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Die Öffentliche Akzeptanz Der Europäischen Union in Großbritannien

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Die Öffentliche Akzeptanz Der Europäischen Union in Großbritannien Die öffentliche Akzeptanz der Europäischen Union in Großbritannien. Britische Printmedien und ihr Einfluss auf das Wahlverhalten ihrer Leser am Beispiel des EU-Referendums 2016. Von der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie genehmigte Dissertation vorgelegt von Robert Flader Berichter: Universitätsprofessor Ralph Rotte Universitätsprofessor Emanuel Richter Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 21. November 2018 Diese Dissertation ist auf den Internetseiten der Universitätsbibliothek online verfügbar. 2 Vorwort Die politische Situation in Großbritannien hat mich bereits vor der historischen Ankündigung des britischen Premierministers David Cameron (Januar 2013), bei einer erfolgreichen Wiederwahl und absoluten Mehrheit 2015 das britische Volk über eine weitere Mitgliedschaft in der Europäischen Union entscheiden zu lassen, fasziniert. Die daraus folgende ebenso spannende wie dramatische Entwicklung bis zum dann tatsächlich stattfindenden Referendum am 23. Juni 2016 habe ich zum Anlass genommen, mich diesem Thema als Dissertationsvorhaben zu widmen. Für mich stellte sich besonders die Frage, welchen Einfluss die britischen Medien, genauer: die nationalen Zeitungen, auf die Referendumskampagne und letztlich den Ausgang der Wahl hatten. Als ehemaliger Journalist und aktueller Pressesprecher habe ich persönlich einen besonderen Bezug zum Einfluss von Medien auf politische und gesellschaftliche Prozesse. Ein besonderer Anreiz lag für mich darin, dass zu diesem sehr aktuellen Thema bislang kaum wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse vorhanden sind. Zu untersuchen, warum gerade Großbritannien als selbsternannte älteste Demokratie der Welt das europäische Gemeinschaftsprojekt in seiner gesamten Konstruktion infrage stellt, ja dass es sogar seine Mitgliedschaft im europäischen Staatenverbund trotz (oder gerade wegen?) langjähriger Zweifel an der europäischen Politik aufs Spiel setzt, ist für mich ein lohnenswertes Dissertationsprojekt gewesen. Im Kern ging es mir darum zu erörtern, mit welchen Mitteln britische Printmedien im Vorfeld des Referendums EU-Themen bzw. die Europäische Union als Ganzes dargestellt und kommentiert haben. Da das Wahlergebnis letztlich so knapp ausfiel und nicht einmal 1,5 Millionen Stimmen den Unterschied pro „Brexit“ ausmachten, lag für mich die Vermutung nahe, dass insbesondere euroskeptische Zeitungen mit ihrer klar gegen Brüssel gerichteten Berichterstattung bei unentschlossenen Wählern den Ausschlag gaben. Diese Arbeit hat hierfür einige belastbare Ergebnisse zutage gefördert. Eine Arbeit über ein aktuelles und sich ständig weiterentwickelndes Thema wie den britischen Austritt aus der Europäischen Union zu verfassen, war eine große Herausforderung, die ich ohne die Hilfe von sehr engagierten Menschen vor allem in meinem familiären Umfeld nicht hätte erfolgreich bewältigen können. Bedanken möchte ich 3 mich bei meinen Eltern und meiner Verlobten Laura May, die mir alle stets mit großem Engagement wertvolle Hinweise gegeben haben und sich auch stets die Zeit genommen haben, diese Arbeit bis ins kleinste Detail wieder und wieder zu lesen und wichtige Verbesserungsvorschläge zu machen. Gleichzeitig hatten sie während der gesamten Dissertationsphase immer Verständnis für zeitliche Entbehrungen meinerseits. Mein besonderer Dank gilt außerdem meinen beiden Betreuern, Prof. Dr. Ralph Rotte und Prof. Dr. Emanuel Richter, beide vom Institut für Politische Wissenschaft der Rheinisch- Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen. Mit ihrer immer hilfsbereiten und konstruktiven Art sowie mit ihrer Expertise haben sie mir entscheidend dabei geholfen, dass diese Arbeit als wissenschaftliches Werk veröffentlicht werden kann. Robert Flader Aachen, 26. Juni 2018 4 Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Inhaltsverzeichnis .................................................................................................................................... 5 Abbildungsverzeichnis ............................................................................................................................. 8 Abkürzungsverzeichnis ............................................................................................................................ 9 Einleitung ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Kapitel 1: Forschungsstand und Forschungsfragen ....................................................................... 21 Kapitel 2: Theoretisch-historische Einordnung: Großbritannien und Europa ................................. 