Contested identities in Europe: Historical insights into the construction of citizenship education from the bottom up

Citizens need to be educated. However, both understandings of citizenship and the education required to disseminate them are inherently contested. After presenting an analytical framework that allows for a conceptually grounded analysis of such contestation, this introduction draws on the papers included in the special issue to identify three axes that have structured the debate around citizenship education in modern Europe: the roles of the state, of place, and of conflict versus consensus. In conclusion, we present the papers included in this special issue and consider their value in both showcasing the diversity of understandings of citizenship in contemporary Europe, as well as the issues that this diversity raises for education research.