Challenges to the nation-state in the context of European integration: an overview of the tension between citizenship rights and neoliberalism

Abstract

Neoliberalism has had a profound impact on the relations between the state and citizens, namely in the enjoyment of their rights. In the context of European integration, citizenship is conceptualised and practiced as a multi-level attribute, posing both challenges and opportunities, for its fulfilment. The article engages with this multilevel and multifaceted nature of citizenship in the European Union, reflecting the contested role of the nation-state in a globalised neoliberal context, as well as the consequences at the local and individual levels. The impacts on the exercise of citizenship in this context is a central concern of this article, focusing on how neoliberal globalisation has affected state-citizen relations, particularly in the context of European integration. As European integration faces a critical moment, European civil society has engaged in citizen-based organisations and movements seeking to challenge the limits of the existing political structures and demand a more participative role in society and politics.