27 2.1 Großbritanniens Selbstverständnis als Weltmacht aus Sicht der Medien .................................. 28 2.2 Im Spannungsfeld: „Britishness“ und vertiefte europäische Integration ................................... 57 2.3 Das United Kingdom im 21. Jahrhundert: eine geteilte Nation .................................................. 71 2.4 Die britische Gesellschaftsstruktur.............................................................................................. 76 2.4.1 Klasseneinteilung nach dem Great British Class Survey ....................................................... 78 2.4.2 EU-Akzeptanz in den einzelnen Schichten ........................................................................... 82 2.5 Phänomen Euroskeptizismus ...................................................................................................... 84 2.5.1 Theoretischer Ansatz ............................................................................................................ 85 2.5.2 Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Europa ........................................................................................ 85 2.6 Populismus und Medien in Großbritannien ................................................................................ 87 2.7 „Stay“ oder „Leave“? Der britische Weg zum Referendum ...................................................... 105 Kapitel 3: Der Untersuchungsgegenstand: Die britische Medienlandschaft ................................. 122 3.1 Einordnung: Historische Bedeutung von Tageszeitungen in Großbritannien ........................... 129 3.1.1 Zeitungen und ihr Demokratieverständnis ........................................................................ 135 3.1.2 Britischer Journalismus und Ethik ...................................................................................... 136 3.1.3 Fleet Street als Zentrum der „Vierten Gewalt“ .................................................................. 138 3.1.4 Besitzverhältnisse, politische und kommerzielle Interessen ............................................. 142 3.1.5 Der Auflagenwettbewerb ................................................................................................... 147 3.2 Tabloids und Qualitätszeitungen: der Kampf um die Meinungshoheit .................................... 148 3.3 Die Untersuchungsobjekte und ihre Grundausrichtung im Detail ............................................ 152 3.3.1 The Guardian und The Observer ......................................................................................... 155 5 3.3.2 The Times und The Sunday Times ....................................................................................... 158 3.3.3 The Sun und the Sun on Sunday ......................................................................................... 159 3.3.4 The Daily Mail und The Mail on Sunday ............................................................................. 171 3.3.5 The Daily Express und The Sunday Express ........................................................................ 177 3.3.6 Politische Unterstützung bei Unterhauswahlen ................................................................ 180 3.4 Leserschaft aus soziologischer Sicht .......................................................................................... 184 3.4.1 Leserklassifizierung ............................................................................................................. 185 3.4.2 Wer liest die seriösen Broadsheets? .................................................................................. 186 3.4.3 Die Popularität der Tabloids ............................................................................................... 187 3.4.4 Leser gleich Wähler? .......................................................................................................... 189 3.5 Britische Printmedien und europäische Integration ................................................................. 190 3.5.1 Fakten und Fiktion: „Euro-Myths“ und das EU-Bild in Großbritannien.............................. 205 3.5.2 Die Referenden 1975 und 2016 im medialen Vergleich..................................................... 208 3.6 Journalisten, Politiker, Spin Doctors: ein abhängiges Verhältnis .............................................. 225 3.7 Zwischenfazit: Medien und ihr Einfluss auf das politische Geschehen ..................................... 230 Kapitel 4: Analyse: Einfluss der Tageszeitungen auf das Wahlverhalten ...................................... 233 4.1 Methodisches Vorgehen und Untersuchungszeitraum............................................................. 233 4.2 Positionen und Präferenzen im historischen Vergleich ...........................................................
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