Mardi intime de la Chaire Hoover par Raul Magni Berton (Université catholique de Lille) 

2h45 - 14h, D.041 Bâtiment Dupriez 

This presentation introduces the book entitled “Libérons nos communes. Une défense de la subsidiarité ascendante” (PUF, 2024). At a time when Europe is in crisis, this book proposes the idea that municipalities could be the source of the stability and prosperity we seek. Indeed, while the borders of European states have fluctuated over the centuries, municipalities and large urban centers have remained the same. Based on this observation, this book analyzes how power, autonomy, and dependence on higher territorial entities (up to the nation-state) are articulated within these cities. The authors argue against the excessive centralization that characterizes our political structures in France and within the European Union, advocating instead for the delegation of decision-making to the lowest political level, namely the municipality. This principle has a name: bottom-up subsidiarity. It gives municipalities power comparable to sovereignty, while remaining compatible with a nation-state. Although designed for France and unitary states, this principle would be very appropriate for a (partially) federal state such as Belgium.