^aDepartment of Political Science, University of Denver, 2000 Asbury Avenue #466, Denver CO 80208, USA

Correspondence: Lisa Conant, E-mail: conant@du.edu

Abstract

European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights rulings create a form of transnational social citizenship. European judicial activism appears reminiscent of US politics, but is rooted in distinctively European commitments to solidarity. Yet because rights rely on domestic programmes, social citizenship remains vulnerable to retrenchment. This article argues that reforms threaten to transform European social citizenship into a civil citizenship that moves Europe closer to the minimalist US model of social protection.