Unease and distrust are endemic in contemporary European society. We are experiencing a shift right across the board. The magic of the post-war period seems to have been exhausted: the post-war European ideal, the post-war welfare state model, and the sacrosanct post-Holocaust tolerance for the Stranger, all seem to be fading. The process of internationalization (globalization, immigration, European integration) is producing a trust and representation gap between elites and citizens. This article takes a closer look at precisely this complex of problems, which we shall call European Social Unease.

This unstable undercurrent of unease in European society is at odds with both modern global trends and the dominant procyclical response of policy-makers and decision-makers, and has to do above all with perceived threats to cultural and national identities. In this context national identity is understood in a broad sense. The social model of the post-war welfare state and the social market economy make up a substantial part of the positive (progressive) self-image of many Europeans. Key to this unease is the apparent undermining of national characteristics by processes of internationalization: on the one hand, globalisation of the production of goods and services and of capital markets, and apparently unlimited European unification, and on the other hand seemingly uncontrollable immigration and the development of multi-ethnic societies afflicted by failing integration, segregation, and multicultural “confusion.”

Contrary to the gospel of the ultra-modern pundits who advocate the self-abolition of the nation-state in favor of new regional power centers, unstable and dislocating undercurrents in European society require not only prudence in policy discourses on modernisation and innovation, but also the rehabilitation of the nation-state as a medium for restoring trust, an anchor in uncertain times, a renewed test case for socio-economic performance, a source of social cohesion between the less and the better educated, and between immigrants and the indigenous population. Restoration of trust between politicians and citizens will have to take place at the national level, as will the creation of a harmonious multi-ethnic society. Europe must facilitate this process, not obstruct it. In other words, the future of the EU, the European Social Model, and a non-segregated multi-ethnic society lies with the nation-state. The motto for the coming turbulent and hazardous period of transition is therefore: nation-states must rescue the European Union and the multi-ethnic society!