title: Signifying the nation in discourses about Europe
title: A critical discourse analysis of British newspapers
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Syla, Flandër
Publisher: name: University of Muenster, Institutional Repository MIAMI
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: 070 Documentary media, educational media, news media; journalism; publishing

description: Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der Art und Weise, wie die nationale Identität von den Printmedien im vereinigten Königreich in der täglichen Berichterstattung über EU-bezogene Ereignisse reproduziert und vermittelt wird. Sie nimmt die traditionell besorgniserregenden Beziehungen zwischen dem Vereinigten Königreich und der EU als Ausgangspunkt, um zu untersuchen, wie die Debatten über Europa die Frage der nationalen Identität über verschiedene Zeiträume und in verschiedenen Medien geprägt haben. Diese Dissertation ist von kritischen Ansätzen zu medientexten geprägt, genauer gesagt vom Paradigma der kritischen Diskursanalyse, und stützt sich auf Arbeiten, die behaupten, dass es bei der Identitätspolitik darum geht, Unterschiede zu schaffen und die nationale "in-group" mit einer spezifischen "out-group" zu konfrontieren. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Arbeit steht die Frage, wie die britische nationale "in-group" konstruiert wird und welche Vorstellungen von der Nation im Mediendiskurs in Bezug auf die EU als vorherrschende "out-group" vorgeschlagen, bezeichnet und in den Vordergrund gestellt werden.
description: This thesis is concerned with the ways national identity is reproduced and mediated by the print media in the United Kingdom (UK) in the daily coverage of EU-related events. It uses the traditionally apprehensive EU-UK relations as a starting point to explore how debates about Europe have shaped the national identity question throughout different periods of time and across various media outlets. This thesis is profoundly informed by critical approaches to media texts, more precisely by the paradigm of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and draws on a body of research that argues that identity politics is about creating difference and confronting the national 'in-group' with a specific 'out-group'. In this regard, central to this thesis is to explore how the British national ‘in-group’ is constructed and what ideas of the nation are proposed, signified and foregrounded in news media discourse with respect to the EU as the predominant ‘out-group’.
description: Table of contents I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 I.1 Opening rationale ......................................................................................................................... 1 I.2 Research perspective..................................................................................................................... 3 I.3 Context in brief: British-EU relations.......................................................................................... 6 I.4 The media’s role in the reproduction of nations.......................................................................... 9 I.5 The social character of language ............................................................................................... 12 I.6 Thesis layout................................................................................................................................ 13 II. Identity and International Relations ..................................................................................... 14 II.1 Identity dynamics and the EU................................................................................................... 14 II.2 A hermeneutic guide on nation, state and integration............................................................. 17 II.2.1 Waever’s model: three layers of a single structure ........................................................... 17 II.2.2 Waever’s model and the perspective for research ............................................................. 19 II. 3 Clarifying concepts: What is an identity?................................................................................ 19 II.3.1 Identity, international relations and the Social Identity Approach .................................. 19 II.4. Summary................................................................................................................................... 23 III. Nations and Nationalism......................................................................................................... 24 III.1 ‘When is a nation’ vs. ‘What is in a (specific) nation’ ........................................................... 24 III.2 A Traditional Reading: ‘When is a nation?’ .......................................................................... 24 III.2.1 Primordialism: Nation as ‘a kinship of blood’ ................................................................ 25 III.2.2 Ethnosymbolism: nations as ethnic entities..................................................................... 27 III.2.3 Modernism: nations as socio-historical creations ........................................................... 27 III.3 New approaches: nation maintenance &amp; reproduction.......................................................... 30 III.3.1 Breaking with Tradition: ‘Bad’ vs. ‘Good’ Nationalism................................................. 31 III.4 Banal nationalism.................................................................................................................... 32 III.4.1. Remembering banal nationalism .................................................................................... 33 III.4.2. Contextualizing national identity .................................................................................... 34 III.4.3. Nationalism as a daily routine......................................................................................... 35 III.5 Nationalism as a discursive formation.................................................................................... 35 III.6 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 38 IV. United Kingdom: Nation, State and Europe......................................................................... 39 IV.1 ‘Britishness’: What’s in a name? ............................................................................................ 39 IV.1.1 A nation for the state or the opposite?.............................................................................. 40 IV.1.2 Britishness: a national identity? ....................................................................................... 43 IV.1.3 A brief history of the British nation.................................................................................. 44 IV.1.4 Summary............................................................................................................................ 