This book offers a transdisciplinary perspective on the question of how political legitimacy is constructed in the increasingly contested postnational setting of the European Union. Drawing on the example of the controversy about the EU constitution and the use of 'EU constitution speak' in commentaries published by Polish and French broadsheets, it reveals the transformation that constructions of political authority and association undergo when they are being transposed from the discourse field of multilateral negotiation to that of national news media. Through an original combination of the linguistic theory of discourse developed in Critical Discourse Analysis, Bourdieu's field theory and notion of symbolic power, and political thought on polity-building, it develops a framework for the discourse study of legitimation and Europeanisation, and proposes applications beyond the case studies in the book.To students of European integration, it demonstrates the potential these concepts have for unravelling the implicit practices of postnational polity building. Discourse researchers, on the other hand, will discover how detailed text analyses gain significance in debates related to the macro level of political organisation when guided by sociological and political theory.

Combines linguistic theories of discourse, field theory, political thought on polity building and Critical Discourse Analysis Shows how insights from political science, legal studies, sociology and linguistics contribute to a comprehensive study of EU legitimation Compares observations from a long-term EU member (France) and a newcomer (Poland)

Autorentext

1. Amelie Kutter is a Lecturer and Researcher in European Studies at European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

   Inhalt
   Chapter 1: If Only It Was a Different Polity: Introduction to the Book.- Chapter 2: Advancing the Linguistic Turn: Premises of Conceptual Work.- Chapter 3: Discursive Legitimation: Polity-Construction.- Chapter 4: Discursive Europeanisation: Recontextualisation.- Chapter 5: The Constitution Process in the Discourse Field of Multilateral Negotiation.- Chapter 6: Recontextualising the Constitutional Agenda in Polish and French Media Debates.- Chapter 7: Constructing the Polity Nexus: (De-)Legitimising the EU in Mediated Controversies in Poland and France.- Chapter 8: Towards a Discursive Political Sociology of European Integration: Conclusions.