Social movements in Italy: which kind of Europeanisation?

Abstract

Social movements have been one of the main actors which influenced the process of nation-building, by shaping and promoting national citizenship and by building a critical public sphere for discussing public matters, testing governmental decisions and making collective claims. At the same time the process of nation-state building has affected many features of social movements, providing both restrictions and opportunities. Today social movements face different challenges, which force them to adapt their strategies and to even change their identities. Neo-liberal policies, often justified by the process of globalisation, are eroding the acquired social rights, supranational institutions and intergovernmental organisations are reducing the sovereignty of democratic nation-states, the executives dominate elected parliaments, and parties are less and less able to channel citizens’ demands. In this context, European integration, by filtering the mentioned trends, and by reconfiguring the process of political representation within the nation-state, challenges social movements’ strategies and preferences. While the process of Europeanisation opens up new opportunities, it also provides new constraints and difficulties for collective mobilisation. Social movements may also be important promoters of a European identity and citizenship needed for stronger and more democratic European institutions.