, co-author)
• "The Making of the Lombard League". Telos, No. 90, Winter, pp. 57-70. (Carlo Ruzza, co-author)

Book Chapters

2010

• Wasting the cultural capital of newcomers? Integrating skilled migrants into the British and German labour market. In: P. Triadafilopoulos (ed.). Wanted and Welcome? Highly Skilled Immigration Policies in Comparative Perspective. University of Toronto Press (accepted, forthcoming).
• Integrating Migrants Beyond the Nation-State? The Paradoxical Effects of Including Newcomers in a European Social and Cultural Community”. In: DeBardeleben (ed.) Transnational Europe: Promise, Paradox, Limits. New York: Palgrave (accepted, forthcoming).

2009

• Canadian Multiculturalism as an Ethos, Policy and Conceptual Lens for Immigration Research. In: D. Thraenhardt (ed.) National Paradigms in Immigration Research. IMIS Jahrbuch, 2009, pp. 95-118.
• Zur Einführung: Migration, kulturelles Kapital und Statuspassagen in den Arbeitsmarkt (together with A. Nohl, K. Schittenhelm, A. Weiss). In: Kulturelles Kapital und Migration (eds. Arnd Nohl, Karin Schittenhelm, Oliver Schmidtke, Anja Weiss). Frankfurt: Verlag Sozialwissenschaft, 2009, pp. 9-37.
• Ethnisches kulturelles Kapital in der Arbeitsmarktintegration: Zwischen ethnischer Nischenökonomie und Übergang in den allgemeinen Arbeitsmarkt. In: Kulturelles Kapital und Migration (eds. Arnd Nohl, Karin Schittenhelm, Oliver Schmidtke, Anja Weiss). Frankfurt: Verlag Sozialwissenschaft, 2009, pp. 240-261.

2008

• "The Threatening Other in the East: Continuities and Discontinuities in modern German- Polish relations". In: R. Nelson (ed.) Europe’s East-West Divide: A Legacy of Colonialism?, Series on Europe Cultural History, Palgrave, pp. 165-184, 2008.

2007

• "The Promise of Europe: Moldova and the Process of Europeanization" (together with C. Pascanut-Chira). In: Europe’s Last Frontier? Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova between Russia and the European Union (eds. O. Schmidtke & S. Yekelchyk), New York: Palgrave, 2007.
• "Introduction" (together with Serhy Yekelchyk). In: Europe’s Last Frontier? Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova between Russia and the European Union (eds. O. Schmidtke & S. Yekelchyk), New York: Palgrave, 2007.
• "Borders in a ‘Post-national’ Age: Changing Modes of Inclusion and Exclusion in European Societies". In: Governing Migration in the Age of Globalization (eds. O. Schmidtke & S. Ozcurumez), New York: Palgrave, 2007.
• "Introduction: National Closure and Beyond". In: Governing Migration in the Age of Globalization (O. Schmidtke & S. Ozcurumez), New York: Palgrave, 2007.
• "Errungenschaften und Herausforderungen der kanadischen Immigrations- und Integrationspolitik: ein Beispiel für Deutschland?". In: Thränhardt, D. (Ed). Entwicklung und Migration. Jahrbuch Migration - Yearbook Migration 2006/2007. LIT Verlag, 2007, pp. 128-152.

2006

• "Politicising EMU: the ‘legitimacy gap’ and the populist challenge to the EU". In: Torres, F., Verdun, A. & Zimmermann, H. (Eds.) EMU Rules: The Political and Economic Consequences of European Monetary Integration, Nomos, pp. 34-53. (revised and updated reprint of article published in 2004).
• "Das Ende des multikulturellen Experiements? Einige Beobachtungen zur "Krise der Integration" aus nordamerikanischer Sicht". In: Baringhorst, S., Hollifield, J. & Hunger, U. (Eds.). Herausforderung Migration - Perspektiven der vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft. LIT Verlag, pp. 283-305.
• "Immigration Policy in Europe: A Challenge to Established Forms of Multi-Level Governance". In: Walzenbach, G. (Ed.), European Governance: Policy Making Between Politicization and Control, Ashgate, pp. 127-146.
• "Obstacles and Prospects for a European Collective Identity and Citizenship". In: U. Hedetoft (Ed.), Political Symbols, Symbolic Politics: European Identities in Transformation. London: Avebury/ Ashgate, pp.44-64.

