The European Institute has been committed to advancing the study of Europe since 1991, and is now one of the largest centers for the study of Europe in the world.
The EI continues to conduct world-leading research on Europe through its focus on European politics and policy, economics, culture and society, and migration, while continuing to critically engage with Europe’s global positioning and encouring a non-Eurocentric approach to the study of Europe. Studying Europe as part of a wider, global context leads to a greater understanding of our continent and its position in the world.
Our motto is 'Study Europe. Understand the World.', because the issues we face are not unique to our continent. We are not bound by a Eurocentric approach to our work. On the contrary; through a critical approach to studying Europe, we can better understand the world around us.
Professor Simon Glendinning, Head of the European Institute, commented,
'Over the last five years or so, the European Institute has wanted to affirm the strategic objective to cultivate its research and teaching in a way that would go ‘beyond Eurocentrism’. This expression is intended to play a twin role in our thinking about what we do and who we are: it serves to highlight that we both look beyond Europe in a regional sense and look beyond Eurocentrism in a philosophical-political sense.' ...
'So even where our interest has a strongly European focus, our ambition is to avoid looking at Europe in isolation.' ... 'Our teaching programmes require us to develop a certain degree of coherence, formulated around Europe as a problem. But here too a suitably internationalised focus here is not only methodologically appropriate, it is, in our time, ultimately inescapable.'
Read Professor Simon Glendinning’s blog piece on Beyond Eurocentrism here.