Mălina Ciocea | National University of Political Studies and Public Administration
Alexandru I. Cârlan | National University of Political Studies and Public Administration
The article examines three Romanian diasporic publications in the UK, aiming to identify the formation of a diasporic counterpublic in opposition to mainstream anti-EU immigration stances, during and after the 2016 referendum. Drawing upon (critical) discourse analysis, argumentation theory and rhetoric, it proposes a discursive operationalisation of the concept of counterpublic, employed to analyse the articulation of exclusion and the expression of opposition in diasporic media. The diasporic contributions undermine the nativist logic of particular mainstream stances by exposing discrimination and injustice against EU immigrants as unacceptable for a democratic society, and by openly rejecting the identity-based hierarchies that uphold this logic. Such positions co-exist with the partial reproduction of symbolic boundaries, in a style that is similarly mixed (deliberation, irony, personal narratives, classic reporting and blog style). Despite these contradictory tendencies, critical awareness is raised through (self-)reflexivity and resistance, and claims grounded in EU citizenship rights are made.
Asen, Robert. 2000. “Seeking the ‘counter’ in Counterpublics.” Communication Theory 10 (4): 424–446.
Bailey, Olga G.2015. “Diasporic Media in Multicultural Societies.” In The Routledge Companion to Alternative and Community Media, ed. by Chris Atton, 414–425. London, New York: Routledge.
Bailey, Olga G., Cammaerts, Bart, and Nico Carpentier. 2008. Understanding Alternative Media (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies). Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/ Open University Press.
Balabanova, Ekaterina, and Alex Balch. 2010. “Sending and Receiving: The Ethical Framing of Intra-EU Migration in the European Press.” European Journal of Communication 25 (4): 382–397.
Balch, Alex, and Ekaterina Balabanova. 2016. “Ethics, Politics and Migration: Public Debates on the Free Movement of Romanians and Bulgarians in the UK, 2006–2013.” Politics 36 (1): 19–35.
Balch, Alex, and Ekaterina Balabanova. 2017. “A Deadly Cocktail? The Fusion of Europe and Immigration in the UK Press.” Critical Discourse Studies 14 (3): 236–255.
Bar-On, Tamir. 2018. “The Radical Right and Nationalism.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, ed. by Jens Rydgren, 43–74. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Beciu, Camelia, and Mirela Lazăr. 2018. “Migration and Country Status: The Rearticulation of Identities through Media Counter-Discourses.” In Debating Migration as a Public Problem: National Publics and Transnational Fields, ed. by Camelia Beciu, Mălina Ciocea, Irina Diana Mădroane and Alexandru I. Cârlan, 41–61. New York: Peter Lang.
Beciu, Camelia, Mădroane, Irina Diana, Ciocea, Mălina and Alexandru I. Cârlan. 2017. “Media Engagement in the Transnational Social Field: Discourses and Repositionings on Migration in the Romanian Public Sphere.” Critical Discourse Studies 14 (3): 256–275.
Bozdag, Cigdem, Hepp, Andreas, and Laura Suna. 2012. “Diasporic Media as the ‘Focus’ of Communicative Networking among Migrants.” In Mediating Cultural Diversity in a Globalized Public Space, ed. by Isabelle Rigoni and Eugénie Saitta, 96–115. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brouwer, Daniel C.2006. “Communication as Counterpublic.” In Communication as…: Perspectives on Theory, ed. by Gregory J. Shepherd, Jeffrey St. John, and Ted Striphas, 2–11. Sage Books.
Cârlan, Alexandru I., and Mălina Ciocea. 2018. “Media Deliberation on Intra-EU Migration: A Qualitative Approach to Framing Based on Rhetorical Analysis.” In Debating Migration as a Public Problem: National Publics and Transnational Fields, ed. by Camelia Beciu, Mălina Ciocea, Irina Diana Mădroane and Alexandru I. Cârlan, 115–137. New York: Peter Lang.
Cox, Robert, and Christina R. Foust. 2009. “Social Movement Rhetoric.” In The Sage Handbook of Rhetorical Studies, ed. by Andrea A. Lunsford, Kirt H. Wilson, and Rosa A. Eberly, 605–627. Los Angeles: Sage.
