The Eurovision Song Contest: Nation Branding and Nation Building in Estonia and Ukraine. Phd Thesis
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Jordan, Paul Thomas (2011) The Eurovision Song Contest: Nation Branding and Nation Building in Estonia and Ukraine. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2972/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Eurovision Song Contest: Nation Branding and Nation Building in Estonia and Ukraine. Paul Jordan (MA Hons, MRes) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.) Central & East European Studies School of Social and Political Sciences College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow Author’s Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or any other institution. Signature: Name: Paul Thomas Jordan Abstract Studies focussing on Europeanisation and in particular on the return to Europe of post- communist states have come to the fore in political science research since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The way in which many states of the former Eastern Bloc have engaged with European geopolitical power structures such as the European Union and Council of Europe has been well-documented. Europe is a contested construct and its boundaries are still subject to redefinition. This study examines issues of Europeanisation, national identity and nation branding through the lens of popular culture. In particular the role that events such as the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) play in illuminating the more salient issues of European identity politics has until recently been an area which has lacked scholarly attention. Although the volume of literature on the event is steadily increasing, there has to date, been no in-depth study conducted on a Former Soviet Republic. This study aims to fill this gap. This thesis comprises a case study of the role of the Eurovision Song Contest in Estonia and Ukraine. The empirical findings highlight the contested nature of the construction of national identities in the post-Soviet region and in particular, this study has drawn out some of the more salient aspects of identity politics. By exploring these issues through the prism of the Eurovision Song Contest, I argue that the event is significant in terms of nation branding and image building, particularly in the context of the return to Europe of post-communist countries. The Eurovision Song Contest is often an event which is dismissed as musically and culturally inferior. However, this study shows that different nation states attribute different meanings to the ESC and as such there is a need to go beyond the dominant (western) view of the contest in order to explore the diversity of issues that this event illuminates in wider socio-political debates in Europe today. Key words: Europeanisation, nation building, nation branding, Eurovision Song Contest, national identity, Estonia, Ukraine Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix PREFACE x CHAPTER 1: Nation branding and image building: an introduction to the literature 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Nation-building in a post-Soviet context 3 1.2.1 Constructing the other 3 1.2.2 “The nation” 5 1.2.3 National identity and nationalism as a construct 6 1.2.4 Constructing national identity through symbolism 10 1.2.5 Return to Europe discourses 11 1.2.6 Nation-building in Estonia and Ukraine 12 1.3 Nation branding and image-building 15 1.3.1 Nation branding or nation building? 16 1.4 An overview of literature on the Eurovision Song Contest 19 1.4.1 Eurovision Song Contest: A reflection of Europe as a construct 20 1.4.2 Eurovision Song Contest as a marker of European culture 22 1.4.3 Eurovision Song Contest: A vehicle for nation branding? 23 1.5 Methodological approach 24 1.5.1 Research design 25 1.5.2 Research field: Tallinn and Kyiv 25 1.5.3 Ethnographic interviews: sampling and the interview process 26 1.5.4 Focus groups in the field 30 1.5.5 Visual methodologies, text-based data and contextual analysis 31 1.5.6 Participant observation and the research diary 32 1.5.7 Analysis of data 34 1.5.8 Ethical considerations 34 1.6 Reflections upon the process of fieldwork, data analysis, writing up and the limitations of this study 35 1.6.1 Transcriptions of data 36 1.6.2 Practicalities 37 CHAPTER 2: The politics of Eurovision: An historical introduction 2.1 Introduction 40 2.2 The European Broadcasting Union and Eurovision: A History 41 2.2.1 The