European Counterpublics? DiEM25, Plan B and the Agonistic European Public Sphere

After the negotiations between the Syriza government and the European Union (EU), the European Left faced the dilemma of which kind of progressive Europe could be developed within the existing EU framework. Two initiatives were launched to foster an alternative Europe after the Greek crisis: ‘A Plan B in Europe’ (Plan B) and the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25). These initiatives emerged to promote a new European project as a rejection of EU austerity policies and lack of democracy. The shaping of alternatives is understood within the framework of the public sphere and Europeanization from below. In this sense, both movements are considered counterpublics that introduce conflict within the European sphere and are capable of elaborating counterdiscourses and develop transnational connections. The article analyses the potentials and constraints of enhancing a transnational and agonistic public sphere from perspectives and experiences which, while sharing the need of internationalization, develop different strategies.