ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the complexities and contradictions in contemporary definitions and understandings of culture, specifically European culture(s) and the heritage(s) that it involves. ‘European culture’ has been defined through different values and from a variety of perspectives by international and regional interstate organisations whose scope of competence cover issues of culture, education, democracy, and cooperation, and it has been distinguished from Western culture. The chapter further discusses the main cultural cleavages in Europe and the dominant cultural narratives that have emerged in recent decades.
