The crises currently facing Europe have brought what one commentator has described as a growing ‘renationalisation’ of the continent. The primacy of state sovereignty and borders is increasingly being reasserted at the expense of European integration, while politicians employ identity-political approaches that frame ethnic and cultural diversity as a question of security rather than something to be accommodated democratically within European societies. In this regard, a generalised rise in xenophobia towards refugees and migrants has been accompanied by revived tensions and conflicts drawing on longer-standing ethno-political cleavages in the Eastern part of Europe, both within and beyond the borders of the enlarged European Union. These developments call into question the sustainability of national integration projects in many European states, as well as the effectiveness of the minority rights regime (devised and upheld by international organisations such as the EU, Council of Europe and OSCE) that was intended to provide a basis for the peace, stability and continued democratisation of Europe following the end of the Cold War. Combining theoretical reflections and case studies, this panel will address long-standing questions that remain central to Europe’s future: what is the relationship between ethnic diversity, social cohesion, security and democracy? How can competing principles of national self-determination and territorial integrity of states be reconciled within a continued process of European integration?