Abstract

Europe might appear like a continent pulling itself apart. Ten years of economic and political crises have pitted North versus South, East versus West, citizens versus institutions. And yet, these years have also shown a hidden vitality of Europeans acting across borders, with civil society and social movements showing that alternatives to the status quo already exist.
This book is at once a narrative of the experience of activism and a manifesto for change. Through analysing the ways in which neoliberalism, nationalism and borders intertwine, Marsili and Milanese – co-founders of European Alternatives – argue that we are in the middle of a great global transformation, by which we have all become citizens of nowhere. Ultimately, they argue that only by organising in a new transnational political party will the citizens of nowhere be able to struggle effectively for the utopian agency to transform the world.

Lorenzo Marsili is the cofounder of the transnational NGO European Alternatives and, with Yanis Varoufakis, was one of the initiators of the pan-European movement DiEM25. He has written for publications including El Diario and Il Fatto Quotidiano, and has appeared as a commentator on the BBC and Al Jazeera. He is also a founding editor of the independent quarterly journal Naked Punch Review.

Niccolo Milanese is a poet and a philosopher. He has been involved in the founding of numerous political and cultural organisations, magazines and initiatives on several sides of the Mediterranean, and in campaigning for a more influential and radical civil society voice within the EU institutions.

'This is a book for our time. An illuminating, coherent and gripping story of what we are living through, with a hopeful ending.'
Mary Kaldor, founding member of European Nuclear Disarmament and the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly

‘To regain control over our countries, we must organize across their borders. Instructed by the experience of European Alternatives, this book shows us how. To read it is to rediscover hope.’
Philippe Van Parijs, co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network

‘Sharp, short and unshackled, Marsili and Milanese show that if the EU is ever to become a genuine democracy, it will be because ordinary citizens have understood that we need a refresher course in the practice of liberté, egalité, and fraternité, and are coming together everywhere to ensure it.’
Susan George, author of Shadow Sovereigns and Whose Crisis, Whose Future?

‘Milanese and Marsili have their finger on the pulse of Europe, and this engaging book comes at a crucial moment in time, as Europe prepares for Brexit. A must-read for all those who dream of a different, democratic and social Europe.’
Ulrike Guerot, Founder and Director of the European Democracy Lab

‘A captivating engagement with our diverse European histories. A must read for those seeking to grasp some of the multiple strands that constitute our present condition.’
Saskia Sassen, author of Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy

‘This stunning book deftly overturns the idea that unless we have nation-state citizenship, we are citizens of nowhere. The result is an eloquent, passionate, and brilliant plea that asks for a practical and creative response to our predicament.’
Engin Isin, author of Citizens without Frontiers

'Convincing … Marsili and Milanese – both of them philosophers, one a poet – have put their creative impulses to work. We should follow their example.'
The Spokesman