2005

• "Re-modeling the boundaries in the new Europe: historical memories and contemporary identities in German- Polish relations". In: Eder, K. & Spohn, W. (Eds.), Europe, National Identity and Collective Memory: Cultural Impacts on the Integration between Western and Eastern Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp. 52-66.

2004

• "Politicising EMU: the ‘legitimacy gap’ and the populist challenge to the EU". In: Torres, F., Verdun, A. & Zimmermann, H. (Eds.) Governing EMU. Political, Economic, Legal and Historical Perspectives, Florence: European University Institute Press , pp. 19-34.
• "Beyond Nationhood? Immigration, Diversity and the Canadian Salad Bowl". In: Bommes, M. & Thränhardt, D. (Eds.), National Paradigms of Migration Research, Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, Münster, pp. 38-61.
• "From Taboo to Strategic Tool in Politics: Immigrants and Immigration Policies in German Party Politics". In: Reutter, W. (Ed.). Germany on the Road to Normalcy. Policies and Politics of the Red-Green Federal Government (1998-2002). Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 161-182.

2003

• "Wider die Eindimensionalität" (Scharenberg, co-author). In: Scharenberg/ Schmidtke (Eds.) Das Ende der Politik? Globalisierung und der Strukturwandel des Politischen. In: Scharenberg/ Schmidtke (Eds.). Das Ende der Politik? Globalisierung und der Strukturwandel des Politischen. Münster, pp. 1-19.
• "Globalisierung, Demokratie und die Ontologisierung des Nationalen". In: Scharenberg/ Schmidtke (Eds.) Das Ende der Politik? Globalisierung und der Strukturwandel des Politischen. In: Scharenberg/ Schmidtke (Eds.). Das Ende der Politik? Globalisierung und der Strukturwandel des Politischen. Münster, pp. 104-128.

2002

• "Das Paradox populistischen Protests im Namen der Region". In: Klein, A., Koopmans, R., Trenz, H.J., Klein, L., Lahusen, C. & Rucht, D. (Eds.). Bürgerschaft, Öffentlichkeit und Demokratie in Europa. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag , pp.295-314.
• "The dilemmas of social democratic regimes in the age of globalisation". In: O. Schmidtke (Ed.) New Left/ New Labour and the Quest for Social Justice. The Normative claims and policy initiatives of the New Left in Western Europe and North America at the end of the 20th century, Ashgate, pp. 1-25.

2001

• "Horizontale Disparitäten oder kulturelle Klassifikationen? Zur Integration von Ethnizität und Geschlecht in die Analyse sozialer Ungleichheiten". In: A. Weiss, C. Koppetsch, A. Scharenberg, O. Schmidtke (Eds.), Klasse und Klassifikation. Die symbolische Dimension sozialer Ungleichheit. Olpaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, pp. 7-26. (A. Weiss, C. Koppetsch, A. Scharenberg, co-authors)
• "Symbolische Gewalt im öffentlichen Diskurs: eine situationstheoretische Deutung der Ghettoisierungsdebatte in Deutschland". In: A. Weiss, C. Koppetsch, A. Scharenberg, O. Schmidtke (Eds.), Klasse und Klassifikation. Die symbolische Dimension sozialer Ungleichheit. Olpaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, pp.122-154.
• "Zwischen Standortpolitik und regionalem Nationalismus: Immigrations- und Integrationspolitik in den kanadischen Provinzen". In: D. Thränhardt (Ed.), Integrationspolitik in föderalistischen Systemen im Vergleich. Münster: LIT, pp. 124-148.

2000

• Bibliotheken und Archive als Orte und Forum der Zivilgesellschaft". In: Europahaus Burgenland Almanach 2000, Eisenstadt, pp.121-132.

1999

• "Illiberal policies in liberal societies. Some remarks on Hollifield’s thesis of the immigration dilemma in liberal societies". In: A. Schulte/ D. Thränhardt (Eds.), International Migration and Liberal Democracies, Münster: LIT, pp.87-100.

