The first issue of this Journal was published in Spring 1994. Thirty years later, we have found it both interesting and instructive to reflect on what was discussed in the inaugural editorial, contemplating what has changed and what has remained the same with regard to the preoccupations of women's/gender/feminist studies in the landscapes we call 'Europe'.As the authors of that first editorial explained, the main catalyst for launching this Journal was the 1989 fall of the Berlin wall, which many viewed as the beginning of a new era of (potential) unity and peace in Europe. The Journal's initiators considered that 'the ideological transformation of Europe [. . .] may offer feminism increased scope for social intervention' (Editorial, 1994: 6). What is uncanny is that the same sentiment, those same words, could be applied to the present moment. There have been many changes to political landscapes across Europe since the Journal was launched, with the last decade ushering in perhaps the most consequential 'ideological transformation'. Over the last few years, more and more countries across Europe have seen the rise of far rightwing, populist political parties winning ever greater percentages of electoral votes. Far right, populist politicians have taken centre stage in formal politics at the highest levels of political power in countries including Hungary, Italy, Sweden and -most recently -the Netherlands.Our predecessors suggested that the post-1989 political transformations offered 'a considerable space for the construction of a feminist agenda which addresses issues about the nature of the "new" Europe' (Editorial, 1994: 7). In contrast, the ideological shifts of the present moment are accompanied by a well-organised and well-resourced global anti-gender, anti-feminist, anti-LGBTIQ+, anti-rights movement. Focusing their analysis on the situation in Poland, but with an eye on the rest of Europe and beyond, Graff and Korolczuk (2022) have argued that 'people committed to gender equality, pluralism and democracy have begun to share a sense of danger, perhaps even doom' (p.
2).It is striking, therefore, to sense the excitement of the writers of that first editorial three decades ago, as they expressed their hope that the Journal would be a forum for exchanging ideas and information that would 'make possible the construction of a political agenda which will bring about the establishment, in the public world, of a politics by and for women' (Editorial, 1994: 7). From the very beginning, the Journal was to exclusively publish articles that centre Europe, both as a geographical location and as a political landscape with shifting 'boundaries and certainties'. At the Journal's 10-year anniversary Conference, aptly titled 'Passing on Feminism' and addressing concerns 1260595E JW0010.
