Ambivalent borders and hybrid culture: The role of culture and exclusion in historical European discourses of migration

Hiraide, Lydia Ayame

Abstract

This article reflects on historical arguments about migration in conceptualisations of Europe, highlighting an ambivalent support of migration within Europe on the grounds of mutual cultural enrichment. There is a strong tradition, dating back to French and German eighteenth-century thinkers, such as Herder, Voltaire and Fichte, of citing cultural diversity, plurality and exchange to construct an idea of Europe. ‘Europolitanism’, the ideal of Europe as an open space of welcome movement and unprejudiced exchange, conceals, however, exclusionary tendencies: exchange has never been intended for all social groups. Contemporary theorisations of Europe, based ostensibly on cultural exchange, synthesis and plurality, have their roots in Romantic and Enlightenment thought, but then as now there are questions to be asked about participation in pan-European identity formation.

Citation

Hiraide, L. A. (2022). Ambivalent borders and hybrid culture: The role of culture and exclusion in historical European discourses of migration. Journal of European Studies, 52(2), 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472441221090719

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 3, 2023
• Journal: Journal of European Studies
• Print ISSN: 0047-2441
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-2379
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 99-110
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00472441221090719
• Keywords: culture, diversity, European identity, Europolitanism, Fichte, Herder, Voltaire
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00472441221090719