Paper Titles & Abstracts

Following up from last year's presentation at UACES conference, this paper argues that opening the broader debate of European security and defence towards the EU citizens can result in a European democratic subjectivity, which in its turn can spill over to further European integration. Drawing upon the work of Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida and following a normative line of thinking, the paper's first part argues that within a more democratic EU security governance, the power relations developed between the EU institutions, EU political elites, MS' governments and EU citizens can result in the creation of a new political subjectivity: a European democratic subjectivity. The paper's second part supports that this subjectivity can become the cornerstone to set aside national and historical cleavages in Europe and proceed with more political integration under the aegis of EU governance in security and defence issues. The paper's overall objective is to show that remedying the democratic deficit in CSDP can result in the social construction of a European demos that can promote political integration of the EU MS as long as citizens practise EU democracy. The paper's originality emanates from linking the democratisation of a poorly legitimised EU policy area, CSDP, with more European integration, without neglecting, though, the quintessential role of power in issues of democratic EU governance.