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Article published In:
Re/constructing Politics Through Social & Online Media: Discourses, ideologies, and mediated political practices
Edited by Michał Krzyżanowski and Joshua A. Tucker
[Journal of Language and Politics 17:2] 2018
► pp. 281–304

Social media in/and the politics of the European Union

Politico-organizational communication, institutional cultures and self-inflicted elitism

ORCID logo | University of Liverpool

This paper looks at how social/online media – using the example of Twitter – are used in the politico-organizational communication of the European Union at a time when it faces multiple crises and is in acute need of effectively communicating its politics to the European demos. Proposing a critical discourse framework for the analysis of the politico-organizational use of Twitter, the paper shows that while, to some extent, bringing change or ‘modernization’ to EU political communication patterns, social/online media help in sustaining some of the deep-seated dispositions in EU communicative and organizational practices as well as political discourses. As deployed by the EU’s – and specifically the European Commission’s – spokesperson service, social/online help in solidifying some of the controversial patterns in EU political communication. They also bring in other, more contemporary, challenges as regards using Twitter and social media as parts of political and institutional/organizational communication.

Keywords: European Union, discourse, Twitter, politico-organizational communication, spokespeople, crisis
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The European Union, external communication and online/social media
  • 3.Twitter ‘Behaviour’, Twitter ‘Discourse’ and EU Spokespeople: Analysis
    • 3.1Design of the study
    • 3.2Pathways and categories of analysis
    • 3.3Analysis of interactive strategies
    • 3.4Analysis of key discursive strategies
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 7 February 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.18001.krz
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