Workshop “Europe in the world” in Fulda

The role and position of Europe in the world have been subject of intense debates in IR and beyond in the last decades. Different strands of argumentation touch on ideational, hierarchical, and material issues.

On the ideational side, criticism of Eurocentrism addresses, on the one hand, a set of ideas, theories and practicing of a rationalist modern ideal of governing, relating to expertise and bureaucracy, and the consequences it had for the destruction of the planet. On the other hand, the Eurocentrism critique questions Europe´s colonial legacy. However, European modernity has a Janus-faced character, as it also stands for the development of representative democracy and human rights.

Regarding the hierarchical and material questions, Europe´s economic prosperity, the question of centre versus periphery in the world economy, and again the question of the planet´s future are at stake:

How does Europe, how does the European Union situate themselves in the Anthropocene?

In addition, the role of Europe and the European Union in the world are now challenged with the War against Ukraine, the question being how the European States and the EU can position themselves in a changing world order. Importantly, Europe in all this is not identical with the European Union.

The workshop unites contributions that tackle one or several of these questions and challenges, theoretically and/or empirically.