Democracy Without Politics in EU Citizen Participation

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Passive Revolutions and the Future of the EU: Democratic Theorising and the ‘Decolonial Multitude’

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The first chapter outlines the Gramscian concept of a ‘passive revolution’ to make sense of present-day EU politics and the shifting legitimacy claims. The chapter develops this concept and relates it to ongoing innovative ‘citizen participation’ mechanisms organised by the EU, including the citizens’ panels within the Conference on the Future of Europe and its follow-up. Next, the chapter describes the politically engaged perspective upon which the book is conceived, and introduces the ‘decolonial multitude’ as an alternative conceptual lens through which to look at the democratic political subject in the EU, in contrast to the traditional ‘demos’ or ‘demoi’. The decolonial multitude facilitates a transnational democracy imaginary. As a better fit for the dominant global capitalist and postcolonial material structures of our society, the decolonial multitude is a possible way forward to decolonise the ‘we’ in democracy in order to challenge the “coloniality of power”. Last, the chapter describes the contribution(s) that the book makes to the literature, the logic of the book’s narrative and the relation that chapters have with each other.

3. Chapter 2. From European Demoi to the Decolonial Multitude: Democratising the EU’s Political Imaginary

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The increasing politicisation of the EU has raised questions about the democratic legitimacy of European integration. The chapter addresses the opportunities that politicisation offers for the EU’s democratic legitimacy from a both agonistic and decolonial perspective. Second, it discusses traditional accounts of democracy in the EU and its relation to the longstanding idea of a ‘demos’, ‘the people’, as well as the idea of ‘demoicracy’. The chapter develops an agonistic alternative to ‘the people’ as the political subject of democracy in the EU, which is based on the idea of the ‘decolonial multitude’, an account that detaches ‘sovereignty’ from democracy, and is able to integrate the (capitalist and postcolonial) material structures that constrain political actors. In this way, the decolonial multitude operates as a more democratic social and political imaginary upon which movements can connect different but intertwined struggles. Finally, the chapter argues that the decolonial multitude is a particularly suitable conceptual framework in the current EU context after the unfolding of political events throughout the 2010s and the early 2020s, with, on the one hand, the emergence of ‘new intergovernmentalism’ and, on the other, different types of populism.

4. Chapter 3. The Genealogy of the ‘Citizen Turn’ in the EU: The European Citizen Consultations, the Citizen Dialogues and the Antipolitical Imaginary

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The chapter analyses the evolution of the EU in terms of democracy and participation that leads up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, conceived as the ‘citizen turn’. This turn breaks away from the ‘participatory turn’ described by (Saurugger, European Journal of Political Research 49:471–495, 2010) in that it decouples ‘citizen participation’ from civil society and the idea of a European public sphere, both in discursive terms as well as in the ensuing political practices. The chapter begins with the post-Brexit shift of the EU in the way in which its relation with ‘citizens’ is conceived. It describes the citizen dialogues and the European Citizen Consultations (ECCs) as a prelude to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). The latter initiative consolidates the EU’s ‘citizen turn’ through an experimental exercise in which (a few hundred) ‘everyday citizens’ are situated at the centre through the European citizens’ panels. While there are innovative elements, the chapter argues that the ‘citizen turn’ does not meaningfully contribute to the emergence of an agonistic European public sphere and strong collective actors. It is therefore coherent with the preexistent depoliticised EU political dynamics of ‘democracy without politics’.

5. Chapter 4. Democracy Without Politics in the Conference on the Future of Europe: The Political Architecture, Process and Recommendations

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The chapter analyses the CoFoE: its political architecture, the way in which it unfolded and its recommendations, as well as the institutional discourse around it and the power relations that shaped it. The constant ambiguity as to what was the purpose of the Conference, in combination with a strong emphasis on putting ‘citizens at the centre’ and encouraging the idea that ‘the Future is in your hands’, made the CoFoE an inherently contested exercise where different EU institutions saw an opportunity to introduce their ideas. Through a combination of participant observation, document analysis and semi-structured interviews, the chapter describes the (limited) involvement of national parliaments, civil society organisations and the media in the process. The chapter argues that there is more continuity than rupture in the CoFoE as an EU political initiative, insofar it was marked by a strong attempt to depoliticise the process. Thus, the CoFoE represented an experimental exercise of ‘democracy without politics’ dominated by EU inter-institutional struggles.

