Cosmopolitanism in Europe-in-crisis : the cases of the EU, Greece and Turkey
Abstract
Adopting a critical cosmopolitan outlook the thesis identifies a constructive engagement
with the European project at a time when the crisis of the Euro-zone is still threatening
the very existence of the European Union. The purpose of the study is to determine
whether cosmopolitanism is feasible in Europe. I argue that the EU can be conceived as
a catalyst of cosmopolitanism without being cosmopolitan per se due its so far limited
internal and external contexts of cosmopolitanism. In the case of the EU’s limited inner
cosmopolitanism, I seek cosmopolitan alternatives for the EU to overcome the crisis on
the basis of an institutional and civil society analysis within the conceptual framework
of cosmopolitan democracy. Instead of adopting the terminology of governance either
for or by the people, my cosmopolitan approach focuses on governance with the people.
The case of Greece is of utmost importance for my research as it reveals the causes and
gravity of the crisis. It also broadens the empirical basis of cosmopolitan studies by
embodying both the dynamics and challenges posed to cosmopolitanism which are
exemplified in the paradoxes provoked; on the one hand there is aggravation of (fascist)
nationalism and domination of economics on politics perhaps leading to Greece’s de-
Europeanisation; on the other hand the dynamics of a paradigm shift towards a post-crisis
cosmopolitanism are revealed. That kind of cosmopolitanism needs to take under
consideration the role of contestation and to redefine its position in the era of global
capitalism for the confrontation of the crisis. In the case of the EU’s limited external
cosmopolitanism, my analysis of Turkey’s possible impact on the EU and the
reverse aims to demonstrate that Turkey’s integration can contribute to the formation of
a cosmopolitan, post-Western EU and post-national Turkey. What is of crucial
importance for both cosmopolitan and Europeanisation studies is that the endogenous
process of change within Turkey which is interlocking with the external dynamics of the
EU may potentially lead to a distinctive ‘hybrid’ type of cosmopolitanisation neither
merely European nor simply Asian. The conclusions drawn from this multiple case study
suggest that the current crisis may open new meanings for cosmopolitanism in
Europe.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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