EP017 | About Britain’s/Britons’ contradictory relationship to Europe

In this episode, Michaela talks with Karen about her paper from the early 2000s that identified the contradictory ways in which Britons in Spain related to their new place of residence and the Spanish population. Such contradictions—on the one hand, the decidedly colonialist narratives, and on the other the openness to difference—were mirrored also in the ambivalence of the British and Britain towards Europe. Fast forward to Brexit, and these contradictions, in all their complexity, come once again to the fore.

You can read more about this in Karen’s recent blog Doing the Hokey Cokey or get in touch if you want a copy of the original journal article we discuss in the episode.