Differential Europeanization: Explaining Vertical and Horizontal Europeanization in the Quality Press

Abstract

In the preceding chapter we concluded from the results of our quantitative long-term cross-sectional content analysis that the Europeanization of public spheres has hitherto remained limited to a single dimension: the monitoring of EU governance. A truly integrated European public sphere in which public debate actually transcends national borders has not yet developed. However, while the overall result is similar for all newspapers, a detailed analysis reveals a surprisingly wide range of patterns of Europeanization, as the level of Europeanization reached in each dimension can differ from paper to paper, some scoring relatively low on all dimensions, others achieving high levels on some dimensions, but falling behind on others. In this chapter, we shall first develop a theoretical model for explaining these different patterns of Europeanization of newspaper content. We shall then proceed to test this model on the data of our cross-sectional content analysis. Besides offering an analytical framework suited to identifying different ways of talking about Europe, that is, different patterns of Europeanization, we also venture a tentative explanation of how these different paths emerge and why they do not converge over time.