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- Author: Shivdeep Grewal x
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German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has written extensively on the European Union.
This is the only in-depth account of his project. Published now in a second
edition to coincide with the celebration of his ninetieth birthday, a new
preface considers Habermas’s writings on the eurozone and refugee crises,
populism and Brexit, and the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
Placing an
emphasis on the conception of the EU that informs Habermas’s political
prescriptions, the book is divided into two main parts. The first considers the
unfolding of 'social modernity' at the level of the EU. Among the
subjects covered are Habermas's concept of juridification, the
latter's affinities with integration theories such as neofunctionalism, and
the application of Habermas's democratic theory to the EU. The second part
addresses 'cultural modernity' in Europe – 'Europessimism'
is argued to be a subset of the broader cultural pessimism that assailed the
project of modernity in the late twentieth century, and with renewed intensity
in the years since 9/11.
Interdisciplinary in approach, this book engages
with European/EU studies, critical theory, political theory, international
relations, intellectual history, comparative literature, and philosophy. Concise
and clearly written, it will be of interest to students, scholars and
professionals with an interest in these disciplines, as well as to a broader
readership concerned with the future of Europe
From its conception to the referenda of 2005 where it met its end, German philosopher Jürgen Habermas wrote in support of the European Constitution. This book is the first in-depth account of his project. Emphasis is placed on the conception of the European Union (EU) that informed his political prescriptions. This study engages with Habermas's thought as a totality, though attention is focussed on themes such as communicative rationality that began to surface in the 1970s. The first part of the book considers the unfolding of 'social modernity' at the level of the EU. Among the subjects covered are Habermas's concept of juridification, the latter's affinities with integration theories such as neofunctionalism and the application of Habermas's democratic theory to the EU. The second part addresses 'cultural modernity' in Europe - 'Europessimism' is argued to be a subset of the broader cultural pessimism that has assailed the project of modernity in recent decades with renewed intensity in the wake of 9/11. The final section looks at the conceptual landscape of the Constitutional Convention. The groundbreaking work of E. O. Eriksen, E. F. Fossum and others provides the most developed Habermasian account of the EU to date. Juridification is put forward as a metatheory of social modernity, and existing approaches from the corpus of European integration theory are drawn. Recent political theory confronts scholars of European integration with difficult questions. The social democrats who were interviewed had the opposite combination of opinions.
The introduction begins by examining the background of the European Constitution. Habermas wrote in support of the Constitution from its conception to its end. Grewal explains how this book will go beyond looking at Habermas’s written support alone, also considering the ways that these political writings have modified his theories whilst assessing the state of the EU. The introduction goes on to introduce Habermas’s ideas and the debates surrounding the Constitution before then considering the accompanying context. ‘Cultural pessimism’ in the wake of 9/11 is explored and the impact of changes in thinking on Habermas is evaluated. It is believed these changing thoughts illuminate the era of the European Constitution and beyond. Grewal then goes on to introduce the concept of modernity and explains its usefulness in categorising Habermas’s writings. Habermas has argued that Modernity is an ‘unfinished’ project. His beliefs and aims are further explained; these views justify his conviction in the importance of the democratisation of the EU. Habermas’s distinction between social modernity and cultural modernity is then outlined and explained to be the way the book will be split. Grewal explains how the book will take a hermeneutical integration approach. The book chapters are then briefly outlined.
Chapter 1 is the first of 4 chapters which address Habermas’s account of ‘social modernity’ in the EU. This first section examines two features of Habermas’s work which relate to the EU; the first is the concept of juridification, which is explained in detail in this chapter, and the second is the continuity of the reflective welfare state project within his journalism. The chapter contains references to historical events alongside Habermas’s political writings from the decades leading up to the European Constitution era in order to demonstrate the influence exerted by social modernity on Habermas’s political journalism. To demonstrate this, the theoretical works which are central to this study are introduced: The Theory of Communicative Action (TCA) – volumes 1 & 2, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (PDM), and Between Facts and Norms (BFN). The importance of the reflective welfare state project is seen in the examples shown here and this influence of social modernity is a clear theme which permeates throughout Habermas’s writings. Juridification is argued to be the main concept behind Habermas’s reflections on the nation-state and also the EU. The chapter continues beyond the end of the European Constitution, highlighting Habermas’s continued preoccupation with democratisation.
