Town Twinning, Transnational Connections, and Trans-local Citizenship Practices in Europe
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: Mar 30, 2015
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 249
ISBN-13: 9781137021229
Description: In 2010 the Council of European Regions and Municipalities established the number of European town twinning relationships as 39,816. The European Commission has defined town twinning as one of the main pillars on which a 'Europe for Citizens' can be achieved and European identity be fostered. Yet what does twinning entail for those engaged in it on a local level? How does transnationalism enter local settings? Andreas Langenohl argues that the transnationalism of town twinning in Europe rests on practices of localization assembled around an ethics of exchange, encompassing codes of hospitality, notions of friendship, and reciprocity in giving and receiving. Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with twinning practitioners, the book argues that the kind of European integration achieved through town twinning resembles a model of European integration that establishes 'exchange' and 'market' as a generalized model of cooperation.
Notes: Source title: Town Twinning, Transnational Connections, and Trans-local Citizenship Practices in Europe (Europe in a Global Context)