Explaining supranational solidarity

2019 ◽  
pp. 137-170
Author(s):  
JuanDíez Medrano ◽  
Irina Ciornei ◽  
Fulya Apaydin
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Financial Assistance ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Mutual Help ◽  
Individual Support ◽  
Governing Principle ◽  
Transnational Solidarity ◽  
The Eu

Social solidarity is a concept with a long history in political thought, entailing networks of relationships that presuppose dependency, reciprocity and responsibility among the members of a group or a political community. Yet solidarity is not charity or a gift, but an institutionalised system of rules and conventions that apply to risk and misfortune. Since solidarity has been historically institutionalised in the context of national states, transnational solidarity has largely remained a utopian project as well as an insufficiently developed principle in the EU legal system. In this chapter we explore individual support for European solidarity as it becomes manifest in distinct ‘solidarities’ across borders such as mutual help in case of natural disaster, financial assistance in the context of economic crisis or solidarity as a governing principle of European integration. Drawing on classical sociological arguments and transactionalist theory, we analyse the extent to which social interactions among Europeans and transnational practices contribute to the formation of solidarity ties in the EU. We show that individual transnational practices, such as tourism, residency in another EU country, transnational friendships or virtual connections with other European societies have a selective role in enabling European solidarities. Rather than a question of cumulative transnational experiences, European solidarity is built on meaningful social connections such as close and diverse transnational friendships.

scholarly journals Political alternatives for constitutional democracy: between utopia, pandemic and dystopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Andraž Teršek
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Eu

AbstractPerhaps there are never too many different theories about the organization of society, ideas about the normative framework of life in a political community and suggestions on how to institutionalize the political system. Perhaps they go out in public too early. This could also apply to those reflections on society and to those political philosophies that bear the label of utopia. There is no doubt about the importance of such human investigations of what is and what should be. And there is no doubt about the usefulness of constantly imagining what it should be. However, analytical and explanatory caution is required when the word utopia is used to suggest the utopian nature of an idea. In other words, what looks like a utopia can already be presented to us as a provable and tangible fact, only that too many people do not perceive it for too long, and therefore it remains unfulfilled in social practice. Is this really a utopia? On the other hand, what may seem completely understandable, feasible or even self-evident can appear extremely utopian when it comes to the normative approaches to social regulation and the conditions for achieving a “better society.” The deviation of political practice and legal practice from what should be understandable or even self-evident according to the text of the constitution and international law, the findings of jurisprudence, philosophical insights and common sense in political decision-making and in the drafting and implementation of the applicable law is so great that, paradoxically, precisely that which is understandable, feasible or even self-evident appears utopian. And how can utopianism be combined with the realization that so many major and persistent social problems can be solved so easily and quickly - even if only by rethinking the legal system and social realm? How can a human being efficiently oppose neoliberal politics and unbridled capitalist practice, the poor functioning of the rule of law, the low quality of the welfare state, the excessive threat to fundamental human rights and freedoms, the inadequate protection of social rights, the insufficient commitment to the value of solidarity and the inadequate role and weakness of morality in social practice? Can the answers to fundamental social questions and solutions to the greatest problems only be found in a real and literal utopia? I do not believe so. I believe that communitarianism can be a good political alternative. Understood as social liberalism and as a social democracy based on the rule of law, morally founded on social solidarity as a fundamental value. I am convinced that the constitutions of the EU Member States and the EU legal order enable it. A strong and interventionist state is needed to realize the constitutional possibilities of a high-quality welfare state, effectively protected social rights, the realized social function of property and a society based on solidarity. Ideas are needed. Even if they seem so crazy, even if they seem utopian. In these times when the devil has taken the joke away, when people are again protesting massively in the streets, when they protest (unsuccessfully, of course), when it is difficult to know exactly what is happening and why, when more and more people are increasingly confused and frightened, when systemic violence increasingly turns into physical violence, when it is difficult to remain calm and thoughtful, when it is difficult to tame anger and rage..., it is necessary to step out of the existing coordinate system, out of the cube, to form and communicate ideas that seem crazy, utopian... Now, right now, ideas are needed, crazy ideas. We need a utopia. And faith and hope in it. Faith and hope, which will be the driving force of active action, of striving for realization – of a utopia.

Five Lessons from European Democracy

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Matijasevich
Keyword(s):  
Political Community ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Track Record ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
Democratic Experience ◽  
Theory Of Democracy ◽  
The Eu

Outside of some states still struggling with post-communist transitions, Europe itself may be the first European democracy to collapse in decades. Though never a bastion of participatory democracy and even subject to continuous criticism due to its democratic deficit, the European Union (EU) has provided hope to those who envision a post-national democratic political community. As such, whether the EU survives its present crisis or not, cosmopolitan democrats will look to the EU as a vindication of their ideals. Though perhaps surprising given their track record, this paper will argue that political scientists, especially those concerned with democratization, can also be optimistic about what the EU has brought to the table in terms of how we conceive processes of democratic development. Throughout the paper it will be demonstrated that the creation and maintenance of the European democracy has challenged much of the literature's fundamental assumptions of what makes democracy work. Five key lessons from the European democratic experience will be presented in an attempt to disrupt some of these assumptions including lessons regarding the diversity of the demos, the contingency of democratic upkeep, the challenges of the state, the role of elites in political transformation, and the necessity of exclusion within inclusive spaces. Though a general theory of democracy will not be presented, suggestions will be made as to how we can incorporate some of these lessons into the dominant approaches to democracy found in the literature.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v7i1.214

scholarly journals Transnational solidarity among political elites: what determines support for financial redistribution within the EU in times of crisis?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ann-Kathrin Reinl ◽  
Heiko Giebler
Keyword(s):  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Responsibility Attribution ◽  
Public Preferences ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Attitudinal Differences ◽  
Transnational Solidarity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

