Chris Rumford

Didem Buhari-Gulmez

European Multiplicity does not conform to the expectations of a narrow EU studies agenda wherein European integration is seen as the destiny for the continent, each country (including non-members) being compelled to seek a place in an unfolding order “united in diversity”. Rather, the book demonstrates the benefits of an agenda shift, away from an overriding concern with integration towards a consideration of the possibility that a singular ‘Europe’ may not exist and that the multiplicity of Europe is all around us. As the chapters in this volume highlight, multiplicity reveals itself across the range of EU studies as a key dimension in Europe’s transformation. Multiplicity is evident both in cases where official EU policy exists (labour migration, citizenship, regional policy) and in areas which are central to European life more generally (multiculturalism, multilingualism, the public sphere, Euroscepticism). The idea of “European multiplicity” also challenges the established notion that plurality can be accounted for in terms of identity politics. Moreover, it confronts the tendency to see Europe in terms of binaries, such as East/West, old/new, North/South, core/periphery, Christian/Muslim, EU members/non-members, and top-down/bottom-up. A core feature of this book is the establishment of the viability of an approach to studying Europe which does not rely on the binaries upon which thinking about identity is all-too-often based. “Many Europes” is one of the growing issues in EU scholarship, no longer confined to the margins of European Studies. The book makes a compelling case for the idea that Europe is best understood in terms of its inherent multiplicity.

European Multiplicity

Barrie Axford

Seckin Baris Gulmez

Over the last decade, anti-government demonstrations worldwide have brought together individuals and groups that were often assumed unlikely to unite for a common cause due to differences in ideological tendencies. They have particularly highlighted the role of youth, women, social media, and football clubs in establishing unusual alliances between far left and far right groups and/or secular and religious segments of the society. In this wide-ranging volume, the contributors question to what extent political ideologies have lost their explanatory power in contemporary politics and society. This book aims to contribute to the ongoing debates about the relationship between ideology and public protests by introducing the global context that allows the comparison of societies in different parts of the world in order to reveal the general patterns underlying the global era. Tackling a highly topical issue, this book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of international relations, social movements and globalization.

Didem Buhari-Gulmez

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