50IV IV.2 The British Political System..................................................................................................... 50 IV.2.1 The force of tradition ........................................................................................................ 50 IV.2.2 The Westminster Model .................................................................................................... 51 IV.2.3 Political forces: the ‘right’ and the ‘left’.......................................................................... 52 IV.2.4 Summary............................................................................................................................ 54 IV.3 The British Economic System.................................................................................................. 55 IV.3.1 A glorious past................................................................................................................... 55 IV.3.2 The ‘post-war consensus’.................................................................................................. 56 IV.3.3 The Thatcherite approach................................................................................................. 57 IV.3.4 Summary............................................................................................................................ 58 IV.4 Britain and Europe................................................................................................................... 59 IV.4.1 Europe as the ‘other’......................................................................................................... 59 IV.4.2 Britain: a brief history of European integration.............................................................. 61 IV.4.3 Summary............................................................................................................................ 64 V. Methodological Approach .......................................................................................................... 65 V.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 65 V.2 A new approach toward language............................................................................................. 65 V.2.1 Language, ideology and power........................................................................................... 66 V.3 Critical approaches to language................................................................................................ 67 V.4 Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).................................................................. 69 V.4.1 Siegfried Jäger: critical discourse and dispositive analysis .............................................. 71 V.4.2 Teun van Dijk: the socio-cognitive model.......................................................................... 72 V.4.3 Norman Fairclough: discourse and Hallidayan grammar ............................................... 72 V.5 This thesis’s approach: Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) ............................................. 74 V.5.1 Procedures and categories of analysis ............................................................................... 77 V.5.2 Linguistic devices................................................................................................................ 83 V.5.3 The representation of social actors .................................................................................... 87 V.6 Time periods, newspapers and data samples ............................................................................ 89 V.6.1 Events and time periods under investigation ..................................................................... 89 V.6.2 Selected newspapers............................................................................................................ 90 V.6.3 Data sample......................................................................................................................... 93 VI. The Lisbon Treaty Period....................................................................................................... 94 VI.1 Brief history and contextual setting of the Treaty of Lisbon .................................................. 94 VI.1.2 Chapter structure and analytical approach...................................................................... 97 VI.1.3 Representing and reproducing the nation: Core questions............................................. 98V VI.2 The Daily Telegraph................................................................................................................. 99 VI.2.1 Discourses of threat: ‘Treaty is a constitution’................................................................ 99 VI.2.2 Discourses of humiliation: ‘The irreparable damage’................................................... 103 VI.3 The Guardian ......................................................................................................................... 104 VI.3.1 Discourses of membership as beneficial: ‘We’re better off in the EU’......................... 104 VI.3.2 Discourses of political cleavage: ‘A battle of parties’.................................................... 105 VI.3.3 Other discursive patterns................................................................................................. 106 VI.4 The Sun................................................................................................................................... 109 VI.4.1 Discourses of oppression and victimization: ‘A giant (EU) against a nation (UK)’ .... 109 VI.4.2 Discourses of counteraction: ‘We have to stop this!’ .................................................... 112 VI.5 The Daily Mirror .................................................................................................................... 113 VI.5.1. Discourses of relativization: ‘Nothing unusual here’................................................... 113 VI.5.2 Discourses of positive presentation: ‘We are better’...................................................... 116 VI.5.3 Discourses of the future: ‘Future is all there is!’ .......................................................... 117 VI.6 Summary............................................................................................................................. 118 VII. Lisbon Treaty Period - Social Actor Representation ......................................................... 119 VII.1 Analytical Procedure ............................................................................................................ 119 VII.2 Social Actor Representation in the Daily Telegraph .......................................................... 119 VII.4 Representation of Social Actors in the Daily Mirror’s coverage....................................... 