Europe’s Position in the World
A journal issue on power, responsibility and transnational futures
Issue 13 – European Alternatives Journal
(March 2026 | English, German)
Europe likes to speak the language of values: democracy, human rights, multilateralism, peace.
Yet its position in the world is marked by contradictions, between its imperial past and its postcolonial present, between solidarity and exclusion, between global responsibility and selective amnesia.
From border regimes to trade agreements, from military alliances to cultural diplomacy, the European Union continues to shape the world while denying the asymmetries of power that make this influence possible. Nationalism resurges inside its borders, while neo-colonial logics are reproduced beyond them. Transnational networks expand, but not always inclusively. The question is no longer whether Europe has a global role, but how that role is exercised, by whom, and at whose expense.
This Issue 13 of the European Alternatives Journal invites a critical and political examination of Europe’s position in the world beyond Eurocentrism. We are interested in perspectives that refuse easy narratives of moral leadership, that interrogate Europe as a geopolitical actor, and that imagine alternative ways of being in relation, across borders, struggles, histories and futures.
Rather than asking how Europe can “lead” globally, we ask what it would mean for Europe to listen, unlearn, repair, and redistribute power.
We ask:
- How do Europe’s imperial legacies continue to shape its political, economic and cultural power today?
- What does European nationalism look like in a globalised, yet deeply unequal world?
- Who is included, and who is excluded, from so-called transnational networks and democratic spaces?
- How do Europe’s border regimes, trade policies and security strategies affect lives beyond its borders?
- What responsibilities does Europe have towards the worlds it has historically exploited?
- How can internationalism be reclaimed beyond elite, institutional or extractive models?
- What would a truly decolonial, transnational and solidaristic Europe look like?
- How can movements help Europe act on its spoken values?
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We invite contributions that are politically engaged, analytically sharp and imaginatively bold. We are particularly interested in work that unsettles dominant narratives and opens up new perspectives on Europe’s global role.
Possible themes include (but are not limited to):
- Europe’s colonial and imperial continuities in contemporary geopolitics
- Nationalism, militarisation and the crisis of European democracy
- Border regimes, migration governance and global mobility inequalities
- Europe’s role in climate injustice and extractive economies
- Internationalism beyond NGOs, institutions and soft power
- Transnational movements, solidarities and frictions
- Knowledge production, Eurocentrism and epistemic violence
- Cultural diplomacy, art and soft power as political tools
- Imagining post-imperial, post-national futures for Europe
- Case studies of inspirational movements towards a truly democratic europe
FORMATS
We are open to a wide range of forms and tones. Contributions can be analytical, narrative, speculative or experimental.
We welcome:
- Analytical essays
- Political essays or think-pieces
- Investigative or journalistic writing
- Personal or collective testimonies
- Fiction, letters, speculative or poetic formats
- Visual storytelling, graphic work or collage
- Availability to join us in an episode of our podcast
- Audio, video or multimedia proposals (for online publication)
- Other creative or hybrid formats
Previously published and unpublished works are both welcome.
Submission Guidelines
To submit a finalised article, please follow the guidelines here.
Final article submission deadline:
1 MARCH 2026
For any questions or to discuss an idea before submitting, contact the editors Noemi and Marta at:
journal@euroalter.com
Final contributions may be translated into English and/or German for publication. We are happy to receive proposals in other languages.
Please note: this is a non-commercial publication and we are unfortunately unable to offer payment for contributions.
About the EA Journal
The EA journal is a space to imagine alternatives beyond the nation-state. It contains think-pieces, articles, artistic and cultural contributions, podcasts, videos and more on a broad range of topics and themes spanning democracy, culture, equality, decolonisation, social movement organising and more. In 2023, we relaunched the European Alternatives journal. First published in 2007, the journal has long been a space to map out visions, ideas and pathways for an alternative, open and radically more democratic Europe.