Who even is radical?

What does it mean to be radical? This question reveals a surprising complexity: Radicalism is rarely defined by an actor, but rather by the receiver of a certain message. If, for instance, Extinction Rebellion is blocking the streets, sticking their bare hands to the ground, is this what it is to be radical? Do we all need to lose the skin on our hands to count as radicals?

Whether federalists are perceived as radicals depends on who is watching. So, I suppose everyone can define their threshold of acceptable radicalism, both in terms of activist activities and political positioning; however, many political, economic, and societal disasters are also based on “radical” policies, and people are afraid of “radical” groups. I think of the “radical” right, the “radical” left, the “radical” Islamists, the “radical” environmentalists, and cannot help but wonder whether all these groups see themselves as radical. Is radicalism something that happens in our heads? Is everything “radical” evil per se? These are thoughts that have been haunting me almost since JEF’s Federal Congress in Sofia in the spring. There, we were debating whether our movement is radical – and should be called as such. I was all for it!

Of course, as European federalists, we put “Europe first” in the sense that it is the first word of our name; however, the borders of Europe are diffuse, and why do we make a distinction anyway? What remains in the name is: FEDERALISM. The big F-word. What really is federalism? If I asked this in the streets of Germany, Greece, or Latvia, I would probably get very different answers. If people ask me what federalism is, I always struggle – and feel like I am giving a new definition every time. Maybe federalism is fluid. Maybe that fluidity is needed to adapt to the current hurricane of crises. So what then is federalism? I have learned to understand federalism as a three-pillar system: working on the deeper integration of European institutions, building fair and inclusive societies, and educating everyone about human rights and European values. Is this radical? Is there something such as radical federalism?

The internet tells me: Yes! Of course, many generations of federalists before us have already done the work: “Radical federalism, in the context of political theory, refers to a form of federalism that emphasizes a strong decentralization of power, potentially to the point of significantly weakening the central government. It can involve granting broad autonomy to sub-national units (like states or regions) and limiting the authority of the federal government to a few core functions. This approach can be seen as a way to accommodate diverse political ideologies or cultural identities within a single nation-state.” Thank you, Google AI!

So AI wants to steer me in the direction of institutional reform: Radical federalism today would then mean to radically fight for treaty reform of the EU and urge the admission of more member states to unite under a highly decentralized decision-making structure. What is lacking in that focus is the second and third pillar: Federalism means connecting actual people, sharing experiences with strangers that have very different realities than their own, and making them turn our values into action – Foster solidarity and hope! We should not underestimate the strength of hope. Hope that the war in Gaza ends. Hope that Ukraine will be free and strong. Hope that we expand our freedoms in Europe – and live in mutually-beneficial relations globally. If there is no hope, there is no action. Hope is radical. Hope makes us do things. And doing things is powerful – at least sometimes.

I cannot answer the question whether federalism is radical per se or not at all. For me, hope is radical. I can see why standing at the border with a pool-noodle-turned frontier barrier protesting against the increasing border controls in Europe is not seen as ‘radical’. Some suggest we should block the borders, disturb more. Our message is clear: permanent border controls on the main routes inside the Schengen area, and specifically along the German border, are nonsense and a purely nationalist policy. Do we need to glue our hands to the borders now? Maybe!