Time for Utopian Realism? Basic income and transnational citizenship in Europe

My research project will examine the feasibility of implementing Basic Income (BI) into the European Union (EU) from the theoretical perspective of Utopian Realism (UR), with the aim of achieving a closer and more unified EU community.

This research will examine how citizenship in the EU currently lacks social policy to enable a more cohesive EU community and encourage the integration of individuals into the EU. By implementing an EU BI, European citizenship will be supported through social policy.

Basic income will create stability and economic security, providing individuals with an unconditional, individual, and universal sum of money to break down inequalities in the labour market and education.

Utopian Realism is an ideological theory which combines utopian ideals of freedom and equality with the pragmatic and realistic approaches of realism to create social policy, which address inequality through achievable means.

By using this framework, I will examine how social and economic security is enabled when looking at citizenship in the EU, while working within existing limitations, as well as how UR offers a policy solution to address these challenges.

My project will examine the key costs and benefits of implementing a BI, as well as to what extent BI will benefit citizenship within the EU, especially as a response to the current challenges in the EU such as security threats and the cost-of-living crisis.