As a consequence of the European Economic Crisis, the European Union (EU) has implanted mechanisms to assist fellow member states facing economic difficulties. Despite an increasing academic interest in public preferences for such intra-EU solidarity measures, research has so far largely ignored individual characteristics that could possibly influence politicians’ views. In this paper, we look at politicians’ preferences for transnational solidarity and argue that these preferences depend on attitudes regarding socioeconomic issues as well as attitudes related to the EU. Moreover, we hypothesize that the relationship is moderated by responsibility attribution and the economic situation in a country. Using survey data of about 4000 politicians running for office in nine EU countries, we find that transnational solidarity is more common for socioeconomically left-wing and pro-EU politicians. Yet, attitudinal differences only cease to matter when the beneficiary state is perceived responsible for the crisis and economic problems at home are low.

scholarly journals Territoriality Beyond the State: The EU’s Territorial Claims and the Search for Their Legitimacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 650-672
Author(s):  
Josef Weinzierl
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
European Level ◽  
Territorial Claims ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Eu

AbstractQuite a few recent ECJ judgments touch on various elements of territorial rule. Thereby, they raise the profile of the main question this Article asks: Which territorial claims does the EU make? To provide an answer, the present Article discusses and categorizes the individual elements of territoriality in the EU’s architecture. The influence of EU law on national territorial rule on the one hand and the emergence of territorial governance elements at the European level on the other provide the main pillars of the inquiry. Once combined, these features not only help to improve our understanding of the EU’s distinctly supranational conception of territoriality. What is more, the discussion raises several important legitimacy questions. As a consequence, the Article calls for the development of a theoretical model to evaluate and justify territoriality in a political community beyond the state.

scholarly journals Aniversarios con luces y sombras: Constitución española, integración europea y ‘defectos estructurales’ de la UE // Anniversaries with Mixed Feelings: the Spanish Constitution, European Integration, and the «Genetic Defects» of the EU (1957-2017 and 1978-2018).

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (100) ◽  
pp. 1139
Author(s):  
Antonio Carlos Pereira Menaut
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Constitutional Rule ◽  
Spanish Constitution ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
Structural Failures ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Resumen:En conjunto puede decirse que tanto la UE como la Constitución española de 1978 han sido grandes éxitos que ahora celebran sus aniversarios, pero ambas tienen problemas que deben ser resueltos. En el caso de la UE, parece haber un puñado de defectos estructurales difíciles de eliminar y que dificultan mucho solucionar el déficit democrático y la plena constitucionalización de la Unión. Los mismos defectos estructurales plantean la cuestión de hasta dónde puede llegar la integración europea, manteniendo, al mismo tiempo, la integridad constitucional española, o al menos no amenazándola. Nos inclinamos por abandonar el método funcionalista, pasar a un tipo de gobierno plenamente político y constitucional, y encaminarnos hacia un federalismo pluralista, más bien dual y del tipo del americano.Summary:I. By way of an introduction. II. Some points to start with. III. On federalism, once again. IV. Has european constitutionalism some structural failures? A. Constitutionalism and the functionalist method. B. The impact of the insufficient EU democracy on Spanish constitutionalism. C. Is the EU a pluralistic, multilevel political community composed of smaller, yet real, political communities? D. Globalisation, European constitutionalism, and Spanish constitutionalism. V. How much European integration is the Spanish constitution apt to admit of?Abstract:On the whole, one may safely say that both the EU and the 1978 Spanish Constitution have been runaway successes that are now about celebrating their anniversaries, yet both have problems that should be addressed to. In the case of the EU, there seems to exist a handful of structural failures that are not easy to remove and make very difficult to cope with the democratic deficit and the full constitutionalising of the Union. The same inbuilt failures pose the question of how far may European integration go while at the same time maintaining, or not menacing, the integrity of the Spanish Constitution. Our leanings go towards abandoning the functionalist method, embracing a fully political, constitutional rule, and making for a pluralistic, rather dual, American-like, kind of federalism.

Conclusion—Rousseau’s paradox

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Social Democrat ◽  
The Social ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter binds the book together, recapitulating its general argument, and offering pointers as to how the study relates to some contemporary questions of political theory. It suggests that a classification that distinguishes between Weber the ‘liberal’, Schmitt the ‘conservative’ and Neumann the ‘social democrat’, cannot provide an adequate understanding of this episode in the history of political thought. Nor indeed can it do so for other periods. In this book, one part of the development of their ideas has focused on the relationship between state and politics. By learning from their examples, people continue their own search for an acceptable balance between the freedom of the individual and the claims of the political community.

Regional-Cosmopolitan Constituent Power

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Markus Patberg
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constituent Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The People ◽  
We The People ◽  
The Eu

This chapter deals with the question of whether the public narrative of ‘We, the people of Europe’, which claims constituent power for a cross-border demos composed of EU citizens, can be justified in terms of a systematic model. To that end, it draws on the political theory of regional cosmopolitanism, which holds that even though the EU is not a state, it has its own political community. The literature on regional cosmopolitanism offers two possible strategies of defending the idea of an EU-wide constituent power: a first-principles approach and a reconstructive approach. The chapter argues that only the latter proves viable, and then goes on to examine the merits of the model that it gives rise to. While regional-cosmopolitan constituent power plausibly responds to the fact that the EU has created a new group of addressees and authors of the law, it neglects the continuing importance of the member state peoples and fails to explain how an EU-wide constituent power could be reconciled with the compound and dependent nature of the EU polity.

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