A Solidary European Union ; Eine solidarische Europäische Union

Abstract

It is not just since the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that the need for solidarity has become a commonly heard diagnosis – particularly in the European Union: But what exactly is meant by it and why is such importance attributed to it? In light of this status quo, this dissertation aims to answer two questions in particular: What is solidarity? And: What kind of solidarity should we envision for the European Union? I start by examining in what sense solidarity is inherently normative and my dissertation concerned with a normative problem. By clarifying the distinction between concept and conception, I explain that the contribution to the debate is to suggest a further conception of the (general) notion of solidarity, given that a review of previous literature does not provide a satisfactory comprehensive definition. The initial chapter also offers a brief history of the term and its historical significance and diverse usages in order to clarify why my methodological approach for defining solidarity is not focused on its historical applications. Rather, it offers a definition of solidarity that comprehends a social phenomenon in a way that other related notions cannot. The subsequent chapter introduces the definition of solidarity that I propose to work with. The chapter is guided by the diagnosis that solidarity is always relational (having to do with an "other") and expressed through practices (acts). The two guiding questions for my definition are consequently: 1. What makes me concerned about the other? – dealing with the relational question and 2. What does it mean to stand up for the other? – dealing with the question of solidary action. A further, evaluative step is necessary for the answers to both questions to clarify the normative dimension, i.e., to determine a desirable type of solidarity. Essentially, my definition first argues that solidarity is both social and political: social in its relational sense and political in its "expressive" sense as an action. The term social is to be understood as ...