The role of the public in shaping EU contestation: Euroscepticism and online news media
| Date | 01 June 2015 |
| Published date | 01 June 2015 |
| Author | Asimina Michailidou |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512115577230 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Political Science Review
2015, Vol. 36(3) 324 –336
© The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512115577230
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The role of the public in shaping
EU contestation: Euroscepticism
and online news media
Asimina Michailidou
University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract
The participation of the public in framing and debating the news has added a new layer in the making of
European Union contestation and the European public sphere, traditionally driven by journalists and political
elites. Drawing on news coverage of the ongoing Eurocrisis (2010–2013) and the 2009 European Parliament
elections, this article examines the structure and content of European Union contestation in mainstream
online news media over time and across several European Union member states. The cross-national patterns
that emerge from this analysis strongly suggest that, despite the differences between the observed online
news spheres, the European Union is rather uniformly contested: national politics firmly remain the key
defining ‘frame’; Eurosceptic claims are very much focused on the present rather than the future; and
contributors often appeal to the public’s emotions rather than reason. Furthermore, the Eurocrisis appears
to have consolidated European Union contestation on the more substantial issues of power, solidarity and
accountability.
Keywords
Euroscepticism, public sphere, online news media, EU contestation
Introduction
Five years after the Eurocrisis erupted in the heart of the European Union (EU), Euroscepticism
has been steadily gaining momentum across member states. The 2014 European Parliament (EP)
elections have produced a more Eurosceptic cohort of MEPs than ever before: approximately a
third of elected representatives identify themselves as Eurosceptic or anti-European. Such is the
speed and strength with which Euroscepticism is entering mainstream politics that the pro-Euro-
pean think tank ‘European Council on Foreign Relations’ recently likened Euroscepticism to a
virus that ‘has now spread across the continent’ (Torreblanca et al., 2013: 1).
Corresponding author:
Asimina Michailidou, University of Oslo, ARENA Centre for European Studies, P.O. Box 1143 Blindern, 0318 Oslo,
Norway.
Email: asimina.michailidou@arena.uio.no
577230IPS0010.1177/0192512115577230International Political Science ReviewMichailidou
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