Slides week 7_1 Political sociology

A Political A Political Sociology Sociology of of European European DemocracDemocracyy

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A Political A Political Sociology Sociology of of European European DemocracDemocracyy Week 7Week 7

Lecture 1Lecture 1

LecturerLecturerPaul BlokkerPaul Blokker

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Part III: The Political Sociological Study of European Democracy• Specific case-studies• Political sociology of elites• Political sociology of social movements • Sociology of migration

• Forms of critique on EU democracy• Methodologies

Introduction

Governo LocaleGoverno Locale

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Introduction


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Part III: The Political Sociological Study of European Democracy

Political Sociology

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Governo LocaleGoverno LocalePolitical Sociology

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Governo LocaleGoverno LocalePost-national democracy

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The new era of rights Stefano Rodotà- There is a recent renewal in attachments to rights: both Obama and Hollande refer to gay rights and same sex marriages in public debate;

- Also in Italy, rights have new coinage: the Corte di Cassazione recently ruled in favour of gay marriages;

Post-national democracy

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The new era of rights Stefano Rodotà- Such renewed relevance of rights has a lot to do with a European dimension;- The European Court of Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights provide the basis for the protection and extension of rights;- Also the Lisbon Treaty contributes to a rights extension: for instance, the right to a Citizens’ Initiative.


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The new era of rights Stefano Rodotà- Europe is thus not merely about economic predominance and narrow-minded politics;- Europe is also about rights, and offers an additional level of protection and enablement to citizens;- Economic and monetary integration is paralleled by an integration by means of rights;


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The new era of rights Stefano Rodotà- Europe suffers from a double deficit: 1. democratic (input, participation);2. legitimacy (output, for whom? solidarity);- These deficits have become more evident in the current crisis;- Many now argue for a new constitutional project, including a reinforcement of the EP;


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The new era of rights Stefano Rodotà- If Europe needs ‘redemocratization’ the development of a common economic policy is not enough, it would merely create a “European democracy without a people”;- Current elections result point to times that are changing: ‘citizens’ actions work through rights, and citizens are the indispensable protagonists of a possible new era’.


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A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe Andrea Manzella – La Repubblica- The real democratic question of our times is the relationship between the democratic state and the financial economy;- The problems of the Euro and of the crisis in general have turned into a kind of subterranean referendum on being pro or contra the EU;


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A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe Andrea Manzella – La Repubblica- Three radical changes:1. “States as Masters of the Treaties” ”Treaties as Masters of States”;2. The democratic deficit has descended to the state level: an induced democratic deficit;3. A rapidly increased visibility of the EU in national public debates.


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A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe Andrea Manzella – La Repubblica- A ‘new political energy’ is visible;- It is not true that this energy is necessarily populist;- This energy could also be pushing towards a ‘porous democracy’ which is able to connect national democracies and a EU democracy.


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Part III: The Political Sociological Study of European Democracy

Political Sociology

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A Political Sociology of European Actors(Georgakakis & Weisbein 2010)- In political scientific and other approaches to European integration, actors have not figured prominently, at least not in individualistic or group terms (exception: history of EU integration);- A prominent emphasis is on states (intergovernmentalism) and institutions (the Council, the Commission);

EU democracy analysed

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A Political Sociology of European Actors(Georgakakis & Weisbein 2010)- An important sociological thread in European research is endorsing an approach that focuses on actors in their own right;- A political sociology (i.e. focussing on actors that are important for European politics) might engage with both elite actors on the EU level as well as social actors, on the level of society;


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleA Political Sociology of European ActorsThe EU institutional field

- The EU can be understood as consisting of an institutional field (or several), with its own rules, norms, rites and rituals, forms of interaction, distinct types of capital, distinct discourses (cf. Bourdieu for the idea of field);- The political field encompasses a sphere that is about representation and protest, a universalistic, public/civic language, distinct rituals (European summits, conventions, presidencies), social and cultural capital.


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- A focus on the EU as a multi-level political field emphasizes:

1. the political struggle between groups and individuals over the object of Europe/the EU;2. a focus on the political agents (political elites, civil activists, intellectuals, bureaucrats) involved in the construction of the EU/European integration (cf. Kauppi 2005)


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- Two types of factors hamper the democratic quality of the EU:

1. the executive-domination of the political field;2. the European political field is dominated by national politics and political cultures (Kauppi 2005);


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1. The concept of ‘field’ calls for a different approach to EU institutions, that is, historically tracing internal cleavages and analysing the positions of different types of actors (full time Europeans vs. part-time);2. An emphasis on elite configurations as present in the social field of the EU (shifting importance as, for instance, in the recent rise of experts);3. The effect of the structure of positions on how agents think about Europe.


