European Solidarity: An Analysis of Debates on Redistributive Policies in France and Germany (Contributions to Political Science)

This book addresses the central question of European solidarity in the face of a multitude of crises in Europe and focuses on its discursive manifestation in public debates. It is the first to systematically examine national debates on redistributive policies in the EU and the role of European solidarity within them by analysing French and German parliamentary debates on redistributive EU policies during the euro crisis and the migration crisis. By doing so, the book addresses the question of how relevant the idea of European solidarity is when redistributive policies in the EU are discussed at the national level and examines the conditions under which it is ascribed more or less relevance. Moreover, the book reveals that what European solidarity actually means in practice is often highly contested. Preface and Acknowledgements Contents About the Author Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction: On the Relevance of European Solidarity 1.1 The Rise of Redistributive Policies and Its Linkage to European Solidarity 1.2 Existing Research and Its Limitations 1.3 Theoretical Focus and Analytical Approach 1.4 Case Selection and Introduction of the Four Cases of Interest 1.4.1 Policy Context: Euro Crisis and Migration Crisis 1.4.2 National Context: France and Germany 1.5 Summary of the Key Findings 1.6 Structure of the Book References 2 Conceptualisation and Theory 2.1 European Solidarity: Defining a Contested Concept 2.2 Introducing Public Justifications 2.2.1 Theoretical Approaches to Analysing Public Debates 2.2.2 Frame Analysis 2.2.3 Analysing Public Justifications 2.3 Analysing Parliamentary Debates 2.4 Conceptualisation: Mapping Public Justifications 2.5 Explaining the Relevance of European Solidarity with Five Influencing Factors 2.5.1 Political Culture: The Openness Towards Solidarity 2.5.2 Material Benefit: Cheap Talk by Receiving Countries 2.5.3 Political Support: The Share of Supportive Statements in a Debate 2.5.4 Party Ideology: The Involvement of Left-Wing Actors in a Debate 2.5.5 Policy Precision: Debating the Broader Objective Versus Specific Implications 2.5.6 Applicability of the Five Hypotheses 2.6 Summary References 3 Research Design and Data Basis 3.1 Objective and Methodological Approach 3.1.1 Case Study Research: Paired Comparisons 3.1.2 Congruence Analysis: Beyond Covariation 3.1.3 Case Selection and the Testing of Different Hypotheses 3.2 Measuring the Reference to European Solidarity 3.2.1 Qualitative Content Analysis 3.2.2 Coding Frame 3.3 Data Basis 3.4 Summary References 4 The Overall Pattern of Public Justifications 4.1 Justifying Redistributive Policies in the EU 4.1.1 European Solidarity 4.1.2 European Political Argumentations 4.1.3 European Economic Argumentations 4.1.4 National Argumentations 4.2 The Relevance of European Solidarity in the Four Cases of Interest References 5 National Comparison I: The Relevance of European Solidarity in the French Versus the German Debate During the Euro Crisis 5.1 The Argumentative Patterns in France and Germany 5.2 Political Culture 5.3 Material Benefit 5.4 Political Support 5.5 Party Ideology 5.6 Summary References 6 National Comparison II: The Relevance of European Solidarity in the French Versus the German Debate During the Migration Crisis 6.1 The Argumentative Patterns in France and Germany 6.2 Political Culture 6.3 Material Benefit 6.4 Political Support 6.5 Party Ideology 6.6 Summary References 7 Crisis Comparison: The Relevance of European Solidarity During the Euro Crisis Versus the Migration Crisis in France and Germany 7.1 Point of Departure: The Relevance of European Solidarity in the Four Cases 7.2 Material Benefit 7.3 Political Support 7.4 Party Ideology 7.5 Policy Precision 7.6 Summary References 8 Summary and Discussion 8.1 Key Findings 8.1.1 The Relevance of European Solidarity 8.1.2 The Varying Patterns of European Solidarity in the Four Cases 8.1.3 Explaining the Relevance of European Solidarity 8.1.4 The Discursive Struggle on Defining European Solidarity 8.2 Generalisation and Limitations 8.2.1 Generalisation of the Results 8.2.2 Limitations of the Book 8.3 Political Consequences References Appendix A Parliamentary Composition During the Investigation Period Appendix B Coding Handbook Object of investigation Examination material Coding Frame and Rules for Coding Identifying a Public Justification of Interest Four Main Categories Unit of Coding Criteria for Coding the Direction of the Justification Criteria for Coding the Argumentative Basis Criteria for Coding the Spatial Reference Point Criteria for Coding the Party Affiliation