Citizenship and the economic crisis in Europe: An introduction

Abstract

Abstract This article analyses the changing nature of Active and Participatory Citizenship in Europe during the period of the financial crisis from 2008–2015 and introduces the special issue which has a focus on this topic. This article and the accompanying special issue shed light on the current critical situation in Europe, how we got here and provides critical insights on where we may be headed. The findings of the research show that during the period of the economic crisis the European Union (EU) was seen to take a leadership role championing austerity and neoliberal economic policies whilst many of its citizens suffered and began to lose trust in the EU, its institutions and leaders. National politicians often successfully shifted blame to the EU for domestic policies that made citizens and public services suffer in the name of austerity for recovery. At the same time, Active and Participatory Citizenship policies received major cuts to funding, as part of the austerity drive, and were no longer considered a policy priority at both the European and the national level as concerns about mounting unemployment and a skills crisis took over. In addition, there was a general policy shift from cosmopolitan European Citizenship to a more nationalistic and, reactive citizenship driven by responses to pressing social issues such as extremism, radicalisation, migration and violence. The article concludes that in order to maintain the European project the Active and Participatory agenda needs to urgently be restored to give people a sense of belonging and ownership of Europe.