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Today’s European Union resembles a Barbieland: a place prone to regard itself as more perfect than it really is – and harbouring some notable blind spots.
In Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film, the eponymous character leaves the fantastical Barbieland and finds her way to the real world. Much to her consternation, Barbie discovers not all girls are eternally grateful to her for empowering and emancipating them. Worse, many see her as a source of suffering and oppression.
In the past 12 months, many people who consider themselves “pro-European” might have experienced the equivalent of Barbie’s shock. Within Europe, not everyone is in love with the EU – but, worse, many are visibly disillusioned with the European project, some are simply uninterested, while others see themselves as outsiders to the EU community.
This paper considers the experience of three specific groups: non-white and Muslim Europeans; people in central and eastern Europe; and Europe’s youngest citizens. Over the past year, all three groups have ‘under-participated’ in Europe, though for different reasons.
Other sections of European society might have equal claim to such analysis – this paper is inevitably a ‘director’s cut’. Yet what binds these three groups is the challenge they pose to the EU – whose cherished ideals might expect enthusiastic participation and support from Europeans who should be benefitting from the bloc’s free, open, and equal space. But signs exist that not all are happy. The EU risks leaving several blind spots unattended, until such time that sudden events bring these areas of inattention inescapably to the fore....
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