Anti-Nationalist Europeans and Pro-European Nativists on the Streets: Visions of Europe from the Left to the Far Right.

For many contemporary social movement activists in Europe, opposition to a ‘nationalist’ turn has become a key motivation for activism. Paradoxically, however, many of their opponents at the other side of the political spectrum, far-right movements, also positively identify as European. This article sheds light on one of the key developments in recent social movement activism in Europe, the dominance of European identities, even when activists strongly criticize real-existing European integration. In doing so, the article studies how movement players after the end of the anti-austerity wave identify as European. We analyse six most different cases from the left to the far right: DiEM25, Stop TTIP, the anti-Brexit movement, the Sardines in Italy (and its spin-off the Herrings), PEGIDA, and the Identitarians. After tracing down the Europeanism of these anti-nationalist Europeans and pro-European nativists, we emphasize the strong similarities between left and far-right social movements concerning their motivation to ‘defend’ Europe, point to the deep historical roots of their pro-European stances, highlight that inclusionary and exclusionary visions of Europe crucially distinguish left-wing and far-right movements, show how pro-Europeanism facilitates coalition-building on both sides, and reflected the meaning of silence, e.g. the absence of explicit campaigns for leaving the EU. Our findings provide an important contribution to the debate on the Europeanization from below. Methodologically, the article draws on online and offline publications, semi-structured interviews, and survey data.