European social cohesions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Contemporary public debates on social cohesion in Europe at both the European Union (EU) and member-state level tend to reduce the topic to the ‘problem’ of immigration by third-country nationals, and the integration of these immigrants and their descendants into European national societies. These debates often emphasize a culturalist perspective on the social cohesion of national societies based on core national cultures, identities and histories that pre-date the mass immigration of non-EU/European Economic Area immigrants, with social cohesion depending on their identifiable assimilation to this core set of values, beliefs and behaviours. This culture-based perspective on social cohesion has become an integral component of the neoliberal reorganization of the interventionist state in Europe that both punishes the native poor and coerces the immigrant third-country national as it frees markets and restructures the European welfare state. Yet, an examination of European social cohesion policies across seven policy domains suggests that the problem of social cohesion has little to do either with the issue of immigration or of immigrant and ethnic minority integration. However, it does have a lot to do with increasing inequalities and insecurities in European societies that result from neoliberal political economic policies. Drawing on Émile Durkheim's seminal discussion of social cohesion that includes structural and cultural dimensions, Boucher analyses the seven policy domains of European social cohesions within a functionalist framework that highlights inconsistencies, policy gaps and internal tensions between the domains. His analysis suggests the need for a more coherent, integrated and multilevel governance policy framework based on social justice, socio-economic equality and cultural diversity to achieve the elusive goal of social cohesion in Europe.