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# Constellations and Configurations in European societies post Covid

Gilles Verpraet

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## To cite this version:

Gilles Verpraet. Constellations and Configurations in European societies post Covid. The European Sociologist, 2023. hal-04439405

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Submitted on 7 Feb 2024

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# Configurations and Constellations in European societies post COVID

Gilles Verpraet

## Introduction

How to apprehend the current situation with which relevant categories on the dynamics of phenomena, such as the triple health, social, ecological, geopolitical crisis? Constellation, an image coming from astronomy designates the ideals in perspective where these ideals intersect and overlap without being arranged (Adorno 2005 [1]). Configuration refers to the subjects of co presence and their relations of cooperation or competition. It frames a more familiar approach for a sociologist who can construct a qualified social space or a delimited political space (Bourdieu, 1977). The dynamics of current situations require some new trends of issues: configurations of health risks and uncertainty are linking and binding; new styles of social and symbolic action are linked in the digital economy; geopolitical arrangement of nations come to a new phase of interdependence and deregulation.

The category of configuration, generated inside relational anthropology, sustains the notion of social space and cultural field, under symbolic domination (Bourdieu 1977; Lahire 1998). The configuration is a sociological and conceptual act which achieves its maturity with the work of Norbert Elias. The notion of symbolic field can be questioned as a subtle arrangement of configurations and devices (Lahire 2012).

Configuration is recognized as a relevant relational concept of sociological thought to relate different social objects in an epistemic space versus in a symbolic circle (Cassirer 2009/1947; Elias 2016). Socio-historical approaches configure social relations sustaining a periodization (Menell and Gabriel 2011). The analysis of sociological configurations
would make it possible to assess the displacement of social metaphors and social illusions
(Mannheim 1956; Turner 1974).

According to Elias, the term configuration questions the *substantive concepts*, by which we can apprehend the social constraints which obliges us to think and speak as if the individual and the society were two different figures and moreover antagonist: ‘What is meant by configuration is the ever-changing face of the players; it included not only their intellect, but their whole person, actions and reciprocal relations’ (Elias 2016). This social configuration forms a field of tensions with new cultural elaboration. The interdependence of the players, as a necessary condition for the existence of a specific configuration frames an interdependence as allies, but also as adversaries.

## Configurations proceeding in environmental crisis

An analytical approach distinguishes acceptable risks and major risks by their influence on the populations concerned, and the systemic risks by their interdependent effects on institutions (OECD 2004). The major risks (as epidemic) relate to existential vulnerabilities and dependency vulnerabilities (health vulnerability). The systemic risks (confinement, economic crisis) concern social injustices according to fundamental vulnerabilities and the institutions supporting autonomy.

A synthetic approach combines risks and response configurations at different time periods. The initial configuration combines Health Crisis and Major Risks within negative interdependencies, blockage of economic life with overflooded hospitals. The rate R0 indicates the speed of circulation of the virus and by incidence the occupancy rate of the hospital.

The second configuration combines health crisis and confinement without the vaccine (from March 2019/June 2021). Home protection responds locally to the systemic risk. Economic slowdown set up platforms and the first line migrants were affected. The third configuration is supported by vaccines and containment. Protected persons density from June 2021 to now frame another functioning of economic life. Configuration 4, profiting from vaccine distribution and no confinement, supposes normal life with some traces of the suffering for the most vulnerable populations. The situation moves from health vulnerability to specific vulnerabilities such as the deepening of young vulnerabilities (job contract, housing, study). Each configuration deploys its own set of worries and values concerns. Each configuration can be enriched by reflexivity on value arrangements, by an axiology describing constellations.

## Configuration of risks and sustainability

This approach could enlighten the sustainability issues of cultural life facing vulnerability (Morin). Likewise, how can new codes be enlarged between existential sustainability, health
sustainability, environmental sustainability. Can we consider the configuration of sustainability as a purposive response to the configuration of vulnerabilities (Beck)? Which dialogic can be enhanced between singular vulnerability (body and self, personal suffering) and universal vulnerabilities (systemic risk, mandatory confinement)? Different socio-cultural processes can be envisioned between these categories of vulnerabilities, such as biographical and environmental trajectories. Further, which modes of social power could be sustained after the Covid crisis between material bases (health logistic) and cultural reception (depression, impulsivity).

