The Emergence of a European Community of Communication - Insights from Empirical Research on the Europeanization of Public Spheres

A European public sphere emerges out of Europeanized national public spheres if the following two phenomena are verified. First, if and when the same (European) themes are discussed at the same time with similar frames of reference, meaning structures, and patterns of interpretation across the various media sources. Second, if and when a transnational community of communication emerges in which speakers and listeners recognize each other as legitimate participants in a discourse that frames the issues at stake as common European problems. We present empirical evidence from other scholars and two case studies of our own, namely Eastern enlargement and the sanctions against the Austrian ÖVP/FPÖ-government. The main finding is that at least when European issues are discussed, that a European public sphere is constituted and re-constituted through the discursive connections and debates across borders.European Public Sphere; media; Europeanization; Europeanization

conceptual considerations and a plausibility

1\. The Politicization of European Politics 5 2\. The “Who” and “How” of Politicization: Discursive Actions by Political Entrepreneurs 6 3\. Arousing Media Discourse on Identity Increases the Likelihood of Political Action 8 4\. Resarch Design 13 5\. Independent Variables: Media Arousal and Identity Discourse 20 6\. The Dependent Variable: Political Behavior of Citizens 25 7\. Does a Media Discourse loaded high with Emotions precede Citizens’ Political Behavior? 27 8\. Conclusion 28 Literature 30The political game in the European Union has changed. Nowadays, EU issues are politicized in the public mass arena and demand from the European leadership more than the traditional, thin top-down communication. Concerns about the European democratic deficit and the legitimacy of the EU have made it important to engage citizens in EU issues and actively win their support. Since citizens almost never have firsthand experience with EU issues, they are most likely to pick up political cues from media discourse. Several events have shown that many citizens have only recently discovered the implications of European integration. Apparently, much of the media discourse on EU issues emanating from unpoliticized consensual decision-making in interest-based arenas does not reach the citizens. By comparing the media discourse on the few EU issues in which citizens have become activated and engaged – either to challenge or to support European decision-making – with media discourse that has not engaged citizens, the mechanism can be unraveled that explains the conditions under which citizens most effectively become politically active regarding EU issues. It is expected that a discourse that is highly loaded with emotions is more likely to reach citizens’ hearts and minds, and thus lead to political action, than the usual technical and consensual manner of presenting European decision-making. Insights from collective action research and on media effect research are used to operationalize the key-concept “emotions”. Media discourse that generates sufficient arousal to attract the citizens’ attention and interest and that invokes the identity of an imagined community in relation to a sense of agency and injustice is most likely to mobilize European citizens, even on an EU issue

Description of potential development domains for Humidtropics—A CGIAR Research Program

It is extremely challenging to formulate and evaluate agricultural development strategies for regions as large and diverse as proposed in the Action Areas, and it will require multiple perspectives and thoughtful simplifications (Omamo et al. 2006). Empirical studies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda (e.g. Pender et al. 1999; Pender et al. 2004; Ehui and Pender 2005) suggest that interaction of the three socio-economic and biophysical layers—population density, agricultural potential and market access—provide good explanatory power in predicting the type of agricultural enterprises and development pathways encountered in different rural communities, as the layers are strongly related to the feasibility and attractiveness of specific development and livelihood strategies (Wood et al. 1999). Omamo et al. (2006) used for East and Central Africa (ECA) GIS tools and databases to gain a better appreciation of the regional patterns of agriculture and of agricultural development challenges and opportunities. The GIS analysis disaggregates the region into geographical units, called ‘development domains’, in which similar agricultural development problems or opportunities are likely to occur, based on the spatial layers population density, agricultural potential and market access. The breakdown is done by classifying each of the three factors into two values: high or low. In the proposal for the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics an example is given for ECA, based on the Nairobi 2012 workshop. Stratification here is by domain at Field Site level with a different form of stratification used at the Action Site level (‘farming system’). The development domains in this example are defined using consistent data and criteria across the region, thus helping diagnose development constraints and formulate and evaluate strategic intervention options in comparable ways. These development domains permit consideration of the following issues: Where are those geographic areas within and across countries in ECA in which development problems and opportunities are likely to be most similar? Where will specific types of development policies, investments, livelihood options and technologies likely be most effective? For established developmental successes in any given location in ECA, where can similar conditions be found in the region

Improving safety and quality of care for older hospitalised patients:A mixed methods approach focusing on delirium and e-learning

Wagner, C. [Promotor]Langelaan, M. [Copromotor

insights from empirical research on the Europeanization of public spheres

1\. Introduction 5 2\. The Europeanization of Public Spheres 7 2.1 European Public Sphere: Concepts, Indicators, and Empirical Findings 7 2.2 Two Case Studies: “Haider” and “Eastern Enlargement” 9 3\. Public Sphere as Polity: European Identity and an Emerging Community of Communication 16 3.1 Public Spheres and the Emergence of Collective Identities 16 3.2 A European Community of Communication? 17 4\. Conclusions: An Emerging Public Sphere in the European Union 22 Literature 24 Appendix 26A European public sphere emerges out of Europeanized national public spheres if the following two phenomena are verified. First, if and when the same (European) themes are discussed at the same time with similar frames of reference, meaning structures, and patterns of interpretation across the various media sources. Second, if and when a transnational community of communication emerges in which speakers and listeners recognize each other as legitimate participants in a discourse that frames the issues at stake as common European problems. We present empirical evidence from other scholars and two case studies of our own, namely Eastern enlargement and the sanctions against the Austrian ÖVP/FPÖ-government. The main finding is that at least when European issues are discussed, that a European public sphere is constituted and re-constituted through the discursive connections and debates across borders

The emergence of a European Community of communication: insights from empirical research on the Europeanization of public spheres

A European public sphere emerges out of Europeanized national public spheres if the following two phenomena are verified. First, if and when the same (European) themes are discussed at the same time with similar frames of reference, meaning structures, and patterns of interpretation across the various media sources. Second, if and when a transnational community of communication emerges in which speakers and listeners recognize each other as legitimate participants in a discourse that frames the issues at stake as common European problems. We present empirical evidence from other scholars and two case studies of our own, namely Eastern enlargement and the sanctions against the Austrian ÖVP/FPÖ-government. The main finding is that at least when European issues are discussed, that a European public sphere is constituted and re-constituted through the discursive connections and debates across borders