The Everyday Politics of the European Public Sphere: Moving Beyond EU Policy Perspectives

Abstract

While in the academic debate the idea of a European public sphere is seen from both consensual and conflictual perspectives, in the field of European Union (EU) policymaking, it tends to assume the profile of a neutral and all-inclusive social space. By focusing on the street level, this article suggests that such a view is problematic because it fails to resonate with people's everyday experiences. The article contrasts EU policy on civil society engagement and immigration with examples of civil society reactions to immigration in two corners of Europe—on the Italian island of Lampedusa and in the city of Athens, Greece. In order for the concept of a European public sphere to garner meaning outside the EU policy process, it needs to be anchored in the everyday politics of social space in Europe. This means embracing an ‘ethnographic approach’ that is sensitive to difference, diversity, and conflict, and to the daily (micro)political struggles that are played out in the public sphere.

Keywords:

• European public sphere
• civil society
• everyday politics
• social space

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful for the valuable comments received from the two anonymous reviewers. I would also like to thank Stiftung Mercator for funding the research that led to this publication. A version of this paper was first prepared for the 2011 Dahrendorf Symposium held in Berlin, 9–10 November.

Notes

These issues are also explored in a research project under the Seventh Framework Programme entitled EUROPUBLICISLAM, which is applying a largely ethnographic methodology that proposes to study ‘the assemblages that bring together cultural differences in proximity and in confrontation across national public spheres, following a transnational dynamics’. For more information, see http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=proj.documentandPJ_RCN=10331471

These include Athens News, Al Jazeera, Euronews, France24, RAI, Reuters, reports from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as blog entries and video documentaries from reporters and citizen journalists.

See, for example ‘Lampedusa Tensions – New Migrants Land on Island’ report from Al Jazeera (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyyPa9HTE-sandNR=1) and ‘Italy's Lampedusa left in crisis after Arab Spring’ report from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13747558).