Tracing the Politicisation of the EU : The Future of Europe Debates Before and After the 2019 Elections

Departing from the idea that political controversies are embedded in the very framework of European integration, this volume focuses on the relationship between politicisation and European democracy. The contributors to this edited volume trace the various ways of understanding ‘politicisation’ before and beyond the 2019 European elections. The aim is to offer constructive reinterpretations of the concept for further research in the field. Encompassing different approaches, the book shows a plurality of perspectives and provides innovative analytical tools to make sense of the phenomenon of politicisation in the EU context. Assuming that EU politicisation can be seen both as vice and virtue depending on the way in which it takes place, the authors analyse under what conditions it has a positive or negative influence over European democracy. Emphasising that scholars ought to be aware of the normative assumptions underlying the conceptualisation of politicisation, the book illustrates how many of the features in European politics that were intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic were already present earlier. __Tracing the Politicisation of the EU__ will be of interest to students and scholars in EU Studies, Comparative Politics, Media and Communication, Political Theory and Political Sociology. Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction: Towards a Multi-Faceted Approach to Politicisation in the EU Context 1 EU Politicisation (Re)interpreted 2 Tracing EU Politicisation: The Narrative and Design of the Book References Part I Politicisation of the EU as a Polity 2 Between Optimism and Pessimism: Rethinking EU Politicisation in Theory, Conceptualisation, and Research 1 Introduction 2 Theorising and Conceptualising Politicisation 3 Politicisation and European Integration 3.1 The Classics 3.2 Rethinking the Top-Down Model of EU Politicisation 4 Parties and EU Politicisation 5 Bottom-Up Politicisation 6 Towards a Multi-Stage (and Multi-Level?) Model of Politicisation References 3 Citizens’ ‘Permissive Consensus’ in European Integration Scholarship: Theoretical Reflections on EU Politicisation and the Democratic Deficit Discourse 1 Introduction: European Integration and the Democratic Deficit 2 EU Politicisation and the End of the Citizens’ Permissive Consensus 3 The Permissive Consensus in Ordinary Politics from a Historical Perspective 4 The Underlying Normative Assumptions Behind the Permissive Consensus 5 Conclusion: EU Politicisation, Representation and the Democratic Deficit Bibliography 4 Politicisation as a Speech Act: A Repertoire for Analysing Politicisation in Parliamentary Plenary Debates 1 Politicisation in the Language of the Parliamentarians 2 A Research Agenda for Discussing Politicisation 3 Politicisation in the Debates of Three Parliaments 3.1 Politicisation by Adversaries 3.2 Anonymous Politicisation 3.3 Disputes on Politicisation 3.4 Support for Politicisation 3.5 Politicisation as Opening Up of New Opportunities 4 The Rhetoric of Politicisation References 5 The European Rescue of the Front National: From the Fringes Towards the Centre of National Politics Through EU Politicisation 1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Preliminaries: The Emergence of a Political Field of the European Union 3 The Case of the Front National 4 The Politicisation of EP Elections as First-Order Elections 5 The Conversion of European Capital 6 Conclusion Bibliography Part II Social Media in the Politicisation of the EU 6 Parliamentary Rhetoric Meets the Twittersphere: Rethinking the Politicisation of European Public Debates with the Rise of Social Media 1 Introduction 2 The Dynamics Between Parliamentary Rhetoric and the ‘Twittersphere’ 2.1 Sphere of Political Activity 2.2 Agenda-Setting 3 Challenges of the ‘Twittersphere’ for European Public Debates 3.1 Challenge 1: Anti-Debates 3.2 Challenge 2: The Proliferation of Opinions and Increased Pace of Political Debate 3.3 Challenge 3: Anonymity of Actors 4 The Intertwining of European Public Debates with the Rise of Social Media: Politicising the Sphere of Activity and Agenda-Setting 5 Conclusion References 7 The Politicisation of the EU and the Making of a European Twittersphere: The Case of the Spitzenkandidaten Process 1 Introduction 2 Conceptualising EU Politicisation in the Wake of the Rise of Twitter and the Spitzenkandidaten 2.1 EU Politicisation 2.2 The Role of Twitter in Political Life and the Spitzenkandidaten Process 3 Method 4 Unfolding Twitter Activity in the Spitzenkandidaten Process 4.1 Visibility 4.2 Polarisation 4.3 Volume by Country and Language Used 5 Conclusion References 8 Framing the Future of Europe Debates on Twitter: The Personalisation of EU Politicisation in the 2019 EU Election Campaigns 1 Introduction 2 National Leaders’ Contribution to Agenda Setting on 2019 European Elections 3 Uses and Functions of Twitter in the Personalisation of EU Politics 4 Analytical Frame: Methods and Expectations 4.1 Combining Framing and Network Analysis 4.2 Expectations 5 Analysing Leaders’ Speeches and Their Reception 5.1 Leaders’ Speeches and Manifestos 5.2 Reception of the Speeches 6 Conclusions References Part III EU Politicisation Narratives and Patterns 9 Patterns of Politicisation in the 2019 European Elections: Salience, Polarisation, and