Historically, competition between states has promoted a degree of development in terms of technical progress. It has also been the source of intense antagonism, which in the 20th century plunged Europe into the chaos of the World Wars. The European Union was therefore built more on a desire for peace than on a sense of community.
Now more than ever, this promise of peace represents a foundation of the European framework. However, is this promise the only future narrative we can offer to the citizens of Europe? What is our dream for Europe? Must we abandon the ideal of European unity in order to imagine other possibilities? What do we desire for the future of this Europe? What shared imagination do Europeans want to work towards so as to envisage a desirable future? Meanwhile, on an international scale, major and competing transnational narratives are now at play: between the “American dream” and “Chinese miracle”, how can Europe develop its own great narrative, one true to its values?
« Daniel Kaplan fait comme beaucoup le constat que nous sommes collectivement démunis face à la nature et à l’ampleur des transitions à venir, notamment celles que les transformations écologiques et les défis écologiques nous promettent. Pour trouver des solutions, il nous faudrait avant tout faire appel à l’imagination, à notre capacité à inventer des histoires, comme nous l’avons toujours fait pour appréhender le réel et nous projeter dans l’avenir.
A petits pas vers le futur / Imaginizing the Future 