Catalonia and Scotland's successful independence struggles inspired secession movements and decentralized governance. Empowered regions pursued diverse paths, adopting progressive or populist positions. Autonomy demands within regions exposed tensions and inequalities. Weakened state capacity resulted in community groups assuming more responsibility for welfare and public services according to their values.
Regions in Europe have embraced diverse ideas of identity, social value, and well-being, leading to fragmentation. Migration patterns have shifted, with Europeans from disadvantaged regions emigrating to a flourishing Africa sponsored by China. Culture wars and social media hinder trust in reliable information sources. Public distrust in institutions and big businesses, fueled by 5G protests and conspiracy theory proponents, led regions to seek autonomy.
The EU brokers the last talking shop for a patchwork Europe. Spatial justice is a cultural issue: communities’ right to define their own values. Territorial inequalities become more fragmented and pronounced.
Some regions lead the world in environmentalism and sustainability, while others show an almost complete disregard for such concerns. Europe’s communities define sustainability in different ways. This creates more division among sustainability’s champions, as fractious alliances emerge and dissolve when agendas align or diverge.
Varied local energy systems have proliferated that are hard to integrate. The energy network has developed piecemeal, as better-resourced regions sell energy to more challenged places. Some regions’ foreign sponsors provide access to advanced energy generation and distribution technologies. Others “go it alone” using local resources or making deals with other regions.
Europe lacks up-to-date artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnologies. While technology has advanced compared to the 2020s, Europe significantly lags its global peers.
This is the least technologically advanced
scenario. Some regions may have more advanced tech courtesy of their external partners, but Europe is not a place of high technology or leading innovation.
Which future scenario would you wish for our future?
On this website the document "IMAJINE - scenarios with expert responses" has been incorporated. The document can be found here. Further information is available at imajine-project.eu.
