ABSTRACT
Alan Touraine's 'sociological intervention' is urgently required to fully understand the 'new' form of cultural politics of which social movements are located, not only in terms of the opposing narratives to the European Union project (EUP) but also for their alternative narratives to the political groupings associated with right and far-right ideologies. The form of EU governmentality and the 'culture' of which Eco spoke of which 'cements' European identity is under threat as a new formation of cultural politics and outcomes develop across Europe never to be reversed; their impact will be profound, and the future is uncertain. Perhaps the most telling point of Touraine's work is that the key characteristic of a social movement under his specific-time analysis was that they were opposed to capital and further that 'alienation' underpins the rationale of social movements that seek to throw off the shackles of oppression and the alienated order.
