Introducing Series #1 - 'What is Greater Europe?'

We are proud to introduce the first Series at IGE! From the 16th of January until the 16th of February , we are welcoming submissions from inside and outside the Institute on the topic of
“What is Greater Europe?”. To give you a head start on the topic, our Editor-in-Chief
Martyna published an article on that topic, which you can find here!

We are inviting students and recent graduates to submit an essay of 2000-2500 words on their
interpretations of Greater Europe.

Interested? Find more information below, read the Series brief, or contact the Series
coordinator: !

Deadline for Submissions: February 28th 2023
Publishing of selected articles: 2th - 7th March

Introducing: Series

Series at the Institute for a Greater Europe are the responsibility of the Desk Officers, our most senior writers. They select a theme which falls within their area of expertise (=Bureau), and write an introductory article on the matter, as well as a brief outlining the theme and scope of the series, such as this one. A call for articles is then published with the introductory piece, with the top 3-6 being chosen after the deadline has elapsed. The Institute welcomes contributions, both external and from within the Institute, and will be in contact with the authors to edit their articles in accordance with the Editorial Guidelines. Once the articles are selected, they are published on the Institute website on a biweekly basis, and promoted through our social media. Series do not follow a strict timeline, and instead are intended to provide a flexible avenue for a comprehensive discussion on ongoing topics, whatever they may be. For questions, please contact the Deputy Editor-in-Chief (). 

What is Greater Europe?

For the first series at the Institute, we have chosen the most fundamental question for us: What is Greater Europe? From the first usage of the term ‘Europa’ by the Ancient Greeks until today, what and where Europe is, and who belongs to it, has constantly been in flux. Indeed, the Ancient Greek understanding of Europe was centred around the Mediterranean, including modern-day Northern Africa, and parts of the Middle East, while it excluded virtually everything north of the Alps. In the Middle Ages, Christianity increasingly latched itself onto the concept of Europe, and operationalized it to exclude Muslims from being ‘Europeans’, e.g., by framing the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula as ‘Reconquista’, despite their integral contributions to the idea of Europe. Since the beginning of modernity, the limits of Europe have consistently been discussed in relation to Russia, first as the empires of Catherine and Peter the Great sought to become more European, and later when Russia was on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Despite rapprochement both within and after the Cold War, Putin’s illegal attack on Ukraine makes this question as contemporary as ever. Today, as societies are increasingly distancing themselves from identifying through religious or ethnic distinctions, the question is posed anew: what is Europe, where is Europe, and what should it become? – What, in conclusion, is Greater Europe?