On global citizenship education in a new conjuncture

Education that considers global social relations in their multiple forms, often identified under the umbrella term ‘global citizenship education’ (GCE), is experiencing a contradictory moment. While its leading models and practices are being challenged as not befitting the present times, GCE researchers and practitioners are reworking the resources at their disposal to confront the very shifting educational and social terrains that are emerging. GCE research is labouring over the nature and educational consequences of the ongoing qualitative transformation of international relations, global ecosystems and economic relations. This text proposes a conjunctural perspective to think about the structures and events that fashion global social relations. It introduces a Special Issue of Discourse that features pressing reflections on how GCE does, can and should engage with the new conjuncture. We situate the Special Issue within the broader field of GCE research and outline the papers’ theoretical, empirical and practical contributions.