CR. 2017. “Deport Farage to Romania.” Click RomâniaJune6. [URL]
CR. 2018. “Brexit va declanșa atacuri rasiste [Brexit will trigger racist attacks].” Click RomâniaJuly9. [URL]
Dayan, Daniel. 1999. “Media and Diasporas.” In Television and Common Knowledge, ed. by Jostein Gripsrud, 103–113. London: Routledge.
Demir, Ipek. 2017. “Shedding an Ethnic Identity in Diaspora: De-Turkification and the Transnational Discursive Struggles of the Kurdish Diaspora.” Critical Discourse Studies 14 (3): 276–291.
D2b. 2017a. “Farage e un patriot, May e Boudica, iar Juncker e un alcoolist [Farage is a patriot, May is Boudica, and Juncker is an alcoholic].” Click RomâniaMay5. [URL]
D2b. 2017b. “Brexit a deschis Cutia Pandorei [Brexit has opened up Pandora’s box].” Click RomâniaNovember30. [URL]
D2b. 2017c. “Brexit, please do lick my Romanian and terrorist finger.” Click RomâniaDecember4. [URL]
D2b. 2018. “Politica britanică a devenit românească [British politics has become Romanian].” Click RomâniaFebruary8. [URL]
Echevarría Vecino, Lucía, Ferrández Ferrer, Alicia, and Gregory Dallemagne. 2015. “Discursive Inclusion and Hegemony: The Politics of Representation in Spanish Migrant Minority Media.” In Journalism, audiences and diaspora, ed. by Ola Ogunyemi, 1–14. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Fahnestock, Jeanne. 2011. Rhetorical Style: The Uses of Language in Persuasion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fairclough, Isabela. 2016. “Evaluating Policy as Argument: The Public Debate over the First UK Austerity Budget.” Critical Discourse Studies 13 (1): 57–77.
Fairclough, Isabela, and Norman Fairclough. 2012. Political Discourse Analysis: A Method for Advanced Students. London: Routledge.
Fairclough, Norman. 2003. Analyzing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London: Routledge.
Fox, Jon E.2017. “Eastern European, Brexit and Racism.” British Sociological Association. Latest News. [URL]
Fox, Jon E., Moroşanu, Laura, and Eszter Szilassy. 2012. “The Racialization of the New European Migration to the UK.” Sociology 46 (4): 680–695.
Fraser, Nancy. 1990. “Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy.” Social Text 25/261: 56–80.
Geddes, Andrew, and Peter Scholten. 2016. The Politics of Migration and Immigration in Europe (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Georgiou, Myria. 2013. “Diaspora in the Digital Era: Minorities and Media Representation.” Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe 12 (4): 80–99. [URL]
Georgiou, Myria. 2016 [2005]. “Mapping Diasporic Media Cultures: A Transnational Cultural Approach to Exclusion.” In Media, Technology and Everyday Life in Europe: From Information to Communication, ed. by Roger Silverstone, 33–51. New York: Routledge.
Guia, Aitana. 2016. “The Concept of Nativism and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments in Europe.” EUI MPW, 2016/20. Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository. [URL]
Habermas, Jürgen. 1989 [1962]. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, trans. by Thomas Burger with the assistance of Frederick Lawrence. Cambridge: Polity Press, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Ipsos MORI. 2016. “Shifting Ground: Changing Attitudes to Immigration in the Long Term and during Election Campaigns.” [URL]
Ipsos MORI. 2017. “Shifting Ground: 8 Key Findings from a Longitudinal Study on Attitudes towards Immigration and Brexit.” [URL]
Ipsos MORI. 2018. “Attitudes to Immigration May 2018.” [URL]
Irimia, Gelu. 2018. “Manchester. Băiat român snopit în bătaie de mai mulți colegi de școală britanici [Manchester. Romanian boy battered by several British school mates].” LondonezulMay6. [URL]
Jackson, Daniel, Thorsen, Einar, and Dominic Wring (eds.). EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voters and the Campaign. Bournemouth: Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture & Community.
Light, Nathan. 2007. “Cultural Politics and the Pragmatics of Resistance: Reflexive Discourses on Culture and History.” In Situating the Uyghurs between China and Central Asia, ed. by Ildikó Bellér-Hann, M. Cristina Cesàro, and Joanne Smith Finley, 49–68. London: Ashgate.
