The Rise of the Competitiveness Discourse- A Neo-Gramscian Analysis. Bruges Political Research Paper No. 19, December 2009

Bradanini, Davide. (2009) The Rise of the Competitiveness Discourse- A Neo-Gramscian Analysis. Bruges Political Research Paper No. 19, December 2009. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

This article focuses on the development of the 'competitiveness discourse' as an element of a hegemonic strategy on the part of an emerging historic bloc of social forces supporting an embedded neoliberal project for European integration. In the framework of a neo-Gramscian understanding of political processes, the rise of neoliberalism in Europe is viewed as the outcome of a material and ideological struggle over the social purpose of EU integration. The discursive construction of an ambiguous concept such as that of the European social model has gone hand in hand with the implementation of largely neoliberal reforms - such as the internal market and EMU - while preserving the traditional European social consensual model. The current legitimacy crisis the EU is arguably experiencing is viewed as the outcome of the relative failure of this hegemonic project to generate consensus, as it further promotes a disembedding of the economy.

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