Exit politics, enter politicization
Kauppi, N., & Wiesner, C. (2018). Exit politics, enter politicization. Journal of European Integration, 40(2), 227-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2018.1425244
Published in
Journal of European IntegrationDate
2018Copyright
© Taylor & Francis, 2018
A growing number of recent empirical studies such as the four contributions discussed here examine
the politicization of the European Union, Europe, European integration or European governance. Two
general research questions mark this emerging research field. A first one is how to theorize and
conceptualize the politicization of the European Union (EU) and the reasons behind it. Does
politicization have to do with a decline in EU support or Euroscepticism? Does it involve an increased
salience of EU affairs within national and transnational public spheres? What are politicization’s
repercussions on EU institutions? And how are political parties involved? A second question is
whether or not politicization is beneficial for the European integration project. Does it enhance
populist, xenophobic and reactionary responses? Or does it, on the contrary, bring about a
‘normalization’ of EU decision making in the national arenas?
The studies reviewed here, authored mostly by German scholars, link empirical and theoretical
perspectives on politicization. They show a number of similarities in their approach to
operationalising politicization and analysing it empirically. By politicization the authors refer to
controversies driven by public debate, political parties and elections. The studies leave out the third
research dimension that is usually mentioned in the politicization debate, the role of EU institutions
(cf. de Wilde 2011). They argue that, in order to analyse politicization, researchers need to study the
salience of issues, the polarization of opinions and the expansion of actors and audiences involved in
debating or shaping European integration. By salience the authors understand the importance
attributed to the EU and European integration, indicated by the number of newspaper articles dealing
with European governance, the awareness of citizens of the EU, and the amount of public statements.
Polarization refers to extreme positions, either in favour or against different aspects of European
governance. Actor and audience expansion refers to the growing number of citizens and collective
actors who invest time and money to follow and engage with EU governance. The setting of these
processes include parliaments, public spheres and public opinion.
...
Publisher
Nomos VerlagsgesellschaftISSN Search the Publication Forum
0947-9511Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/27897057
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Parliamentarisation as Politicisation
Palonen, Kari (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)Understanding politics as a contingent and controversial activity, politicisation refers to those activities that create or make visible the political quality in the phenomena in question. Parliamentarisation is a distinct ... -
Avauksia poliittiseen ajatteluun
Korvela, Paul-Erik; Lindroos, Kia (Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2008) -
Politiikan sietämätön keveys? : yksityiselämä ja sen poliittiset ulottuvuudet vuoden 2012 presidenttiehdokkaiden henkilökuvissa
Pasanen, Anni (2016)Politiikan henkilöitymistä on pidetty yhtenä merkittävimmistä kehityskuluista, joka muuttaa kehittyneiden teollisuusmaiden demokratioita. Henkilöitymisellä tarkoitetaan yksittäisten poliitikkojen roolin korostumista ... -
State composers and the red courtiers : music, ideology, and politics in the Soviet 1930s
Mikkonen, Simo (University of Jyväskylä, 2007)Venäläisiin arkistolähteisiin pohjaavassa väitöstutkimuksessaan Simo Mikkonen käsittelee Neuvostoliiton poliittisen eliitin ja taiteilijoiden keskinäisiä suhteita 1930-luvulla. Ajanjakso muistetaan Stalinin valtaannoususta ... -
Politicisation as a Speech Act : A Repertoire for Analysing Politicisation in Parliamentary Plenary Debates
Palonen, Kari (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022)This chapter analyses the actual speech acts of politicisation among parliamentarians, which also makes it possible to set the current debates among European Union (EU) scholars in a wider context. My aim is to sketch a ...