Political Regulation and the Strategic Production of Space: The European Union as a Post-Fordist State Spatial Project

Abstract

This article addresses the spatial differentiation of statehood in the process of European integration, looking at its consequences for the reorganization of political rule. First, we elaborate our theoretical foundations resting in materialist theories of the state. It is argued that hitherto analytical approaches have hardly been able to systematically integrate the societal generation of space. This shortcoming is addressed by drawing on theories of space discussed in radical geography. Second, we trace the spatial transformation of statehood in the EU. Our assertion is that the latter is characterized by the emergence of a multi-scalar ensemble of state apparatuses. Finally, we discuss the implications of this transformation for the reproduction of domination. We assume that the multi-scalar form of statehood offers a significant basis for the emergence of authoritarian forms of politics in the EU. At the same time, social conflicts over the political design of the EU are intensifying.

The concept of solidarity in cohesion policies of the European Union and Hungary

“…Structural changes in the economy resulted in the emergence of transnational state spatial projects, such as the European Union (Ross, 2010;Stjernø, 2005;Wissel and Wolff, 2017). EU institutions, however, have significantly fewer responsibilities in terms of welfare than those traditionally had by national governments, which means that the EU level is not necessarily seen important in providing solidarity across society (Ross, 2010).…”

From Financial Crisis to a Crisis of Interpellation: Unpacking Ideology Production in the European Union and Clarifying How Its Failures Affect Foreign Affairs

“…In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the transformation of statehood in the then European Community (EC) gathered considerable momentum. Through the 1986 Single European Act (SEA), which was about the creation of a borderless and competitive common market, and through the agreement to complement the single market by a common currency a few years later, national socio-economic policy-making powers have been hollowed out as states have been integrated ever more deeply into a spatially fragmented, multi-scalar and postnational ensemble of European state apparatuses (Bieling 2003;Streeck 2014;Van Apeldoorn 2002;Wissel and Wolff 2017). This process has been rationalised and legitimised by a neoliberal class project which has sought to overcome barriers to neoliberal "modernisation" at the level of member states.…”