Does society matter? A reflexive testimony on the defense of social sciences and humanities in Horizon Europe

This paper is based on an experience that can be described as observant participation in the defence of the humanities and social sciences in Horizon Europe. It shows that the status of the social sciences is far from obvious in the political categories of the European institutions, and that the conditions for defending the social sciences and humanities (which have succeeded here by tripling their budget) are nonetheless caught up in contradictions that are difficult to overcome, at the cost of making it difficult for research programmes to make their mark on European societies.