Chapter 2 proposes that juridification is a metatheory of social modernity. To explain this, ‘Habermasian’ concepts are laid out in this chapter; his accounts of social evolution are briefly considered in regards to juridification and the three stages of social evolution are outlined and linked to relevant studies and analysis. The second half of the chapter then explains the concepts of ‘system’ and ‘lifeworld’ in detail and linked to market and administrative systems. The growth of the European single market is shown to parallel the development of the ‘bourgeois state’ using Ashenden to summarise this shift which led to the institution of rights for individuals. The chapter looks at the five attributes of EU juridification and the trajectories of continental juridification, applying the historical context to Habermas’s beliefs. The chapter focuses particularly between the signing of the Single European Act (SEA) in 1986 to the European Constitution era. Addressing several preliminary questions, the chapter engages with theories of European integration whilst considering the development of EU social policy alongside the explanations of institutional evolution and agreements which were made.
This chapter uses the European integration theory to approach the process of juridification. Existing approaches from the corpus of this theory are drawn on in this chapter in order to help analyse social modernity in the EU. In order to successfully analyse this concept, the chapter attempts to use this corpus to take into account the varying relationships between member states and supranational institutions. This study pays attention to ‘Social Europe’ and the first section of this chapter considers which theories are best suited to refine the concept of juridification. The second section then recounts Habermas’s own survey of action and system theories, explaining Habermas’s attitudes towards the differing theories and theorists, especially Parsons and Luhmann. The chapter ends with an assessment of analyses of Social Europe in relation to the constructivist continuum with the intention of stimulating further research in the future. This chapter includes four figures to illustrate the different theories.
Up until this chapter, an ‘externalist’ view was used to discuss the lifeworld, focussing on relationships with the market and state in the course of social evolution. This is the most common way of approaching European integration in theoretical treatments, from the outside. This chapter instead focusses on the ‘internalist’ perspective of the lifeworld by examining its direct experience of market and administrative imperatives. The chapter explains how Habermas believes that a functioning democracy is one where the lifeworld can resist, and even potentially reverse, incursions by these imperatives. This chapter takes this approach by applying Habermas’s democratic theory to the EU. The siege model and the sluice gate model are employed in detail. The relationship between democracy and legitimacy that this theory suggests are relatively linear with fluctuations in one being shown to generally give rise to variations in the other. The chapter then concludes with a brief survey of the rival accounts of democracy within the EU.
Chapter 5 is the first of three chapters to tackle the concept of cultural modernity. It attempts to analyse cultural modernity at the level of the EU. This chapter shifts attention from the structure of the lifeworld to the traditions that have constituted it instead. The chapter explains the role of Hellenic and Judeo-Christian traditions in fulfilling this function in Western societies and goes on to explore the implications of this using Weber’s work. The Weberian concepts of disenchantment, Occidental rationalism and the Protestant ethic are outlined and Habermas’s interpretations of these concepts prove central to this chapter. The chapter goes on to consider the cosmopolitan conception of citizenship and identity which occurred alongside the cultural developments (the rise of science, modern art and universalism in law and moral judgement) which Habermas regarded as equally important. The chapter then finally concludes by outlining the three tendencies which prove the biggest threats to Habermas’s concepts of modernity and cosmopolitanism: ‘Young’, ‘Old’, and ‘New’ Conservatism. A figure is provided to show these Conservative types.
This chapter carries on the discussion of conservatism in chapter 5 but instead distinguishes from the Old and New conservative intellectuals by considering the spectrum of neoconservative orientations. Neoconservatism is a broad category which is shown by a figure to sit between Old and New conservatism within the triangle of conservatism. These abstract types are used to analyse groups in European and American politics. The rise of neoconservatism is examined and the distinctions between German and American political representatives are highlighted; Habermas is explained to hold a marginal preference for American representatives due to their orientation toward the Enlightenment. Habermas does, however, also more commonly use the American neoconservatives as the foil for postnational cosmopolitanism. This chapter uses the ungovernability thesis to approach these differing groups before then exploring the war on terror as a significant context for the use of these approaches.
Chapter 7 begins by examining Nietzsche’s influence on Habermas’s approaches. Neo-Nietzschean beliefs are outlined and are explained to be varied with a focus on disavowing liberal democracy in favour of esoteric and populist causes. Habermas’s original categorisations of neo-groups have been altered in light of his later writings. This chapter attempts to monitor the successors of other conservative groupings which Habermas has generally neglected to write on in recent years. The chapter explores different related concepts and theories with particular attention paid to a range of ‘antiproductivist’ and uniformly Eurosceptic constituencies from the palingenetic New Right and the Eurofascist parties to sections of the antiglobalisation movement. The categorisation of these groups are not based on left/right divides but rather based on their attitudes towards modernity especially focusing on antimodernity and counter-Enlightenment radicalism. Further groups such as productivists and natural scientific enthusiasts are also approached and important writers are outlined. The chapter then reflects on the importance of Pim Fortuyn, the Dutch politican whose assassination coincided with the Constitutional Convention. Finally, the chapter shifts to consider Habermas’s engagement with Catholic thought which Grewal sees as in line with his championing of modernity and European integration.