Book Review: Asimina Michailidou, Hans-Jörg Trenz and Pieter de Wilde, The Internet and European Integration: Pro- and Anti-EU Debates in Online News Media
| Author | Matthew G O’Neill |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916672957 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsEurope |
Book Reviews 153
party programmes changed in response to
Europeanisation in the postaccession period
(chapter 4) is occasionally left unexplained.
Similarly, the chapter elaborating the EU effect
on civil society – while convincing – could
have provided a more detailed account of the
‘ideational impact’ with greater emphasis on
the importance of ideas and actor profiles.
The main strengths of this work, however,
far outweigh these coverage-related omissions.
The conceptual framework and the method
developed by Kyris to operationalise various
‘mechanisms of Europeanisation’ within the
parameters of contested statehood all add up to
a strong foundation for future research into the
under-explored interaction of the EU with con-
tested states, both within its own territory and
on its wider periphery. The Europeanisation of
Contested Statehood is highly recommended
for anyone interested in the Cyprus conflict and
the EU’s role in contested statehood situations.
Mustafa Cirakli
(Lancaster University)
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916677885
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The Internet and European Integration:
Pro- and Anti-EU Debates in Online News
Media by Asimina Michailidou, Hans-Jörg
Trenz and Pieter de Wilde. Opladen: Barbara
Budrich Publishers, 2014. 250pp., £49.50 (h/b),
ISBN 9783847401537
At the heart of Michailidou, Trenz and de
Wilde’s text is an examination of the role
played by digital democracy within Europe
and its relationship with new media. Their
research offers a new perspective on news
website user interaction. Up to this point, a
considerable amount of research attention has
been given purely to social media and political
interaction within the public sphere, whereas
the authors’ arguments, which are well formed
and rigorous, seek to understand how user
comments interact with politics. The authors
critically engage with ideas of ‘cyber-opti-
mists’ and ‘cyber-pessimists’, addressing the
epistemological problems that accompany
these positions.
Michailidou et al. identify that neither
viewpoint takes into consideration the reality
of digital communication as a continuously
evolving social practice. In exploring this rela-
tionship, they wish to go beyond the
‘Lippmann–Dewey’ debate, laying down the
principle ‘that all models of democratic gov-
ernance are underpinned’ with two core func-
tions: ‘accountability and autonomy’ (p. 13).
The authors outline this process and build their
argument to assert that there is a European
social sphere. Through this prism, they explore
questions surrounding the participation of citi-
zens and public debate on the Internet: Can it
be used as a source for international news? And
does the Internet have the power and capacity
to bring different public factions together to
form a political public?
The authors deliver new extensive empirical
data, using mixed research methods to formu-
late online public opinion research. The origi-
nality of their approach offers an
outward- looking perspective by incorporating
user comment threads from traditional news
websites. Focused studies include the 2009
European Parliament elections and the
Eurocrisis period between 2010 and 2012. The
methodology has been meticulously formed,
carefully guiding the reader through the process
at an accessible level. It is a framework that can
be replicated and built upon for future research.
This book should be seriously considered for
consultation by anyone wishing to conduct a
study of online journalism and forms of owner-
ship. The authors address the pressing issue of
big data within Internet fieldwork (when com-
paring different national forms of government
infrastructure and the delivery of online news),
citing that more attention is needed in tackling
the methodological problems within their
research. This book is a solid piece of scholarly
work which I would recommend to anyone
researching political science, sociology, media
studies or digital research methods.
Matthew G O’Neill
(Queen’s University Belfast)
© The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/
journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1478929916672957
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