Master Thesis___Lisann Arendt
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The construction of spatial identities in the media An analysis of how the mass media construct the future spatial identities of London and Frankfurt in the context of Brexit MASTER THESIS Author: Lisann Arendt Supervisor: Jochen Hoffmann Study program: Master of Arts in International Business Communication, English Date: June 3, 2019 Total number of characters incl. spaces, excl. abstract: 190,812 (79.5 standard pages) Aalborg University, Department of Culture and Global Studies Acknowledgements I would like to use this foreword to thank my supervisor Jochen Hoffmann. Thank you, Jochen, for your academic support on my path to completing this master thesis. I have truly appreciated your help throughout the research and writing process. It was a reassuring feeling that I could always consult with you, even on short notice, and that you had an open ear for the challenges I encountered on the way. I would also like to thank my family, especially my mom, who has always supported me, not only during my studies but throughout my entire life. 1 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Problem statement ........................................................................................................................ 6 1.2 Structure of this master thesis ...................................................................................................... 7 2. Literature review and theoretical framework ..................................................................................... 7 2.1 Literature review: What is space? ................................................................................................. 7 2.1.1 Conceptualizations of space in geography ............................................................................. 8 2.1.2 Conceptualizations of space in human geography and sociology .......................................... 8 2.1.3 Conceptualizations of space in communication and media studies .................................... 13 2.2 Theoretical framework: The construction of spatial identities in the media .............................. 14 2.2.1 Central propositions of communicative constructivism ...................................................... 14 2.2.2 The communicative reconstruction of space ....................................................................... 15 2.2.3 The role of mass media in the communicative reconstruction of space ............................. 16 2.2.4 Communication, the media and spatial identity .................................................................. 16 2.2.5 Media and the communicative construction of spatial identities ....................................... 18 2.2.6 Conceptualization of space in this thesis ............................................................................. 18 2.2.7 Potential limitation of this study and terminological considerations .................................. 18 3. Background: Brexit and its impact on the United Kingdom and the European Union...................... 20 3.1 Brexit: The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union ........................................ 20 3.1.1 The referendum .................................................................................................................... 20 3.1.2 The negotiations ................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Brexit and its consequences for the UK and the European Union .............................................. 22 3.2.1 The case cities: London and Frankfurt.................................................................................. 23 4. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Ontological and epistemological considerations ........................................................................ 24 4.1.1 Ontology ............................................................................................................................... 24 4.1.2 Epistemology ........................................................................................................................ 25 4.1.3 The researcher’s role ............................................................................................................ 25 4.2 Research strategy: Qualitative research ..................................................................................... 26 4.2.1 Quality assessment criteria in qualitative research ............................................................. 26 4.3 Research design: Analysis of newspaper articles ........................................................................ 27 4.3.1 Advantages and disadvantages of document analysis ......................................................... 28 4.4 Method of data selection ............................................................................................................ 29 4.4.1 Initial considerations and search terms ............................................................................... 29 4.4.2 Refinement of the search process: Introduction of further search criteria ......................... 30 2 4.4.3 Article search in British newspapers .................................................................................... 33 4.4.4 Article search in German newspapers .................................................................................. 35 4.5 Method of data analysis: Thematic analysis ............................................................................... 39 4.5.1 Thematic analysis: A six-step procedure .............................................................................. 39 4.5.2 Advantages and disadvantages of thematic analysis ........................................................... 44 5. Presentation and analysis of the findings ......................................................................................... 45 5.1 Economic dimension ................................................................................................................... 46 5.1.1 Frankfurt ............................................................................................................................... 47 5.1.2 London .................................................................................................................................. 52 5.2 Social-economic axis .................................................................................................................... 55 5.2.1 Frankfurt ............................................................................................................................... 55 5.3 Political-economic axis ................................................................................................................ 59 5.3.1 Frankfurt ............................................................................................................................... 59 5.3.2 London .................................................................................................................................. 61 5.4 Judicial-economic axis ................................................................................................................. 62 5.4.1 Frankfurt ............................................................................................................................... 62 5.4.2 London .................................................................................................................................. 62 5.5 Influencing factors ....................................................................................................................... 63 5.5.1 Frankfurt ............................................................................................................................... 63 5.5.2 London .................................................................................................................................. 68 5.5.3 Uncertainty ........................................................................................................................... 69 6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 70 6.1 Practical implications ................................................................................................................... 71 6.2 Opportunities for future research ............................................................................................... 72 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 74 3 Abstract INTEREST On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] n.d. [a]). Brexit, as this decision has come to be commonly referred to, will most likely affect most if not all areas of life in the United Kingdom and the EU, including the economy (e.g. Tetlow and Stojanovic 2018). However, the exact effects of Brexit, both in the short-, medium, and long-term, are difficult to predict, making for an uncertain