The Clash of Solidarities in the European Union

Abstract

The term solidarity is used extensively in the current political debate in Europe. Many times, the European Union is accused of a “lack of solidarity”. But is this really the case? From the perspective of political theory, Jurgen Habermas convincingly argues that solidarity beyond the nation state is indeed possible - even without a European demos. Since solidarity was artificially constructed within the nation state, it could very well expand into a form of transnational solidarity. However, the European Union is a complex sui generis institution, characterized by its multi-level governance. This paper therefore complements Habermas’ conception by Andrea Sangiovanni’s reciprocity-based internationalism which differentiates more detailed between national, member state and transnational solidarity. Moreover, the paper argues that the democratic deficiencies and the economic liberalization in the European Union led to a fourth form of solidarity: a revived solidarity with the nation state. The current situation within the European Union is thus not the result of a lack of solidarity. On the contrary, there is plenty of solidarity around. However, the parallel existence of these different forms of solidarity could not persist without conflicts under the given discourse where solidarity is framed as a zero-sum game. Hence, the European Union does not suffer from a lack of solidarity but rather from a clash of multiple solidarities.