The European Union's supporters claim it is a unique expression of cosmopolitanism and rejection of racism--after all, the 'European project' was meant to overcome virulent nationalism. Advocates equate the far right with Euroscepticism, even as far-right ideas increasingly influence the EU itself. Yet the 'idea of Europe' has a long, problematic history--in the medieval era, it was synonymous with Christianity; more recently, it accompanied the emergence of 'whiteness' in the context of European colonialism.
Hans Kundnani offers an alternative reading of the EU as a vehicle for imperial amnesia. He reveals European integration's origins as a colonial project, a fact conveniently overlooked in favour of the internal lessons of European history (the Holocaust and Cold War), rather than external lessons around empire. In reality, Kundnani argues, the EU is more about power than peace, eliding civic ideas of Europe with an ethnic and cultural identity.
After the Cold War, the EU's eastern borders softened, but its southern ones hardened. Since the 2015 refugee crisis, notions of whiteness have become more central to European identity--a troubling new turn in Europe's long civilisational project. It is time to confront the relationship between ideas of Europe and ideas of race.
Industry Reviews
'Hans Kundnani has been on an intellectual journey over several years, close to the heart of the European mythmaking machine... What has emerged from this slow disenchantment is a clear, elegantly written polemic. Some people won't like it, which is probably why they should read it. ... Kundnani's book is more than an insightful one, it is a necessary one.' -- Financial Times
'[A] short and punchy book [that] exposes the often hidden and frequently denied foundations of European integration.' -- The Irish Times
'[Eurowhiteness] decries the continent's subtler form of chauvinism. ... By highlighting the way colonial horrors were memory-holed, Mr Kundnani rightly points out that other sins were mostly ignored.' -- The Economist
'A timely intervention.' -- TLS
'[A] well-researched, interesting little book.' -- The New Statesman
'Kundnani is right that some Europeans... cling to the misguided idealist belief that the EU should be hailed as a "universal model" that can eradicate genocide, war, colonialism, human rights abuse, and other global problems. This book remains a useful counterpoint to such complacency by showing how the world's most peaceful, egalitarian, green, and increasingly diverse continent is still far from utopia.' -- Foreign Affairs
'Kundnani deftly bursts the bubble of those who idealize the EU as a cosmopolitan project.' -- Jacobin
'Fresh and exciting perspectives like Kundnani's are hard to come by.' -- Engelsberg Ideas
'The most intriguing section of Eurowhiteness is Kundnani's discussion of Brexit.' -- Areo Magazine
'Many of [Kundnani's] points... [are] instructive, useful and true.' -- Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
'Kundnani finds a way to provide not only a succinct overview of the existing literature on nationalism, but he also describes... the on-going debates in the European identity scholarship. He takes the necessary leap from there and dives right into the emerging scholarship on post-colonial theories and decolonizing approaches, giving ample credit to those who have paved the way for him.' -- EuropeNow
'[A] stimulating new book ... [an] illuminating discussion of (Western) Europe and imperialism. ... Kundnani articulates justified criticisms of West European parochialism.' -- CEU Review of Books
'A trenchant analysis of the European project.' -- Australian Review of Books
'[Eurowhiteness] offers an intellectually stimulating and policy-relevant departing point to any discussion about the future of Europe.' -- Informed Comment
'Deeply honest and kind.' -- International Affairs
'Kundnani's widely debated book has already become a springboard for a discussion about today's EU and for rethinking our ways of writing the history of the process that created it.' -- Klaus Kiran Patel, H-Soz-Kult, Historisches Seminar, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen
'A fascinating book challenging the myths surrounding the EU. For some, this will be uncomfortable reading.' -- Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe
'Kundnani shows that ideas of race are central to European thinking about politics. In the shadow of Ukraine, it's important for us to face this truth.' -- Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of 'The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity'
'A bracing challenge to the myths underlying the "European Project", and to the hollowness of contemporary cosmopolitanism.' -- Kenan Malik, author of 'Not So Black and White'
'Kundnani asks some hard and important questions about the EU's history, and his answers illuminate a great deal about European self-understanding.' -- Helen Thompson, co-host of Talking Politics
'Elegantly logical -- and sure to challenge many readers' assumptions.' -- Brendan Simms, author of 'Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy' and 'Britain's Europe'
'A game changer - the first book seriously to explore the racial and ethnic motivations internal to the process of European integration and the formation of the EU.' -- Simon Glendinning, Head of the European Institute and Professor in European Philosophy, London School of Economics