6. Chapter 5. Individualised Technodeliberation in the CoFoE European Citizens’ Panels: The Presence of the Absence of the European Demoi

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The chapter empirically scrutinises the way in which the European citizens’ panels of the CoFoE were organised and how they unfolded. The formation of the European citizen panels is an encapsulation of how increasingly EU institutions (primarily the European Commission) conceive the ‘European people’ (or peoples): a group of disaggregated individuals. Thus, the ‘European people’ were ‘presently absent’, insofar the ‘people(s)’ was present only in a discursive way that served the purpose of legitimating a process as if it was ‘citizen-centred’. The interaction between these randomly selected citizens takes place in a highly institutionalised setting, in which they are encouraged to provide their perspectives and, ultimately, concrete recommendations. Through semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the chapter describes in detail the processes of the panels, the participation of ‘citizen ambassadors’ in the CoFoE plenary, and the deliberative dynamics involved in them. The dynamics can be understood as ‘technodeliberation’, as they prioritised ‘neutral’ and depoliticised discussions over agonistic ones, were disconnected from the European public spheres and sidelined intermediary collective organisations.

7. Chapter 6. The Institutional ‘Success’ of the CoFoE via the ‘New Generation’ Citizen Panels: The European Commission Leads the Public-Private ‘Citizen Turn’

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The chapter describes the outcome of the Conference as perceived by the organisers, and whether it advanced the cause of EU democracy. In spite of the strong discursive emphasis on the importance of ‘citizens’ in the process, the outcome illustrates a shift in the traditional relation between EU institutions and EU citizens, which is increasingly oriented towards reaching out ‘directly’ to ‘citizens’. The chapter describes the public-private institutionalisation of ‘citizen participation’ through the European Commission. Then, the chapter focuses on the EU inter-institutional struggle to ‘own’ citizen participation, with a particular emphasis on the Commission’s 2023 work programme. Relatedly, it analyses the ‘new generation’ of European citizen panels on food waste, virtual worlds and learning mobility, suggesting that the panels tend to turn ‘everyday citizens’ into EU ‘technocrats’ within the process, and aim to make them ‘ambassadors’ outside of it. The chapter concludes by arguing that this type of citizen participation is not ideology-free, and that it mostly reproduces the ideology mobilised by the organising institution, the Commission.

8. Chapter 7. “The Lost Art of Organising Solidarity”: Articulating the Decolonial Multitude in the EU (and Beyond)

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   Much has been written on the ‘multitude’ as the democratic political subject, yet less emphasis has been placed on developing an empirical illustration of it, and particularly in the specific political context of the EU. Furthermore, is the ‘decolonial multitude’ the democratic imaginary upon which transnational social movements construct their own identity? If so, how does it look in practice and what are its challenges? This chapter, on the basis of participant observation of transnational activist spaces as well as semi-structured interviews, aims at addressing these questions. These experiences offer a window of hope in terms of the way in which they contrast with the EU’s mechanisms of (individualised and depoliticised) ‘citizen participation’. The chapter draws on the internal tensions within social movements in order to devise the challenges to materialise the ‘decolonial multitude’ as a transnational political coalition that becomes a ‘movement of movements’. The primary challenges relate to transversal and intersectional solidarity, remaining coloniality, the agonistic channeling of tensions, and the construction of permanent political structures. Finally, the chapter concludes with potential ways forward to address those challenges anchored in the ongoing practices of transnational activists.

9. Chapter 8. The Contrast Between the EU’s Technocratic Conception of ‘Citizen Participation’ and the Democratic Pluralism of the Decolonial Multitude

   Alvaro Oleart

   Abstract

   The concluding chapter begins with the initial parallelism between Gramsci’s conception of a ‘passive revolution’ and ongoing political dynamics, in order to reflect upon how the Conference on the Future of Europe reinforced the conception of democracy ‘without politics’ already dominant at the EU level. The chapter proposes alternative ways to democratise transnational ‘citizen participation’, anchored in the concept of the ‘decolonial multitude’, instead of the traditional notions of ‘the people’ or European ‘demoi’. This entails the reframing of our understanding of democracy from a decolonial perspective. It suggests that the EU is an important terrain of struggle to connect movements, and that democratic innovations should be designed in a way that  strengthens collective organisations and fosters a transnational and agonistic public sphere. Next, the chapter outlines the contribution to the literature, the shortcomings of the book, and avenues for future research. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the importance of shifting the ideological borders of European studies academic discourse, and the relationship of academia with politics. For academics in the social sciences, the question is not whether we stay out of ‘politics’ or operate as political activists. Instead, the key question is: to which political purpose are we orienting our work? Accordingly, the book is meant to provide conceptual tools to not only make sense of the EU, but also to contribute in decolonising and democratising it.

10. Backmatter