What Is Left of European Citizenship?

Abstract

The European Union has opened the way towards a new form of citizenship founded on two promises: one “federal,” the other “cosmopolitan.” However, the condition of asylum‐seekers and the attacks on the rule of law have, over the past ten years, undermined this dual ambition of the European Union at the risk of ruining both its cosmopolitan and federal dimensions. In this particular context, political theory has a role to play in elucidating the concepts at stake, such as that of “illiberal democracy,” which is now being mobilized in Europe to mask a gradual liquidation of democracy.