Description
Book SynopsisEurope has talked itself into a refugee and security crisis. There is, however, a misrecognition of the real challenge facing Europe: the challenge of managing the relationship between Europeans and the currently stigmatized 'others' which it has attracted. Making the case against a 'Europe of walls', Robin Wilson instead proposes a refounding of Europe built on the power of diversity and an ethos of hospitality rather than an institutional thicket serving the market.
Providing a robust critique of the moral panic surrounding migrants and security dominating the European public sphere, this book explains why old models for managing cultural diversity in Europe no longer work, and why their obsolescence has led to morbid symptoms. Incorporating discussion of the eurozone crisis and the associated insecurity and the rise of xenophobic populists, Wilson provides an insider account of how the Council of Europe has, over a decade and a half, developed a new paradigm of intercultural integration. He builds theory into this model, drawing on work on cosmopolitanism in the social sciences, also emphasizing the empirical validity of the approach.
With its handling of critical issues currently facing Europe, this book is of interest not only to academics across the social sciences, undergraduate students of politics and sociology and postgraduate students of cultural and European studies, but also to policy-makers and NGO practitioners.
Trade Review'In an extremely well-documented and surgically analytical volume, Robin Wilson charts the fall of Europe as a moral beacon of the free world during the 2015 ''refugee crisis'' and its aftermath. But he also raises hope amidst the gloom. A new paradigm of integration conjoining equality, diversity and inclusion is being embraced by a growing coalition of (mostly local) leaders. Wilson convincingly shows that intercultural integration is a win for both solidarity and prosperity. Is it also the early sign of a new liberal consensus to the assorted economic, environmental and geopolitical crises in the age of human mobility?' --Irena Guidikova, Head of Inclusion and Anti-discrimination Programmes, Council of Europe
Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction: the Barbarian at the gate 2. The old order: how Europe used to manage cultural diversity 3. ‘Morbid symptoms’: the failure of prior social models 4. What went wrong? 5. In search of scapegoats: the crisis of European capitalism and its misrecognition 6. Europe’s moral conscience: the Council of Europe takes the stage 7. The new paradigm: intercultural integration 8. Cosmopolitanism: the class consciousness of frequent flyers? 9. Trying it out: the Intercultural Cities programme 10. Europe facing the world: an ethos of hospitality 11. Conclusions: beyond an unending ‘crisis’ Index
