Ripensare una controversa unità. Nuove chiavi di lettura dell’Europa postcoloniale da prospettive periferiche

The essay constitutes a reflection on the postcolonial condition of Europe, a reflection that arises from the observation of how the "crisis" of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, the onset of international terrorism, and the ongoing fear throughout the old continent are all phenomena linked to the postcoloniality of Europe both as a whole and within its individual nation-states. The essay elaborates on our editorial work published, along with experts in the field, in the monographic issue of the «Postcolonial Studies Journal» (Postcolonial Europe, 2015) on the postcoloniality of several European countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark). This essay analyzes the theories on the postcolonial born of and developed outside the "mainstream" of postcolonial studies. In examining how peripheral perspectives modify an acquired paradigm and provide new keys to reading the postcolonial as a whole, we have identified some of the key features that contribute to structuring the various postcolonialities at both a national and a European level: colonial history and memory; the dynamics of contemporary transnational migrations; the "otherization" processes implemented through old and new forms of racism; the political and cultural practices of postcolonial subjects; artactivism and grassroot cultural work produced by and in the defense of refugees in Europe. The conclusions emerging from our work clearly indicate that a more reactive and pro-active postcolonial "Europeness" is located, above all, at the geographical and socio-economic periphery of Europe.