Europe must confront the process of globalisation, the latter of which is simultaneously a framework, a context and a challenge. In light of this process, the ways in which the European political space works and is structured can be analysed in three ways.

Re-thinking European Integration is a Requirement for Legitimacy

Globalisation leads us to interrogate the meaning of the European project, and therefore, its legitimacy. What are the failings of the European political system? What ties do these impairments have with other political phenomena such as the development of national resistances towards Europe, separatist temptations and regionalism? How have we moved from a form of Euroscepticism present in the 2000s to Europhobia, which has now become dominant?

Governing a Fragmented Space

Globalisation leads to the fragmentation of spaces. This also constitutes a challenge for Europe as a space of public policies. What are the mutations (new modes of governance, new command systems) in the European area of public action? How are public policies in Europe tied to their international determinants? How are the public and private sectors newly articulated? How should public services in Europe (and on a local scale) be defined? What is their role?

Individuals and Social Groups in Europe Facing Globalisation

The way Europe relates to globalisation must also be apprehended from the bottom up on the scale of individuals and social groups. What is a person’s social status in view of the mutations of labour law in Europe? What is the status and treatment of defendants in European legislation, especially in terms of civil law and private judicial law? This “bottom-up” analysis also includes the examination of the “rebellious Europe” operating through processes of mobilization, protest and politicisation in the European space. The study of the resistances towards Europe on a more global scale will be complemented by the sociological study of behaviours, actions and discourses at an individual level and at the level of social groups (cf. theme 1 on the integration crisis).