Martin, James. 2014. Politics and Rhetoric: A Critical Introduction. London, New York: Routledge.
Mădroane, Irina Diana. 2018. “Romanian Immigration in the British Newspapers: Engaging Audiences during the Brexit Referendum Campaign.” In Debating Migration as a Public Problem: National Publics and Transnational Fields, ed. by Camelia Beciu, Mălina Ciocea, Irina Diana Mădroane and Alexandru I. Cârlan, 139–171. New York: Peter Lang.
Mercado, Antonieta. 2019. “Decolonizing National Public Spheres: Indigenous Migrants as Transnational Counterpublics.” In The Handbook of Diasporas, Media and Culture, ed. by Jessica Retis and Roza Tsagarousianou, 269–282. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell.
MMaer. 2018. “Românii cred că economia Marii Britanii nu va putea rezista fără ei: ‘Dacă plecăm, cine mai muncește?’ [Romanians in the UK: ‘If we go, who will do the jobs after Brexit?’].” Ziarul Romanesc.netSeptember20 (English version from O’Carroll, Lisa, and Smith, Sean. 2018. “Romanians in the UK: ‘If we go, who will do the jobs after Brexit?’” The GuardianSeptember19). [URL]
Matsaganis, Matthew D., Katz, Vikki S., and Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach. 2011. Understanding Ethnic Media: Producers, Consumers and Societies. Los Angeles, London: Sage.
Moore, Martin, and Gordon Ramsay. 2017. UK Media Coverage of the 2016 EU Referendum Campaign. Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power. King’s College London. [URL]
Morrison, J.2019. “Re-Framing Free Movement in the Countdown to Brexit? Shifting UK Press Portrayals of EU Migrants in the Wake of the Referendum.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 21(3): 594–611.
Mudde, Cas. 2007. Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mudde, Cas. 2012. The Relationship between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Nentwich, Julia, and Patrizia Hoyer. 2013. “Part Time Work as Practising Resistance: The Power of Counter-Arguments.” British Journal of Management 24 (4): 557–570.
Ogunyemi, Ola. 2015. “Introduction: Conceptualizing the Media of Diaspora.” In Journalism, Audiences and Diaspora, ed. by Ola Ogunyemi, 1–14. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Redacția ZW. 2016. “Rasismul și intoleranța în Marea Britanie au atins cote alarmante [Racism and intolerance in Great Britain have reached alarming levels].” Ziarul Romanesc.netOctober6. [URL]
Rigoni, Isabelle, and Eugénie Saitta. 2012. “Democratizing the Public Space? Ethnic Minority Media in a Glocal Context.” In Mediating Cultural Diversity in a Globalized Public Space, ed. by Isabelle Rigoni and Eugénie Saitta, 1–18. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rydgren, Jens. 2018. “The Radical Right: An Introduction.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right, ed. by Jens Rydgren, 23–39. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rzepnikowska, Alina. 2018. “Racism and Xenophobia Experienced by Polish Migrants in the UK before and after Brexit Vote.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 1–17.
Siapera, Eugenia. 2010. Cultural Diversity and Global Media: The Mediation of Difference. Malden, Oxford, Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
Squires, Catherine R.2002. “Rethinking the Black Public Sphere: An Alternative Vocabulary for Multiple Public Spheres.” Communication theory 12(4): 446–468.
Thed. 2017. “Românii din UK, țigani, leneși, criminali și prostituate fără moralitate [Romanians in the UK, gypsies, lazy people, murderers and prostitutes with no morals].” Click RomâniaMay31. [URL]
Vathi, Zana, and Ruxandra, Trandafoiu. 2018. “EU Nationals in the UK after BREXIT: Political Engagement through Discursive Awareness, Reflexivity and (In)action.” Journal of Language and Politics, current issue.
Van Leeuwen, Teun. 2008. Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Warner, Michael. 2002. Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.
2023. Framing justice in struggles over cultural heritage: the case of Black Pete in the ‘postcolonial’ Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 49:17 ► pp. 4518 ff.
Mădroane, Irina Diana
2021. Shame, (Dis)empowerment and Resistance in Diasporic Media: Romanian Transnational Migrants’ Reclassification Struggles. In Mediated Shame of Class and Poverty Across Europe, ► pp. 61 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.
