The peoples imagined : constituting a democratic European polity

Abstract

The French philosopher Paul Ricoeur suggests that if polities need to rest on some sort of social imaginary, their collective horizons can be uttered in two contrasting languages—that of ideology or that of utopia—and that, moreover, both these vernaculars can be saved from their pathological expression. Where the former entrenches reality and the other transcends it, the chapter asks under what conditions can either ideology or utopia help transform reality to constitute a transnational European polity from a demoicratic perspective. The core argument is that our capacity to both imagine and operationalize the concrete expression of interconnected European peoples can help navigate this constitutional challenge. The chapter starts with setting out why the idea of demoicracy helps push back against ‘technopolism’. Secondly, it argues that in order to imagine a democratic union of peoples we must first ‘un-imagine’ oneness as a foundation for the EU, although a weak version of demoicratic theory does allow for what we can call a ‘thin concept’ of European peoplehood. Thirdly, it moves on to argue that the demoicratic third way is a fragile equilibrium that needs to be nurtured over time. Fourthly, the very essence of this demoicratic balancing act is to ground the European act of togetherness on horizontal ties whereby vertical delegation of authority serves to nurture and reinforce these ties. Finally, the chapter points to the next democratic frontier, namely the EU’s pivot from the politics of space to the politics of time—a pivot that requires deep democratic ownership of policies shaped and enforced by the EU as the guardian of the long term.