## New styles of local / global action

New styles of action are emerging in the global/local society, in the digital society. Each action and project collective could connect with another collective, on supportive networks. So are proceeding the learning networks in the field of cultural life, civic life, environmental issues. It is possible to consider a new style of local action combined with global issues and global connections (Tejerina et al. 2019). It is possible to formalise the dense relationships between collective networks and capacity, between network actors and social framework. Nevertheless, the health crisis has retracted these emerging connection actions and refracted them.

How to recognize and to organise the different current solidarities, health solidarities and environmental solidarities, wage solidarity and migrant solidarity? A first solution for a pragmatic empirical methodology intends to differentiate and to cross-cut the criteria of community between social networks, between diasporic communities and national community. It is possible to analyse the intersections between the criteria of justice between different political communities (as divergence and convergence in Walzer) before determining the conditions of convergence and solidarity (Latour and Boltanski). This proceeding supposes a democratic iteration between different political communities. But these criteria of community and intersection between communities must adjust and reformulate with the risk configurations at each period. The social fabric under stress draws a picture of emergent societal processes, resistance and subtle arrangement of communities and solidarities.

This methodology examines successively the transnational solidarities as a community of issues (Arendt), as politicisation on common issues and common problems (Tassin, Beck); as interconnection of issues. Our research insists on the difference between transnational space and public space, between the transnational social space and the cultural circulation inside cosmopolitanism. Reporter without frontiers (R.S.F.) is an international association promoting the rights and the defence of journalists, specifically war reporters jailed or killed, in authoritarian situations. It develops two main levels of action. The public campaigning publicises the reporter's situation as jailed or killed, with a table record by countries. The policy campaigning develops a pressure on specific governments upon the dangerous situation, on the legal and purposive protection of journalists. These two levels
of actions are mobilising all the dimensions of the public space such as public opinions, as government policy, as international campaigning.

Transnational solidarities designate the voluntary actions of active groups related to these communities of issues with some hypothesis on the continuity of civil rights. Their developments require new connections between peoples and countries, new assemblages between communities, between professional community, political community and the claims of justice.

The Global/local actions can be envisioned as a combination of coupling and decoupling between local and global actions, where the criteria of opportunities and the criteria of disruption can be framed by the matrix of identity and control (Whyte 2003). It is possible to envision in which conditions internet developments sustain a community of issues and are stabilising the connection between local communities by extensive interdependencies. But they have to specify the intersection of solidarity inside the mediatized governance (Hajer, 2009). The federation of issues has to consider the resistance of micro worlds, how contingency could fix some points of reluctance and new combinations with fractalization of issues.

Multiple sociologies, more or less balanced, are deployed on these fractalizations and these multiple solidarities: sociology of humanitarian connections and their supports, sociology of multiple solidarities and their configurations of actors, sociology of risk configurations.

## References

Constantinopoulou, C. (2022) *National Identity and Media, National Consciousnesses in Contemporary Societies*, Athens/ Pyraeus, Department of International and European studies, Noemia, University of Piraeus

Elias, N. (2016) *The Social Dynamics of Consciousness, Sociology of Knowledge and Science*, Paris, La Découverte.

Menell Stephen and Gabriel Norman (2011) *Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology*, London Wiley-Blackwell

OECD (2004) *Emerging Risks in the Twenty-First Century, Towards an Emerging Agenda*, Paris, OECD.

Tejerina, B., Mirande de Almeida, C. and Perrugiana, I. (2019) *Sharing Society, The Impact of Collaborative Collective Action in the Transformation on Contemporary Society*, Bilbao; University of Basque Country.
Author

Gilles Verpraet

Sophiapol - unité de recherche en sociologie, philosophie et anthropologie politiques, University Paris Nanterre

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