ABSTRACT
Is the notion of Cosmopolitan Europe an oxymoron? How can we think of a borderless world when, despite its supranational status, Europe still clings to its fortified external borders and is undergoing a revamping of internal national identities? Both terms included in the proposed oxymoron are highly contested. Europe – whether we want to define it as a geographical space, a cultural identity or a political entity – is still subject to many ambivalences, disagreements and disputes. “Where does Europe begin and where does it end?” asks Stuart Hall (2003: 36); “Is Europe a dead political project?” questions Étienne Balibar provocatively (2010) or is Europe “an unfinished adventure”, as Bauman (2004) puts it more utopically?
