The new social contract
EXPRESS2 will outline strategies for safeguarding a democratically endorsed EU social contract against disruptions.
Why a new social contract?
Calls for a new social contract in the European Union have grown amid ongoing societal changes, particularly those driven by advances in technology. As digitalisation rapidly shapes the way we consume and share information, more people than ever before have access to participate in decision-making processes. This shift underlines the need for an express, democratically participated, and inclusive social contract that reflects the values and aspirations of EU citizens. The resulting pact should provide a compass for the development of policies and regulations that promote equality, social justice and sustainable development.
The disruptive elements
Disruptive elements are phenomena that pose a conceptual and material threat to the EU social contract.
The EXPRESS2 consortium has identified and categorised seven of these elements. Our goal is to explore them in depth and propose actionable measures and recommendations to prevent political instability and dissatisfaction with the social contract of both the EU and its Member State
Insecurity
We aim to approach the question of insecurity and the social contract from a real situation. We analyse how the brutal aggression against Ukraine endangers the protection of individuals, communities and the founding values of the EU, and has become a trigger for other security crises (migration and energy crises); creating a sense of insecurity that puts the EU's social contract under strain.
Populism
Our research argues that populist leaders tend not to represent the will of the people. Instead, populists undermine the defences that democracies put in place against corruption: checks and balances, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and the social contract. Populism has a transformative effect on the functioning of constitutional democracies and on the perception of the EU's mission.
Gender inequality
Despite notable progress in the European social contract, gender inequality remains a disruptive element. Our research focuses on how different opportunities and rights for women and men, unequal access to the benefits of rights and the assumption of stereotypical culturally and socially defined roles threaten the social contract.
Climate change
EXPRESS2 will identify and map climate- and biodiversity-related stressors to the social contract, to understand how long-term human-induced changes in temperature and weather patterns and their consequences are disrupting the social contract.
Mistrust
Trust is an important factor in creating and stabilising support for political institutions. The EXPRESS2 team examines how corruption, lack of transparency, lack of sustainability and lack of accountability undermine the pact and the core values of the social contract.
Digitalisation
Digital transformation is seen by many as a form of disruption to traditional ways of life, but also to the norms that govern society in the EU, and ultimately to the EU's social contract. Our research analyses how the introduction and rapid development of digital technologies is changing society, politics and the state, and the impact of digital transformation on the social contract.
Pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on all aspects of society, including the relationship between citizens and their governments. We explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social contract in the EU and assess the extent to which it has been transformed.
Intersections
The possible interaction of several disruptive elements, their concatenation or the 'triggering' effect of a disruptive phenomenon are specifically analysed in order to understand how multiple factors can interlock and affect the social contract.