Political Narratives on "Europe"

Abstract

The question of what (not) and who (not) ”Europe“ is, was or should be has been asked for ages, in culture, politics and academia. Countless narratives by Europeans and by “Non-Europeans” have constructed bright as well as dark images of Europe in the past, present and the future: celebrating Europe as the cradle of the Enlightenment and civilization, ridiculing it for its old age and decadence, or condemning it for the immeasurable violence Europeans have inflicted upon their own and upon other peoples. The political organization of Europe in shape of the European Union has lent new impulses to such narratives: Where to demarcate European boundaries and borders? What is the image of Europe in relation to the major powers in the world, is it a Kantian paradise, an effeminate weak power, or a “rising” power? Will Europe be able to hold its ground in a globalizing world? Such narratives typically refer to an imagined collective identity, to (putative) European core values and self-images, whether these are viewed positively or negatively by the narrator. Usually, Europe is contrasted with some kind of “other”. Especially revealing are narratives on threats from an internal and an external perspective: threats to Europe’s physical and ontological security; Europe as a threat to others. The panel invites contributions on narratives about ”Europe“ in the past, present and future from different perspectives, inside or outside. Narratives might be chosen from political, academic or popular cultural sources.

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