Jan-Henrik Meyer The European Public Sphere

Transcription

1 Jan-Henrik Meyer The European Public Sphere

2 Studien zur Geschichte der Europäischen Integration (SGEI) Études sur l Histoire de l Intégration Européenne (EHIE) Studies on the History of European Integration (SHEI) Nr. 10 Herausgegeben von / Edited by / Dirigé par Jürgen Elvert In Verbindung mit / In cooperation with / En coopération avec Charles Barthel / Jan-Willem Brouwer / Eric Bussière / Antonio Costa Pinto / Desmond Dinan / Michel Dumoulin / Michael Gehler / Brian Girvin / Wolf D. Gruner / Wolfram Kaiser / Laura Kolbe / Johnny Laursen / Wilfried Loth / Piers Ludlow / Maria Grazia Melchionni / Enrique Moradiellos Garcia / Sylvain Schirmann / Antonio Varsori / Tatiana Zonova

3 Jan-Henrik Meyer The European Public Sphere Media and Transnational Communication in European Integration Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart 2010

4 Der Druck dieser Dissertation wurde im Rahmen der Bund-Länder Exzellenzinitiative durch die Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences gefördert. Zugleich: Dissertation der Freien Universtität Berlin, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über < abrufbar. ISBN Jede Verwertung des Werkes außerhalb der Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist unzulässig und strafbar. Dies gilt insbesondere für Übersetzung, Nachdruck, Mikroverfilmung oder vergleichbare Verfahren sowie für die Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. Redaktion: Sebastian Funk, Köln Druck: Laupp & Göbel GmbH, Nehren Printed in Germany

5 Contents List of tables and figures Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction An historical inquiry into the European public sphere What is the European public sphere? Democratic quality European scope What do we empirically know about the European public sphere to date? European polity as a point of reference Synchronicity Mediators transnational involvement Transnational communication European self-understanding Cases in time and space Time Space Sources Organisation of my study An historical analysis of the European public sphere theoretical considerations and methodological challenges Theories of the European public sphere The notion of the public sphere ( Öffentlichkeit ) Levels of the public sphere: encounters, assemblies, media The discursive and the liberal model of the public sphere Functions of the public sphere Implications for empirical research What is a European public sphere? Does the European public sphere require a common language and common media? Does the European public sphere require a European identity? Defining the European scope: what makes the public sphere European? Terminology: European public sphere(s), Europeanisation, Transnationalisation Historians conceptualising of the European public sphere Lingering structural traditions of European public communication A rhetorically invoked court of appeal The utopian traditions of the concept of Europe and the battle about meaning... 74

6 6 Contents Conceptualising a historical approach to the European public sphere Methods of European public sphere research Historical comparison and the analysis of transfers Historical comparison The analysis of transfers Content analysis and the analysis of discourses Content analysis Discourse analysis Operationalisation European polity as a point of reference Synchronicity Mediators transnational involvement Transnational communication The construction of European self-understanding The European public sphere in context European integration Periodisations of European integration ( ) A systematic periodisation of European integration The horizontal dimension of integration The sectoral dimension of integration The vertical dimension of integration Conclusions: a systematic periodisation of European integration European summits and the European Council Origins and functions Preparation, participation and procedure The summits of The Hague, Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg and Maastricht The summit of The Hague The summit of Paris The Brussels European Council of The Luxembourg European Council The Maastricht European Council of The Meaning of Europe. Perceptions of European integration British perceptions of European integration German perceptions of European integration French perceptions of European integration Comparative summary Media structures and the production of European news Quality newspapers in Britain, Germany and France compared Quality newspapers in the British, German and French newspaper markets The traditions, the ownership and the politics of the individual newspapers Reporting European integration and European summits The Brussels newsbeat reporting on European integration

7 Contents 7 Commenting on European integration Reporting and commenting on the summits the development of European public communication: comparing the coverage of European summits European polity as a point of reference The uneven growth of EC coverage The similarity of EC coverage The convergence of EC coverage Growing transparency about European affairs? Synchronicity: The same issues at the same time at the same level of relevance Europe as the most relevant issue: front page headlines and editorials The fall and rise of the relevance of EC issues Similar relevance of EC issues Convergence over time Synchronicity of issues in European public discourse Commonality of issues: the same policies discussed at the same time Similarity of relevance: the same issues discussed similarly frequently Bilateral similarity: the same issues discussed at the same time at the same level of relevance Summary The mediators of European public communication: structural preconditions for transnational communication and societal participation The mediators of European public communication: an overview European correspondents, foreign correspondents and commentators EC correspondents: continuity and share of EC reporting and commentary Foreign correspondents: geographical scope, continuity and share of EC news and commentary Commentators: continuity and share of EC commentary External authors and interviewees Transnational communication Professions Representation Experience and attitudes Conclusions Transnational communication Horizontal references to the EC member states Vertical references to the European institutions Societal references Conclusions European self-understanding: the construction of a transnational sense of community?

8 8 Contents The Summit of The Hague Europe as a vision Interest: a community of interest Trust: suspicions but commitment to solidarity Identification: the heyday of progressive Europeanism Summary: a European sense of community shaped by idealism The Summit of Paris Europe as an instrument in the face of the oil crisis Interest: the need for cooperation Trust: the limits of trust and solidarity Identification: Europe vs. the US? Britain in Europe? Summary: separate debates, but community of interest The European Council of Brussels Europe as an instrument: money Interest: economic ideas and the calculation of interest Trust: the limits of trust and (monetary) solidarity Identification: European unity or confederation? Summary: political and national cleavages The European Council of Luxembourg Europe as an instrument: the market Interest: an economic community Trust: scepticism vis-à-vis governments and solidarity via the market Identification: a vision revitalised? Summary: permissive consensus? The European Council of Maastricht Europe: the threat of the super-state Interest: politicised conflict of interests Trust: cultural clichés and solidarity beyond the EC Identification: national self-assertion in the face of the super-state Summary: the politicisation of Europe Conclusions Summary of the results Conclusions: Tracing the European public sphere Changes in European public communication European polity as a point of reference Synchronicity Mediators transnational involvement Transnational communication European self-understanding: a European sense of community? Europe s second generation? European public communication at the summits between 1969 and Explanations: the impact of context Conclusions: What do these results imply for the debate about the European public sphere and democracy?

9 Contents 9 Sources Newspaper commentary (analysed in chapter 4.5.) News articles on the summits quoted (in chapter 4.3.) Further Newspaper Sources Interviews Audiovisual Sources Official Documents References Annex Deutschsprachige Zusammenfassung Résumé en français