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A Political Sociology of European ActorsThe EU institutional field

- A political sociology of elites might reveal important insights in the social, academic, and professional backgrounds of those ‘in charge’;- A political sociology of EU also contributes to a more intricate understanding of relations and conflict between relevant political actors (for instance, between political and bureaucratic actors, e.g., the EC and the DGs);


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- Focussing on elites and their specific backgrounds as well as communities has important advantages:1. Enriching and historicising existing studies in EU institutions;2. Reconceptualizing the institutionalization of the EU (using, e.g., different ‘fields’);


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- A sociology focussed on social agents and groups might start from the ideas of:- interaction;- conflicts and tensions;- the notion of habitus (dispositions to act);- ideas and discourses;- relational contexts (fields, institutions, organizations);


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- Mapping out the persons that populate the EU institutions should start from their biographies and prosopographies;- In this way, actors’ positions can be mapped out (origin, institutions) as well as the structure of resources and experiences (incl. social capital);


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- An example is: DG Regio is populated by geographers and urban sociologists whereas DG Comp is populated by economic jurists;

• habitus/epistemic communities; • networks; power resources


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- By sociologically researching actors one contributes to a more complex picture of European politics:- duality national-supranational (?)- official role of EU institutions (e.g. Commission=supranational);- organizational cultures;- importance of specific skills (e.g. technocratic in 1990s, management and financial in 2000s);- importance of ideas/dispositions.


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- A political sociology can also fruitfully turn to the study of ‘European society’;- Such a study can include the attention for the social foundations of European integration, including in the form of matrimonial choices, sports (football as European integration), intra-EU mobility, towns twinning, Capitals of Culture, consumption patterns, professional identities, etc.


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- Actors of European society include individuals, professional communities, students, voluntary associations, social classes);- A focus on social actors ‘helps us to understand how non-political issues may produce a relatively integrated community’ (Georgakakis & Weisbein 2010);


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleA Political Sociology of European ActorsThe EU institutional fieldBenefits of a focus on European society:

1. An understanding of the diversity of groups and actors engaged in European integration/routine interaction on European level leads to a re-evaluation of what European integration is about;2. A shift in focus on actors until recently seen as less relevant (regional/local governments, national political ministries, experts, local interest groups);


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleA Political Sociology of European ActorsThe EU institutional fieldBenefits of a focus on European society:1. An understanding of the diversity of groups and actors engaged in European integration/routine interaction on European level leads to a re-evaluation of what European integration is about;2. A shift in focus on actors until recently seen as less relevant (regional/local governments, national political ministries, experts, local interest groups);


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleA Political Sociology of European ActorsThe EU institutional fieldBenefits of a focus on European society:1. An understanding of the diversity of groups and actors engaged in European integration/routine interaction on European level leads to a re-evaluation of what European integration is about;2. A shift in focus on actors until recently seen as less relevant (regional/local governments, national political ministries, experts, local interest groups);


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleA Political Sociology of European ActorsEurostars and Eurocities (Adrian Favell)

- A sociology of free moving professionals in the EU;- Contribution to understanding the slowness with which a European society – in terms of cross-border settlement – emerges in the EU;- A sociological study of how ‘European society’ is - or is - not created through individual life choices and career trajectories;


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Governo LocaleGoverno LocaleEU democracy analysed

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- Even if one of the core missions of the EU is to break down barriers to free movement, surprisingly few people move and settle permanently outside of their own country of origin;- The percentage of the EU population is well under 5% and much behind migration of non-EU people;- In highly global countries such as Britain or the Netherlands the figure is under 1,5%;


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- Favell attempts a novel approach to the study of globalization and Europeanization, individual-focussed and using qualitative methods (participant observation, oral history);- He focusses on distinct Eurocities (Brussels, Amsterdam) and Eurostars (young professionals);- Among other things, he tries to understand the level of Europeanization in terms of intra-EU mobility and the importance of EU citizenship;


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Slides week 7_1 Political sociology