Europe as a Discursive Battleground

Discourse Analysis and European Integration Studies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8911524
AutoresThomas Diez (0000-0001-8056-6693, autor correspondente)
Ano2001
Volume36
Fascículo1
Páginas5-38
Data de publicação2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCooperation and Conflict (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0010-8367 • E-ISSN: 1460-3691
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00108360121962245
OpenAlexW2129527518
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas79
Referências citadas50

Problems of European integration and governance are increasingly analysed from a discursive perspective. This article reviews the merits of such an approach. Two analytical strands, the Copenhagen and the Governance School, are discussed in depth, both of which in their own ways look at the possibility of legitimately articulating a particular conception of Europe (and governance). Out of this discussion, and taking on board the ideas of German `radical constructivists' as well as discourse analysts Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the article develops the analytical concept of `discursive nodal points'. This concept helps in addressing the problems of the status of European policy in relation to discourse, the national focus in many discourse analyses, and the limitations of conceptualizing change. Throughout the article, this theoretical and methodological discussion is illustrated with examples taken from an analysis of British European policy since World War II. It is argued that a discursive nodal point approach can contribute significantly to our understanding of the multiple positions within the British debate and of the changes within the dominant conceptions of European governance over time, as well as assist us in a critical assessment of these conceptions

Corporate governance · Discourse analysis · Economics · Epistemology · European integration · European union · German · Linguistics · Management · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Relation (database · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Global Financial Regulation and Crises · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies