Governing Europe’s spaces

The book constructs a case for re-imagining Europe – not as an entity in Brussels or a series of fixed relations – but as a simultaneously real and imagined space of action which exists to the extent that Europeans and others act in and on it.

The book constructs a case for re-imagining Europe – not as an entity in Brussels or a series of fixed relations – but as a simultaneously real and imagined space of action which exists to the extent that Europeans and others act in and on it.

What do we imagine when we imagine Europe and the European Union? To what extent is our understanding of the EU – of its development, its policies and its working processes – shaped by unacknowledged assumptions about what Europe really is?The book constructs a case for re-imagining Europe – not as an entity in Brussels or a series of fixed relations - but as a simultaneously real and imagined space of action which exists to the extent that Europeans and others act in and on it. This Europe is constantly being made in particular spaces, through specific actor struggles, whose interconnections are often ill-defined. We ask how do those concerned with building Europe, with extending and elaborating the EU, think of where they are and what they are doing?The book captures Europeans in the process of making Europe: of performing, interpreting, modelling, referencing, consulting, measuring and de-politicising Europe.

Introduction – Caitríona Carter, Richard Freeman and Martin LawnPart I: Spaces revisited1. Performing Europe: backstage versus frontstage politics in the European Parliament – Ruth Wodak2. Interpreting Europe: mainstreaming gender in DG Research, European Commission – Rosalind CavaghanPart II: Spaces reconciled3. Modelling Europe: the political properties of impact assessment – Diego de la Hoz4. Referencing Europe: usages of Europe in national identity projects – Jenny Ozga and Farah ShaikPart III: Spaces revealed5. Consulting to Europe: knowledge agents and the building of Europe – Bruce Ross6. Measuring Europe: making sense of Europe through data and statistics – Sotiria Grek and Martin Lawn7. De-politicizing Europe: collective private action and sustainable Europe – Caitríona CarterIndex