Laura Leonardi

Changes in the We-I Balance and the Formation of a European Identity in the Light of Norbert Elias's Theories

The reflection on the theme of European identity is mainly inspired by The society of individuals (Elias 1987, 1991) but the reference to his work is more extensive. Norbert Elias’s processual and figurational sociology provides a theoretical frame in which the increasing complexity, the structural differentiation and the formation of individual and collective identities are held together and cannot be understood separately, but only in the dynamic of their interdependences, in a micro-macro perspective. In the light of the Eliasian concepts figuration, civilization, social habitus, balance of power, we-I balance – it is possible to analyze the problem of European identity, taking into account the process of individualization and processes of change in European society. The paper proposes to overturn the point of view usually adopted to analyze the problem of European identity, which focuses on the macro-institutional dimension of the phenomenon of integration at European level. This point of view considers the individual atomistic and decontestualized dimension, separating, indeed, individual identity and collective identity and, above all, ignoring the implications of the individualization process underlying social changes, which creates new interdependencies and requires new forms of regulation. On the contrary, Elias takes into account the process of individualization, the fundamental importance of considering the I-with-a-we, the dimension of power and social inequalities, which are systematically set aside in the mainstream analysis, while are constantly emerging at empirical level (Winkelkotte, Jentges 2011). Elias’s approach, then, helps to overcome the reference to the national dimension and in particular, the methodological nationalism in the analysis of European identity1. This contribution puts forward in the first part a theoretical reflection on the Eliasian concepts of identity and integration, we-I balance, especially on the balance of underlying power and on the importance of its dynamics. In the second part, we are going to refer to some empirical researches on European identity reinterpreted in the light of the Eliasian theory.

Social Citizenship in the Context of Europeanization and Growing Inequalities: An Empirical Contribution to the Theoretical Debate

The political and economic crisis of Europe and the austerity programs within EU countries have brought back to center the issues of inequality and social justice in Europe that during the Twentieth century have been addressed through the institutionalization of social citizenship. Europeanization and globalization challenge social cohesion and alters the basic institutions on which social citizenship was constructed in welfare societies. Starting from the results of an empirical study, the aim of this article is to give new impulses to the theoretical reflection on social citizenship as a distinct issue, although related with the concept of citizenship. The focus of the analysis is on members of transnational civil society organizations and their ideas and practices enhancing new forms of a more inclusive and sustainable social citizenship. Conclusions discuss how social bonds and solidarity are reframed transnationally across national, regional, European and global borders, and the implications of this process for the reformulation of the concept of social citizenship.

Re-embedding European Social Citizenship through Cosmopolitanism

This article tackles the issue of social citizenship in Europe, beyond its legal and political defini-tion, as the result of social mechanisms and practices, and it assumes the cosmopolitan perspective as a conceptual tool for the interpretation of changes in its principles and structure as related to Europeaniza-tion and globalisation. It starts from the heuristic value of the concept, grounded in modern industrial so-cieties and built on its institutions and forms of social solidarity. Then it draws on the debate about the challenges of the welfare state and capitalism’s transformations, as well as on the impact on social citizen-ship of the European integration process. It proposes cosmopolitanism as a lens for catching cosmopolitan ideas, narratives and values that contribute to creating new practices of solidarity and mutual recognition, which are the basis for the construction of new kinds of sustainable social citizenship in Europe. The Euro-pean social forum of 2012 has been considered a significant case study for an empirical exploration of the cosmopolitan imagination as a factual process. A cosmopolitan epistemology takes shape, based on the values of commons and global public goods. Meanings, actions and practices enhanced by social actors, building solidarity in diversity and following global-local logics, show forms of recognition of otherness and of sharing global responsibilities representing a tendency towards a new conception of European social citizenship. Social rights and recognition beyond territorial boundaries are at the core of the construction of a cosmopolitan citizenship in Europe.

Come studiare l’Europa del XXI secolo? Dieci domande a Colin Crouch

Colin Crouch è direttore dell’Institute of Governance and Public Management presso la University of Warwick Business School in Gran Bretagna e Fellow alla British Academy. In precedenza, Crouch ha insegnato Comparative Social Institutions presso l’European University Institute di Fiesole, oltrechè al Trinity College di Oxford e alla London School of Economics. È direttore della rivista “The Political Quarterly” ed External Scientific member presso il Max Planck Institute for Social Research. I suoi maggiori interessi di ricerca riguardano differenti tematiche e settori disciplinari, quali la sociologia europea comparata e delle relazioni industriali, la sociologia economica, issues di politica europea e britannica contemporanea e i processi di innovazione istituzionale nell’economia e nella politica pubblica. Autore di numerose pubblicazioni, tra le più rilevanti si segnalano Innovation in Local Economies (co-autore, 2009), Capitalist Diversity and Change: Recombinant Governance and Institutional Entrepreneurs (2005), Postdemocrazia (2003) [in inglese Post-democracy (Themes for the 21st Century) (2004)], Social Change in Western Europe (1999) [in italiano Sociologia dell’Europa occidentale (2001)], Industrial Relations and European State Traditions (1993) [in italiano Relazioni industriali nella storia politica europea (1996)], Class Conflict and Industrial Relations Crisis (1977).

Il Modello sociale europeo alla ricerca della dimensione sociale

Al concetto di Mse spesso si associa l’idea di un modello europeo di societa, data l’importanza attribuita alla solidarieta e alla coesione sociale, alle politiche redistributive e al mercato, al ruolo dei diritti sociali e della concertazione come componenti essenziali. Tuttavia, nell’ambito delle scienze sociali, il Mse e stato studiato piu come processo d’istituzionalizzazione e di policy making , meno con riferimento alle dinamiche sociali cui si collega. Il contributo sviluppa un’analisi critica del concetto di Mse: a) ne ricostruisce la genesi e pone il problema della relazione con la dimensione sociale dell’integrazione europea; b) richiama il dibattito sul Mse sviluppatosi nelle scienze politiche e sociali, discutendo le diverse accezioni e definizioni, evidenziandone le differenze e i denominatori comuni; c) propone una definizione sociologica del Mse in funzione dell’analisi della dimensione sociale dell’integrazione europea.