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Abstract

The European Union is often thought of as an expression of “cosmopolitanism” and therefore as the opposite of nationalism. However, the EU represents a specific region with its own geography and history, rather than the entire world. Therefore, it may be more helpful to view the EU as an expression of regionalism – similar to nationalism but on a larger, continental scale. This lecture will explore theories of cosmopolitan Europe and the alternative concept of European regionalism. It will examine whether theories and arguments about nationalism can be applied to European regionalism. The lecture will discuss the distinction between ethnic/cultural and civic elements of nationalism and the idea of a nation as an "imagined community." Finally, it will explore the implications of the idea of European regionalism to current developments in Europe – particularly the idea of an “ethnoregionalism” analogous to ethnonationalism.

Suggested readings

Scholten, Peter. (2020). Mainstreaming versus alienation: Conceptualising the role of complexity in migration and diversity policymaking. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(1), 108-126. 

Bio

Peter Scholten is Professor at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He is director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus research Centre on the Governance of Migration and

Diversity, editor in chief of the journal Comparative Migration Studies, and head of the department of Policy, Politics and Society. Peter is also appointed professor at Leiden University and visiting professor at Malmo University for 2024. Peter’s work focuses primary on policymaking in the migration society, comparative public policy, complexity governance and on the relation between science and politics in the fields of migration and migration-related diversity.