European Identity And The Representation Of Islam In The Mainstream Press

This book combines media studies and linguistics with theories of national and supranational identity to offer an interdisciplinary approach to the study of European identity/ies and news discourses. Taking representations of ‘Islamist terrorism’ and Turkey’s accession to the European Union as case studies, it analyses the discursive construction of supranational European identity through the discursive distinction of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’. Moreover, it compares the media’s representations of the ‘Other’ in different socio-political moments in Europe- from times of European integration (2004-5) to the European dystopia (2015-16) through the discourse analysis of specific Greek, British and French newspapers. This timely work synthesizes classic argumentative approaches and Gramscian thought in the study of media discourses by focusing on the Aristotelian concept of topos and introducing the concept of ‘hegemonic knowledge’. This pioneering work will appeal to scholars across the fields of linguistics, social anthropology, European politics, and media studies.

This book introduces the concept of narrative tradition to study representation in international politics. Focusing specifically on the case of Turkey, the book shows how narrative traditions are constructed, maintained, and passed on by a loose epistemic community that involves practitioners and experts including scholars, journalists, diplomats, and political representatives. Employing an interpretative approach, the book distinguishes between four narrative traditions in the study of Turkey: Turkey as a state that is (1) getting lost, (2) standing at a decisive crossroad, (3) led by strongmen, and (4) struggling with a creeping Islamisation.These narrative traditions carry enduring beliefs that not only describe, moralise, judge, and stigmatise Turkey, but also contribute to the idea of the West. The book focuses on knowledge that is produced from a Western perspective, showing that Turkey provides a channel through which the Western self can be debated, challenged, celebrated, and judged.

Synthesising diverse research avenues for politics, discourse, and political discourse, this cutting-edge Handbook examines the formative traditions, current theoretical and methodological landscape, and genres and domains over which political discourse extends.

The far right is on the rise. And there are signs that part of the political mainstream in Europe, the US, and beyond is considering accommodating far-right populist parties and their divisive, ethno-nationalist programs. Europe at the Crossroads is an urgent scholarly response to the sociopolitical challenges that far-right programs pose to the idea of a more egalitarian world. It offers an interdisciplinary analysis and critique of the dynamics of the far right in Europe from Poland to the UK, from Sweden to Greece. The authors present pertinent alternatives when tackling the exclusionary rhetoric and the politics of resentment. Each contributor investigates the current advance of far right populism and the threat to liberal democracy. Their texts address the historical roots and activities of the ideologies behind Orbanism or Brexit for example. The slogan 'Fortress Europe' once a pejorative term now appeals to large numbers of voters. The authors analyze the power balance in the European Parliament, particularly in connection with the elections in the spring 2019.

Researching the Far Right brings together researchers from across the humanities and social sciences to provide much needed discussion about the methodological, ethical, political, personal, practical and professional issues and challenges that arise when researching far right parties, their electoral support, and far right protest movements. Drawing on original research focussing mainly on Europe and North America over the last 30 years, this volume explores in detail the opportunities and challenges associated with using ethnographic, interview-based, quantitative and online research methods to study the far right. These reflections are set within a wider discussion of the evolution of far right studies from a variety of disciplinary viewpoints within the humanities or the social sciences, tracing the key developments and debates that shape the field today. This volume will be essential reading for students and scholars with an interest in understanding the many manifestations of the far right and cognate movements today. It also offers insight and reflection that is likely to be valuable for a wider range of students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences who are carrying out work of an ethically, politically, personally, practically and professionally challenging nature.

This book focuses on the resistance practices digitally enacted by a group of refugees in the context of the Australian detention policy. Drawing on critical-, multimodal- and ethnographic-discursive analytical research, the author brings to the fore the digitally mediated lived experiences of detained refugees as articulated from Australia-run offshore and onshore detention facilities. The book unveils how refugees’ self-representation and counter-discursive practices on social media aim to dismantle the dehumanizing, exclusionary, and obliterating anti-refugee rhetoric that pervades political and media landscapes in contemporary Australia. It will be of interest to academics and students in fields including Digital Migration Studies, Refugee Studies, Digital Media Studies, Corpus Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies, including Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies, and Discourse Ethnography.

As Europe’s Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their impact on electoral politics and the potential for inclusion dilemmas. In vote-rich enclaves, Muslim views on religion, tradition, and gender roles can deviate sharply from those of the majority electorate, generating severe trade-offs for parties seeking to broaden their coalitions. Dilemmas of Inclusion explains when and why European political parties include Muslim candidates and voters, revealing that the ways in which parties recruit this new electorate can have lasting consequences. Drawing on original evidence from thousands of electoral contests in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain, Rafaela Dancygier sheds new light on when minority recruitment will match up with existing party positions and uphold electoral alignments and when it will undermine party brands and shake up party systems. She demonstrates that when parties are seduced by the quick delivery of ethno-religious bloc votes, they undercut their ideological coherence, fail to establish programmatic linkages with Muslim voters, and miss their opportunity to build cross-ethnic, class-based coalitions. Dancygier highlights how the politics of minority inclusion can become a testing ground for parties, showing just how far their commitments to equality and diversity will take them when push comes to electoral shove. Providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding the causes and consequences of minority political incorporation, and especially as these pertain to European Muslim populations, Dilemmas of Inclusion advances our knowledge about how ethnic and religious diversity reshapes domestic politics in today’s democracies.

Following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on 11 Sept., a reporting system was implemented on potential anti-Islamic reactions in the 15 European Union (EU) Member States. This report, based on 15 country reports, presents a comparative analysis of acts of aggression and changes in attitudes towards Muslims and other minority groups across the EU in the wake of 11 Sept. Its findings show that Islamic communities and other vulnerable groups have become targets of increased hostility since 11 Sept., although attempts to allay fears sometimes led to a new interest in Islamic culture and to practical interfaith initiatives. The report's recommendations are drawn from examples of good practice in overcoming fears and tackling prejudice.