ESC: Reflecting the changing map of Europe 42 2.2.2 Moving with the times 45 2.3 Eurovision Song Contest voting in focus 45 2.4 ESC: Reflecting the rhetoric of conflict 48 2.5 Narratives of the nation within the ESC 51 2.6 Contested identities 53 2.7 ESC: A platform for image-building 54 2.7.1 Ireland 56 2.7.2 Turkey 59 2.7.3 Russia 60 2.8 Concluding remarks 63 CHAPTER 3: A critical analysis of Brand Estonia in the context of the return to Europe 3.1 Introduction 65 3.2 A critical reflection of the return to Europe discourse in Estonia 66 3.2.1 Flagging Estonia’s “European” credentials: A view from the top 66 3.2.2 Return to Europe: a return to “normality” 67 3.2.3 Nation building in the context of the return to Europe 69 3.2.4 Image building in the context of the return to Europe 73 3.3 Image building and nation branding: An overview of Brand Estonia 77 3.4 Welcome to Estonia 79 3.4.1 Welcome to Estonia: Project development 80 3.4.2 Welcome to Estonia: Analysis 83 3.4.3 Welcome to Estonia: Responses from the field 85 3.5 Concluding remarks 90 CHAPTER 4: A case study of the role of the Eurovision Song Contest in Estonia as a reflection of the return to Europe 4.1 Introduction 92 4.2 ESC in the context of Estonia’s return to Europe 93 4.3 ESC 2001: Estonia’s contest 98 4.3.1 Estonian ESC victory: Flagging the nation 98 4.3.2 Constructing multiculturalism through Eurovision: Dave Benton 102 4.4 Analysis of media debates following ESC 2001: Deconstructing the perception of self in Estonia 107 4.5 Counting the cost: Financing the contest in Tallinn 111 4.6 Concluding remarks 114 CHAPTER 5: A critical reflection of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn: Imagery, debates and analysis 5.1 Introduction 116 5.2 Countdown to Tallinn 2002: Debates within Estonian elites 117 5.2.1 Funding the event: Averting national shame 118 5.2.2 The technical infrastructure of Eurovision: A Nordic affair 119 5.2.3 Eurovision 2002: Promoting Estonia within an EU accession context 121 5.2.4 Expressing an interest V imposing a view: The role of the Estonian government in the preparations for Eurovision 2002 123 5.2.5 Quantifying the unquantifiable: Perceptions of cost effectiveness amongst Estonia’s elite respondents 125 5.3 Estonia: The modern fairy tale 128 5.3.1 Eurovision 2002: Imagery analysis 130 5.3.2 Essentialising Nordic credentials V Othering Russia 135 5.3.3 Eurovision 2002 interval act: The rebirth of Estonia 137 5.4 Eurovision Song Contest 2002: public-level responses 138 5.4.1 Responses from ethnic Estonians 139 5.4.2 Responses from Russian speakers 142 5.5 Estonian media coverage of Eurovision 2002: An overview 144 5.5.1 Eurovision personalised: Analysis of anecdotal articles 145 5.5.2 Flagging the promotional opportunity 146 5.5.3 “The BBC showed Estonia” 150 5.5.4 Deconstructing Eurovision 2002: The reaction from the Estonian media 152 5.6 Concluding remarks 155 CHAPTER 6: A critical analysis of the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine in the context of the Orange Revolution 2004-2005 6.1 Introduction 156 6.2 Defining Ukrainian national identity 157 6.3 The Orange Revolution: A brief overview 160 6.4 Ruslana’s victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in context 162 6.4.1 Background to the participation of Ukraine at the ESC 162 6.4.2 A construction of Ukrainian identity: Ruslana 164 6.4.3 Ukraine wins the Eurovision Song Contest 166 6.5 Eurovision Song Contest 2005: Kyiv, Ukraine 168 6.5.1 Revolutionary delays 168 6.5.2 “There is more to Ukraine than sports stars and Chernobyl” 169 6.5.3 Kyiv 2005: Eurovision shows its political side 171 6.5.4 Eurovision 2005 in focus 174 6.5.5 Eurovision 2005: Analysis 176 6.5.6 Contradiction and confusion: public-level responses to Eurovision 2005 178 6.5.7 A brief overview of print media 181 6.6 Concluding remarks 183 CHAPTER 7: The case studies of Estonia and Ukraine: A retrospective 7.1 Introduction 185 7.2 Nation branding in Estonia: A new phase 187 7.2.1 Eesti 90: Building a state together 189 7.2.2 Welcome back to Estonia 191 7.3 Eurovision in Estonia post 2002: Changing perceptions of self 194 7.3.1 Eurovision 2004: Local identities on a global stage 194 7.3.2 Eurovision 2005-2008: Estonia becomes cynical? 195 7.3.3 Eurovision 2009: Estonia in Moscow 200 7.3.4 Eurovision 2010: Estonia comes full circle? 201 7.4 Ukraine: Post Eurovision, Post Revolution 202 7.4.1 Verka Serduchka: From Ukraine with controversy 202 7.4.2 Confusion: A view from the field