The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Ian Manners, photo.

Ian Manners

Professor

Ian Manners, photo.

Achieving European Communion in the Planetary Organic Crisis : How Dominance and Differentiation affects the sharing of Genuine Democracy

Author

  • Ian Manners

Summary, in English

European Union challenges and crises of the past decade, including the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, refugees, ethno-nationalist/Brexit movements, COVID-19, and Russian invasion of Ukraine are part of a planetary organic crisis (POC) of economy, society, ecology, conflict, and polity. The recognition of the symbiotic relationships between these challenges is crucial for moving from symptoms to causes in order to understand how dominance and differentiation affects the sharing of genuine democracy in the European Union (EU). Instead of terms such as ‘cooperation’ or ‘integration’, the paper uses the concept of ‘European communion’ (the subjective sharing of relationships), understood as the extent to which individuals or groups believe themselves to be sharing relations (or not), and the consequences of these beliefs for European political projects, processes, and products. The paper argues that the POC co-constitutes the democratic decay of European communion which in turn weakens democracy in the EU. Dominance in the EU involves powerful actors structuring social change through differentiation of member states, policy sectors, and social groups. Genuine democracy is social democracy based on equality, rather than hegemonic dominance and social differentiation.

Department/s

  • Department of Political Science
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions

Publishing year

2023-03-14

Language

English

Publication/Series

EU3D Research Papers

Document type

Report

Publisher

Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Topic

  • Political Science

Keywords

  • European Union
  • European Communion
  • Planetary Organic Crisis
  • Genuine Democracy
  • Dominance
  • Differentiation
  • Reactionary Libertarianism

Status

Published

Project

  • Planetary Politics
  • Normative Power in the Planetary Organic Crisis

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2535-8170