Democracy and Integration

Abstract

Political theorists have long argued that democratic polities require a high level of political integration if they are to survive and flourish over time. An underlying assumption here is that unless the members of a democratic polity share a strong sense of political purpose or identity, they will not motivated to reciprocate benefits and burdens when the need arises. One must therefore worry about the future of many contemporary democratic polities, particularly in Europe, where, for example, mass immigration has resulted not only in dramatic demographic changes, but also deep and recurring problems of cohesion. All too often, the ‘old stock’ population will deliberate at length about those problems, but fail to treat the ‘newcomers’ as potential partners in the debate. In turn, the newcomers will often feel that their place in the polity is of lesser value, and hence will mistrust both the members of the old stock and the political institutions under which they have to live. This panel will seek to address the challenges of democracy and integration in Europe from a normative perspective. In particular, the panel will seek to answer the following sorts of question: How is the idea of the democratic polity framed within different democratic traditions? What do different models of democracy imply for questions of social and political integration? In the light of recent European experience, how should the idea of a common political purpose or identity be understood? What should be the proper moral response to the resurgence of democratic populism and what can we learn from particular European cases in this respect? What obligations might European democratic states legitimately impose on immigrants, or resident non-citizens, and what rights might immigrants legitimately claim in turn? What would a fair or just system of citizenship acquisition look like?

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