Table of contents
List of Tablesx
List of Figuresxii
Forewordxiv
Chapter 1.Introduction1
1.1Us vs Them and liminal entities3
1.2Polysemy of “Europe”4
1.3European identity(ies)7
1.3.1EU position7
1.3.2Studies from various disciplines8
1.4Introduction to the chapters12
Chapter 2.Methodology17
2.1The Role of European Media17
2.2The French print and online media, Le Monde18
2.2.1The institution Le Monde20
2.2.2The identities of Le Monde23
2.3Theoretical framework25
2.4Construction of corpora27
2.5Textual analyses30
2.5.1Systemic functional linguistics30
2.5.2Lexicometric analysis31
2.5.3Rhetorical analysis32
2.5.4Content analysis33
2.6Synthesis: quantitative / qualitative combination33
Chapter 3.“Europe” in Le Monde’s headline discourse37
3.1Methodology38
3.1.1Corpus38
3.1.2A three-pronged approach39
3.1.3Systemic functional grammar39
3.2Headline analysis42
3.2.1First step: Polysemic use of “Europe” / “Européens” in Le Monde’s
headlines42
3.2.2Second step: Foregrounding of the European Union48
3.2.3Third step: The various degrees of visibility of individual States50
3.2.4Synthesis: Three categories of “Other Europeans”53
3.3Towards a framework for the representation of a group54
3.3.1Greimas’ semiotic square of Us and Them55
3.3.2Media representations of Us and Them56
3.3.3The presence of “Others,” different from Us and Them stricto sensu57
3.3.4Tentative framework for the representation of “Europe”58
3.4Conclusion61
Chapter 4.Brexit63
4.1Political context: “Britain’s dual position”63
4.2Corpus selection68
4.3Methodology70
4.4Results of the analyses71
4.4.1Actor and time framework for the all-genre narrative71
4.4.2Contextual framework for the all-genre narrative74
4.4.3All-genre narrative vs. editorial narrative79
4.5Conclusion84
Chapter 5.“Europe at its borderline”85
5.1Methodology87
5.2“Europe de l’Est,” “Europe centrale,” and other denominations88
5.2.1Composition of “Europe de l’Est,” “Europe centrale,” and other denominations88
5.2.2Representation of “Europe de l’Est,” “Europe centrale,” and other denominations91
5.3Poland, Hungary, and Romania94
5.3.1Headline analysis94
5.3.2Rhetorical analysis of the editorials98
5.3.3Lexicometric analysis of the all-genre corpora100
5.4Conclusion115
Chapter 6.Ukraine117
6.1Corpus118
6.2Lexicometric analysis of Le Monde’s coverage of Ukraine’s links with Europe119
6.2.1Ukraine in between Western Europe and Russia121
6.2.2Questions of EU values linked to Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU127
6.3Rhetorical analysis of Le Monde’s journalists writing on Ukraine’s identity130
6.4Rhetorical analysis of Le Monde’s editorials on Ukraine’s links to Europe138
6.5Conclusion140
Chapter 7.Belarus143
7.1Presentation of Belarus143
7.2Corpus146
7.3Lexicometric analysis146
7.3.1Belarus’ foreign policy148
7.3.2Political opposition to Lukashenko152
7.3.3Lukashenko, Russia, and Europe155
7.4Conclusion: Belarus’ European and non-European identity161
Chapter 8.Turkey163
8.1Specificity of Turkey in Europe163
8.1.1From secularism to the rising role of Islam in public life163
8.1.2Turkey and Europe165
8.2Corpus166
8.3Lexicometric analysis167
8.3.1General presentation of the all-genre and editorial semantic clusters167
8.3.2“Migration issue”170
8.3.3EU-Turkey relations173
8.4Rhetorical analysis185
8.5Conclusion188
Chapter 9.The fuzzy areas of European belonging191
9.1Le Monde’s representation of what it is to be “European”191
9.1.1Le Monde’s prominent representation of the EU192
9.1.2Le Monde’s position on the contested purpose of the EU192
9.1.3Le Monde’s representation of EU value support at the State level and people level within the
EU193
9.1.4Le Monde’s position on EU values on the European continent193
9.1.5Closer to “Them-European” than to “Us-European” in Le Monde’s presentation194
9.1.6Part of “European-Them” or, simply, “non-European” in Le Monde’s perspective195
9.1.7Synthesis195
9.2Le Monde’s concept of Europe197
9.2.1The EU: Its purpose and means198
9.2.2Divergence on the EU’s purpose201
9.2.3Framework for the representation of Europe in Le Monde206
9.2.4The oddness of being neither a friend nor a foe210
9.3Various degrees of European belonging and news media’s role215
Appendix 1.Brexit corpora219
Appendix 2.“Europe at its border” corpora225
Appendix 3.Ukraine corpora231
Appendix 4.Belarus corpus235
Appendix 5.Turkey corpora237
References241
Index249
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