Legitimacy through Solidarity in the European Landscape
by Carlo Burelli (University of Eastern Piedmont)
Solidarity is a contested concept (Stjernø, 2009, p. 2), but its prime meaning is relatively straightforward: it connotes the ‘set of feelings’ (Parijs, 2004, p. 375) of belonging together, which supports ‘attitudes of mutual acceptance, cooperation and mutual support’ (Banting and Kymlicka, 2017, p. 3). Solidarity is also often associated to the idea of solidarity as a ‘set of transfer’ (Parijs, 2004, p. 375) involving ‘redistribution of resources in favour of those in need’ (Bayertz, 1999) through the national welfare state. The connection between solidarity as communal feelings and as welfare transfers goes both ways, as redistributive policies contribute to reinforcing feelings of mutual solidarity (Beer, de and Koster, 2009). In turn, solidarity feelings support redistributive policies as they ‘tend to cause people to seek out situations in which there are strong feeling of cooperation, mutual identification, and similarity of status and position’ and inequalities result in a ‘loss of mutual identification’ (Crocker, 1977, p. 263). Some authors maintain that the relation between solidarity as a set of feelings and solidarity as a set of transfers constitutes a virtuous circle that, once set in motion, accelerates its momentum: solidarity as a set of transfers requires the substratum of fraternal feelings, yet this is also reinforced by the transfers (Mueller and Keil, 2013, pp. 128–129).
Legitimacy is usually understood either in a normative sense or in a descriptive sense (Fossen, 2013). In the normative sense it is conceived as the moral right to rule possessed by political institutions, based on individual consent (Simmons, 1999) or their respect of justice (Buchanan, 2002). In its Weberian descriptive sense, legitimacy refer to socially shared beliefs that are able to create a sense of normative obligation, which helps to ensure the voluntary compliance with undesired rules or decisions of governing authority (Scharpf 2009; Hoffe 2002: 40).
Solidarity is obviously important for legitimacy, as it is clear considering its instrumental role in the historical process of state building (Flora 2000), through consolidating of the central legislative authority and administrative bureaucracy (Manow 2005) and instilling loyalty towards the political centre (Ferrera 2005). Additionally, on a motivational level it creates a stake for the worse off in polity maintenance (Burelli 2018).
I argued first that solidarity is the disposition to willingly support the costs of cooperation, in particular to accept sacrifices to compensate the worst off and second that legitimacy is the disposition to voluntary comply with collective decisions one disagrees with. A first descriptive conclusion is that solidarity feelings support solidarity transfers, which in turn reinforces legitimacy beliefs. A second weakly normative conclusion is that solidarity is instrumental to polity maintenance and ought to be implemented (if one cares about the polity). In the last part of the paper I claim that the legitimacy deficit of the EU partially depends on a solidarity deficit, and that the future prospects of the European project depends on whether this problem is properly addressed.
Keywords: Solidarity, Legitimacy, Welfare, Social Europe
Legitimacy is usually understood either in a normative sense or in a descriptive sense (Fossen, 2013). In the normative sense it is conceived as the moral right to rule possessed by political institutions, based on individual consent (Simmons, 1999) or their respect of justice (Buchanan, 2002). In its Weberian descriptive sense, legitimacy refer to socially shared beliefs that are able to create a sense of normative obligation, which helps to ensure the voluntary compliance with undesired rules or decisions of governing authority (Scharpf 2009; Hoffe 2002: 40).
Solidarity is obviously important for legitimacy, as it is clear considering its instrumental role in the historical process of state building (Flora 2000), through consolidating of the central legislative authority and administrative bureaucracy (Manow 2005) and instilling loyalty towards the political centre (Ferrera 2005). Additionally, on a motivational level it creates a stake for the worse off in polity maintenance (Burelli 2018).
I argued first that solidarity is the disposition to willingly support the costs of cooperation, in particular to accept sacrifices to compensate the worst off and second that legitimacy is the disposition to voluntary comply with collective decisions one disagrees with. A first descriptive conclusion is that solidarity feelings support solidarity transfers, which in turn reinforces legitimacy beliefs. A second weakly normative conclusion is that solidarity is instrumental to polity maintenance and ought to be implemented (if one cares about the polity). In the last part of the paper I claim that the legitimacy deficit of the EU partially depends on a solidarity deficit, and that the future prospects of the European project depends on whether this problem is properly addressed.
Keywords: Solidarity, Legitimacy, Welfare, Social Europe
