Cohesion, solidarity, fairness and reciprocity

This chapter clarifies the key concepts employed throughout the book, which are cohesion, solidarity, fairness and reciprocity. It begins with a discussion of the European Union (EU) as a multilevel polity in the wake of recent crises and outlines how the key concepts can be applied to the EU context. Drawing on academic literature, the chapter then unpacks multiple meanings, understandings and usages of each concept individually. It furthermore elaborates on the multifaceted interlinkages between solidarity, fairness, reciprocity and, consequently, cohesion. The conceptual exploration in this chapter forms the basis from which the categories were deducted for the comparative analysis of the focus group discussions presented in this book.