130 VII.5 Social Actor Representation in The Sun’s coverage........................................................... 133 VII.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 137 VIII. The Fiscal Compact Period............................................................................................... 138 VIII.1 Brief history and contextual setting of the Fiscal Compact .............................................. 138 VIII.1.1 Analytical Procedure.................................................................................................... 139 VIII.2 The Daily Telegraph’s Coverage ....................................................................................... 139 VIII.2.2 Discourses of ‘sameness’: Generating ideas of national cohesion and unity............ 143 VIII.2.3 Discourses of ‘othering’: France, Germany, and Europe in the role of the ‘hostile other’........................................................................................................................................... 146 VIII.3 The Guardian’s Coverage.................................................................................................. 151 VIII.3.1 The ‘pan-European’ perspective ................................................................................. 152 VIII.3.2 Discourses of subtle differentiation between ‘us’ and ‘them ..................................... 155 VIII.4 The Sun’s coverage ............................................................................................................. 159 VIII.4.1 Discourses of a proud but lonely nation...................................................................... 160 VIII.4.2 Discourses of ‘othering’: France and Germany as principals ................................... 163 VIII.4.3 Discourses of lack of legitimacy and democratic deficit............................................. 166 VIII.5 The Daily Mirror’s coverage ............................................................................................. 168VI VIII.5.1. Discourses of ‘Britain’ vs. ‘the rest’........................................................................... 169 VIII.5.2 Discourses of interdependency .................................................................................... 172 VIII.6 Summary.............................................................................................................................. 174 IX. Fiscal Treaty Period - Social Actor Representation ........................................................... 174 IX.1 Analytical Procedure.............................................................................................................. 175 IX.2 Representation of social actors in the Daily Telegraph ....................................................... 175 IX.3 Representation of social actors in the Guardian .................................................................. 182 IX.4 Representation of social actors in The Sun .......................................................................... 187 IX.5 Representation of social actors in the Daily Mirror ............................................................ 192 IX.6 Summary................................................................................................................................. 197 X. The Brexit Period ...................................................................................................................... 197 X.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 197 X.2 Brexit: Brief history and context............................................................................................. 198 X.3 Data sample, time period and analytical procedure ............................................................... 200 X.4 The Daily Telegraph’s Coverage............................................................................................ 201 X.4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 201 X.4.2 Discourses of ‘flawed’ EU (vs. ‘superior’ Britain).......................................................... 202 X.4.3 Discourses of relativization............................................................................................... 205 X.5 The Guardian’s Coverage....................................................................................................... 207 X.5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 207 X.5.2 Discourses of latent support: ‘celebrities’ back Remain ................................................. 207 X.5.3 Discourses of discrediting Leave...................................................................................... 209 X.6 The Sun’s Coverage................................................................................................................. 213 X.6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 213 X.6.2 Discourses of sameness: a proud British nation ............................................................. 213 X.6.3 Discourses of Leave vs. Remain as discourses of ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’.................................. 217 X.7 The Daily Mirror’s Coverage ................................................................................................. 219 X.7.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 219 X.7.2 The economic discourse: ‘our’ well-being is at risk........................................................ 220 X.8 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 224 XI. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 225 XI. 1 General Remarks................................................................................................................... 225 XI. 2 Cross-paper positions at a glance ......................................................................................... 226 XI.2.1 Dominant Discursive Positions....................................................................................... 226 XI.2.2 Consistencies and shifts .................................................................................................. 228VII XI.3 Revisiting Waever’s model ..................................................................................................... 229 XI.4 Media and the nation: key considerations............................................................................. 232 XI. 5 Journalistic experience: key considerations ........................................................................ 236 XI. 6 Readership: key messages..................................................................................................... 237 XI.7 A final note ............................................................................................................................. 239 Bibliography........................................................................................................................................ 241 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 256