Irish citizens and the media during the Euro crisis: An inter-arena approach to studying the politicization of the EU by Anna Gora A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018, Anna Gora Abstract When the euro crisis hit Europe, so did recurring claims of an ‘unprecedented’ politicization of European integration charcterized by increased attention to the EU in the media and claims of rising euroscepticism among EU citizens. These are characteristic of the media-based analyses that dominate politicization research. This dissertation disputes the generalizability of these claims from the media to lay citizens and to other political arenas. It argues than an approach that differentiates between the various dimensions of politicization (i.e. salience, scope and contestation) and between the various arenas on which it plays out (i.e. institutional, intermediary and citizen) is necessary for an accurate understanding of the character and development of politicization. Through a mixed- methods quantitative-qualitative analysis that applies equivalent indicators longitudinally over parallel time periods, it investigates how the politicization of the EU compares between media debates and citizen discourse. It then maps how it evolved comparatively between them over the duration of the crisis. Politicization in the Irish news media, observed through media content analysis of the Irish Times and the Irish Independent in chapter 4, is then compared with that among Irish citizens, observed through focus group discussions and Eurobarometer surveys in chapter 5. This dissertation finds that contrary to claims of an ‘unprecedented’ degree of politicization, politicization of the EU in the Irish news media during the crisis can be characterized as a moderately salient, deep, moderately euro-critical polarization that is becoming somewhat wider in scope over time with no consistent trend in either the salience or contestation of EU politics. In contrast, in the citizen arena it was characterized as a week to moderately salient, wide, moderately polarized politicization that is slowly ii progressing in a wider but not deeper euro-critical direction. It finds that even where the intensity of politicization does not change over time, there can still be significant changes to the character of politicization in any one or more of its three dimensions. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Achim Hurrelmann for his mentorship and unwavering support and encouragement over the duration of this project, and especially during my deepest moments of self-doubt and uncertainty. Also, to my committee, Dr. William Walters and Dr. David Long for expanding the scope of ideas and literature that I have considered in writing this dissertation and their detailed and constructive comments that have surely helped to make this manuscript stronger. The fieldwork for the project, conducted in Dublin Ireland during the fall of 2013 was made possible due the generous support of a travel grant from the Centre for European Studies. I would also like thank Sandy Herbert for always finding me a quiet workspace when I needed it most and Brookes Fee for her continued supply of help and support along the way. Finally, I am eternally grateful to Michal without whose endless support and incredible patience, this project would have never come to fruition, and to Andrea Wagner, Victoria Thomson and Rasmus Karlsson for their invaluable advice and inspiration along the way. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xii Glossary ........................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: RELATING ECONOMIC CRISES IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND TO A POLITICIZATION OR LACK THEREOF OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. ..................................... 1 1.1 Politicization as a Research Agenda in EU Studies........................................................ 5 1.2 The Irish Case ................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUALIZING POLITICIZATION AND A FRAMEWORK FOR ITS ANALYSIS 14 2.1 Differentiating Arenas of Politicization. ...................................................................... 15 2.2 The Public Sphere in Politicization Research. .............................................................. 22 2.3 Conceptualizing Politicization to Accommodate a Differentiated Research Approach. ………………………………………………………………………………………...27 2.4 The Intermediary Arena and News Media. .................................................................. 39 2.4.1 The Agenda-Setting Function of the News Media ................................................... 39 2.4.2 Accounting for the Growth of New Media Technologies ........................................ 43 2.4.3 General Interest in News and Public Affairs ............................................................ 44 2.5 The Citizen Arena ......................................................................................................... 46 2.5.1 Contention and Polarization ..................................................................................... 46 2.5.2 Apathy, Indifference or Ambivalence? .................................................................... 47 2.5.3 Explaining Different Trajectories of Politicization Across Arenas .......................... 49 2.5.4 Citizen Publics: When Citizens Enter the Public Sphere ......................................... 50 2.6 Methodological Approach ............................................................................................ 55 CHAPTER 3: THE IRISH POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT: A BLURRING OF POLITICAL ARENAS .. 62 3.1 Political Participation in Ireland ................................................................................... 63 3.2 A Brief Account of Austerity Protest in Ireland ........................................................... 68 v 3.2.1 The Character of Irish Anti-Austerity Protest .......................................................... 74 3.3 The Irish Political Environment ................................................................................... 77 3.4 State-Society Relations in Ireland before and After Social Partnership ....................... 81 3.5 The Legacy of Social Partnership on EU-Related Political Contestation .................... 89 3.6 The Legacy of Social Partnership on Political Advocacy ............................................ 95 3.7 Irish Media in the Intermediary Arena ......................................................................... 98 3.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 4: MAPPING POLITICIZATION: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND THE EURO CRISIS IN THE IRISH NEWS MEDIA .................................................................................................... 102 4.1 The Irish Press ............................................................................................................ 107 4.2 Methodology............................................................................................................... 109 4.3 Salience ...................................................................................................................... 112 4.4 Scope .......................................................................................................................... 124 4.4.1 Overall Topic of Article ......................................................................................... 126 4.4.2 Article Topics, Over Time ..................................................................................... 129 4.4.3 Reporting on Politics in Other Member States ....................................................... 136 4.4.4 References to EU Actors and Institutions .............................................................. 139 4.5 Contestation ................................................................................................................ 143 4.5.1 EU-Related Claims in the Irish News Media: Intensification ................................ 145 4.5.2 EU-Related Claims in the Irish News Media: Diversity of Opinion ...................... 152 4.5.3 EU-Related Claims in the Irish News Media: Contention ..................................... 164 4.6 Conclusion: EU Politicization or Euro-politicization? .............................................. 173 CHAPTER 5: MAPPING POLITICIZATION: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND THE CRISIS IN