Civil Society and the EU in Times of Crisis: From Partnership to Threat?

With the financial crisis came a political epiphany in European society. As a consequence of the economic crisis a number of national political systems have changed dramatically. The popular support for traditional parties has sharply declined. New populist parties have boomed. Major economic policies have been “agreed externally” within European and international institutions. Trans-ideological coalition governments have been created, with both conservative and progressive parties sharing power. Sticking to a traditional paradigm of left and right politics we would not be able to provide an account of such changes. Specific circumstances or tactical decisions provide only partial explanations. While at a first sight such changes may appear contingent, I will argue that they ultimately reveal a fundamental transformation of politics in the age of globalization. The crisis is revealing a new political constellation that cannot be comprehended with the old categories that helped us to give a meaning to our XX century experience. The article suggests that the post-crisis events reveal a fundamental transformation of politics that is rooted and here to stay for some time. A transformation that concerns the main political cleavage of globalization. While in the past, the dichotomy was between left and right (Bobbio, 1994; reprinted 1996), today the key tension is centered in-between supranational integration and national preservation in the economic, social and political realm. Between global democracy and rooted democracy, between supranational politics and national politics. It is with reference to issues such as market integration, delegation of sovereignty, participation to regional organizations, but also the acceptance of “universal” standards that we can better understand the political divisions of today, where the action is. The paper proceeds according to the following structure: it first sets the conceptual stage by examining the role of civil society in the political arena and specifically in the context of the Europeanization. It then identifies 3 major phases of European activism: 1) 1993-2001, the period in which institutional channels were opened for civil society at the European level; 2) 2001-2014, the period in which civil society played a full role within the EU governance; 3) 2014 to present day, in which the emergence and consolidation of anti-EU establishment civil society has become a central political issue for the EU. Three specific European master frames are analyzed, before the focus is shifted to the global level. Concluding remarks are presented on the critical issue and the future prospect for the EU with reference to the impact of social mobilization from below.