1998

• "Berlin in the Net: prospects for cyberdemocracy from above and from below". In: R. Tsagarousianou, D. Tambini and C. Bryan (Eds.), Cyberdemocracy. Technology, cities and civic networks. London/ New York: Routledge, pp. 60-83.

1996

• "The Northern League: Changing Friends and Foes, and its Political Opportunity Structure". In: D. Cesarani & M. Fulbrook (Eds.), Citizenship, Nationality and Migration in Europe. London/ New York: Routledge, pp. 179-208. (Carlo Ruzza, co-author).
• "Towards a modernized right: Alleanza Nazionale and the 'Italian revolution'". In S. Parker and S. Gundle (Eds.), The New Italian Republic. From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi. London: Routledge, pp. 147-158.

1995

• "The Lega Nord: A Territorial Movement Beyond Regionalism". In: A. Sorensen (Ed.), European Identities. European Diversity and Integration in Europe since 1700'. Odense: Odense University Press, pp. 87-110.

1994

• "Rechtspopulismus in Europa: das Beispiel der Lega in Italien". In: A. Pfahl-Traughber (Ed.), Volkes Stimme? Berlin: Dietz Verlag, pp. 83-100.

Courses

Undergraduate Courses

• Poli 311: West European Comparative Politics
• Poli 379 / Hist 388: History and Politics of European Integration
• Poli 414: Politics of the European Union
• Poli 431: Transformation of Democracy in the Age of Globalization
• Poli 433: The Politics of Identity

• Hist 367: Post-war recovery in Europe
• Hist 388: Germany after 1945
• Hist 389: Mastering Fascism in Post WWII Europe
• Hist 389: Immigration, Citizenship & National Identity in Post-war Europe

• EUS 301: European Identity and the Roots of European Integration
• EUS 301: Roots of European Modernity: Culture and Political Ideology
• EUS 301: The Enlightenment and its Legacy in European Culture and Politics
• EUS 300: Nation and Nationalism in Europe

Graduate Courses

• Poli 506: Qualitative Research Methods
• Poli 533: Politics of Identity
• Poli 533: The Politics of the European Union

Research projects

In his recent research Dr Oliver Schmidtke has focused on questions related to citizenship regimes and how, in their modern national form, they are challenged by the transformation of the nation-state and its social base. In broadest terms his research in this field can be described as the attempt to better understand the ramifications of the global environment on the basic provisions that have specified duties and rights of individuals in the context of a nationally defined political community. European societies in particular are confronted with critical questions as to how they address issues related to ethnic and cultural homogeneity in times of increased immigration and supra-national coordination. In this field he dedicated his attention to the question of whether the European Union might be an arena in which the nation-state is normatively and functionally challenged by an emerging European citizenship regime. It is with respect to comparative European politics and the transformation of political community in an integrating Europe that he has made substantial contributions to the scholarly debate. His current research interests relate to three different projects

First, as part of a monograph, he focuses on the role of borders in an increasingly denationalized world with respect to their role of demarcating political communities and establishing collective identities. This study is grounded both in a theoretical argument about the role of national boundary markers for social and political integration on the one hand and empirically on a comprehensive study of media and elite discourse on the other hand. In this context he will continue working on the challenges of European integration in terms of advancing a trans-national form of political community and citizenship regime.

Second, he is currently involved in a research project on the populist right in Europe in comparative perspective that draws heavily on his expertise in comparative European politics. This research seeks to better understand the roots and challenges of contemporary populist movements and parties against the background of European integration and the transformation of established party politics.

Third, he is part of two collaborative international research projects funded by the German Volkswagen Foundation (2005-2008). Both projects intend to investigate the social integration of migrants and state policies in this area in an internationally comparative perspective:

The project Cultural Capital in Migration addresses issues related to the labour market of highly skilled immigrants in selected European countries and Canada (see for more details: www.cultural-capital.net)

The project Giving New Subjects a Voice: Cultural Diversity in the Health Care Sector analyzes the processes and effects of intercultural dialogue and multicultural policies in the field of health care (see for more details: http://www4.soc.unitn.it:8080/dart/content/e1366/index_eng.htm) .