The Social Contract in the European Union's Context

• Antoni Abat i Ninet ^[1] ; Jule Goikoetxea Mentxaca ^[2]
  1. [1] Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

     Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

     Barcelona, España

     
  2. [2] Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Leioa, España

     
• Localización: European Law Journal, ISSN-e 1468-0386, Vol. 32, Nº. 1, 2026, págs. 106-121
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • This article revisits social contract theory through a dialogue between Jule Goikoetxea Mentxaka and Antoni Abati Ninet, questioning whether classical and contemporary contractarianism can account for structural forms of dom-ination that precede and shape consent. Drawing on feminist, Marxist, decolonial and materialist critiques, it chal-lenges the liberal opposition between rational consent and coercion. Using concepts such as social control, symbolicviolence, social reproduction and the sexual and colonial contracts, the article shows how gendered, racialised andclass-based power relations condition legal and political obligations beyond the autonomous individual. From a juris-prudential and EU constitutional law perspective, it explores whether an explicit EU social contract could confront,rather than reproduce, these dynamics. The article argues that deliberation structured as critique and counter-critique may provide a more inclusive, transparent and democratically legitimate foundation for rethinking politicalassociation in the European Union