“This is Not America”: States of Emergency in Europe

• Published in: European journal of American studies Vol. 15; no. 4
• Main Author: Kennedy, Liam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London European Association for American Studies 01-01-2020; The European Association for American Studies (EAAS)
• Subjects: Cold War; coronavirus; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Diplomatic & consular services; Emergencies; emergency; Foreign policy; Geopolitics; Pandemics; Politics; protests; race; transatlantic; World War II; United States > US; Europe; Germany; transatlantic; coronavirus; emergency; protests; race
• ISSN: 1991-9336; 1991-9336
• DOI: 10.4000/ejas.16368

The COVID-19 pandemic and the protests in solidarity with those protesting the death of George Floyd in the US constitute a conjunctural crisis in Europe, exposing the hollowness of grand narratives and geopolitical fantasies―not least those of “the West” and “transatlanticism.” In the interregnum of the present, as a new world order takes form, the pandemic and race emergencies not only intensify European rejection of the US, they reveal the frailty of the “European project” and anxiety about the future of Europe. This article examines ways in which these emergencies signal an uncomfortable European disinvestment from the fantasy of America as a liberal and redemptive power.