No Culture, No Europe: On the Foundations of Politics

Over the past decade, the European Union has fallen into a drawn-out crisis, politically as well as economically. In this book, the authors argue that analyses of this crisis miss an important element: culture. Faith in politics is first and foremost a cultural issue; democracy is a matter of political culture. So, culture as a shared frame of reference and as something that lends meaning to people’s lives is not the superstructure but the very foundation of all societies.
No Culture, No Europe analyses theoretical models and provides straightforward examples that clarify the central proposition of this book: culture is the basic source to give meaning and form to societies. It is the essential, binding fabric of investigating and assessing identity, human activities and political awareness, enabling us to act politically. The European project will never succeed if it does not recognize culture as its main raison d’être.

Editor: Pascal Gielen
Design: Metahaven
Series: Antennae, Arts in Society

Contributors: Rosi Braidotti, Kurt De Boodt, Pascal Gielen, Barend van Heusden, Andreas Kinneging, György Konrád, Thijs Lijster, Isabell Lorey, Jan Masschelein, Anoek Nuyens, Maarten Simons, Naema Tahir

2015, Valiz | supported by Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts, Tilburg, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam, BOZAR, Brussels | paperback | 224 pp. | 21 x 13,5 cm (h x w) | English | ISBN 978-94-92095-03-9