Conflict Over EU Integration in (Eastern/Western) Media Coverage 1 Introduction 2 Patterns of Politicisation and Conflict Over EU Integration 3 Data Collection and Analysis 4 The Media Coverage of the EU Ahead of the 2019 European Elections in Western and Eastern Member States 4.1 The Salience of EU Topics One Month Before the 2019 European Elections 4.2 The Coverage of European Integration: Consensual, Contested, or Absent 5 Patterns of Politicisation and Types of Conflict in the EU Coverage 5.1 Democracy vs. ‘Illiberalism’ 5.2 Integration vs. Disintegration 5.3 Immigration vs. Anti-immigration 5.4 National vs. Supranational 5.5 Government vs. Opposition 5.6 Intergovernmental Conflicts 6 Conclusion References 10 The Commission Takes the Lead? ‘Supranational Politicisation’ and Clashes of Narratives on Sovereignty in the ‘Future of Europe’ Debates 1 Introduction 2 Politicisation within the EU Context: ‘Polycrises’, Dissatisfied Citizens, and Contestation 3 ‘Supranational Politicisation’ Through Political Entrepreneurs 4 Methodology 5 The Politicisation of the Future of Europe Debates 5.1 The Juncker Commission Raises the Bone(s) of Contention 5.2 The ‘Sovereigntists’—Power to the Nation States and the Voice of the People 5.3 The Supporters of European Sovereignty—The European People and Intra-EU Solidarity 6 Conclusions References 11 The European Commission’s Communication Strategy as a Response to Politicisation in Times of EU Contestation 1 Introduction 2 Research Method and Design 3 From Top-Down to Audience-Centric: Mapping the Transformation of the EC’s Communication Strategy 3.1 Barroso I (2004–2009)—Inside Out—‘Putting the house in order’ 3.2 Barroso II (2009–2014): ‘Mirror, Mirror...’ 3.3 Juncker (2014–2019): The ‘last Chance’ Commission—Reaching Out to Citizens Again 3.4 New Tools for New Targets: Dialogue and Online Resources 3.5 Back and Forth: The Evolution of the EC’s Communication Strategy 4 The #EUandME Campaign: Applying the Strategy 4.1 Targeting and Segmentation 4.2 Deployment: Co-creation and Online Dissemination 5 Discussion: How ‘Political’ Was the EC’s Response to Its Legitimacy Crisis? 6 Conclusion Annex I. List of the Documents Analysed Barrosso I Commission (2004–2009) Barroso II Commission (2009–2014) Juncker Commission (2014–2019) Annex II. List of EUandMe Documents and Other Resources for the Analysis Internal Commission Documents Audio-Visual Material Semi-Structured Interviews References 12 Make Europe Great Again: The Politicising Pro-European Narrative of Emmanuel Macron in France 1 Introduction 2 The End of the Permissive Consensus Situates Europe as a Central Element in Political Competition at the National Level: The Emerging GAL-TAN Cleavage 3 Data and Methodology: A Narrative Analysis of Macron’s Speeches 4 Macron’s Politicisation of the EU: Make Europe Great Again 5 Macron Repoliticises the EU as a Polity and the Sovereignty Question: ‘Europe’ Is at Stake in National Elections 6 Conclusion: Macron Is Trying to Make Europe Great Again to Remain Politically Competitive in France Bibliography 13 Epilogue: Tracing the Politicisation of the EU—A Research Agenda for Exploring the Politicising Strategies in the Future of Europe Debates 1 Looking Ahead: Lessons Learnt from the Vices and Virtues of EU Politicisation 2 Conclusion: A Research Agenda for the Future of Europe References Index Departing from the idea that political controversies are embedded in the very framework of European integration, this volume focuses on the relationship between politicisation and European democracy. The contributors to this edited volume trace the various ways of understanding 'politicisation' before and beyond the 2019 European elections. The aim is to offer constructive reinterpretations of the concept for further research in the field. Encompassing different approaches, the book shows a plurality of perspectives and provides innovative analytical tools to make sense of the phenomenon of politicisation in the EU context. Assuming that EU politicisation can be seen both as vice and virtue depending on the way in which it takes place, the authors analyse under what conditions it has a positive or negative influence over European democracy. Emphasising that scholars ought to be aware of the normative assumptions underlying the conceptualisation of politicisation, the book illustrates how many of the features in European politics that were intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic were already present earlier. Tracing the Politicisation of the EU will be of interest to students and scholars in EU Studies, Comparative Politics, Media and Communication, Political Theory and Political Sociology. Taru Haapala is a Marie Curie fellow within the MSCA-COFUND InterTalentum programme at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and docent in Political Science at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her publications include Debates, Rhetoric and Political Action: Practices of Textual Interpretation and Analysis (2017). Alvaro Oleart is a postdoctoral researcher at Studio Europa Maastricht and the Department of Political Science of Maastricht University, Netherlands and a scientific collaborator at the Institute for European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. He is the author of Framing TTIP in the European Public Spheres: Towards an Empowering Dissensus for EU Integration (2021)