Making Sense of Europeanization in Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

The European Union is at a crossroads and the integration project is currently shaken at so many levels that talks about its imminent disintegration, or at least the dissolution of the Eurozone (e.g. Grexit, Brexit, Frexit), occupy more and more space in the public sphere. European citizens, political leaders, EU pundits, mass media, and even European officials, are becoming less supportive of the EU, and thus less willing to place further trust in EU policies and the EU decision-making process. Numerous overlapping crises that the EU has been faced (the economic crisis, the Ukraine crisis, and the recent migration crisis, to name only the most prominent) have contributed to an increase of distrust and a rise of EU contestation among people. Given this context, many scholars and experts have focused primarily on the reaction of Western countries, the old member states where a return to narratives of individual progress and recognition within the Union has led to a confirmation of national stereotypes of economic superiority. The new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), on the other hand, have been usually perceived as spirited supporters of the European Union, eager to complete their ‘return to Europe’ and to catch up with the West in terms of economy, democracy and administration. Their eagerness to break with their Communist past and to embark on a democratic track has determined these states to push for EU membership in order to ensure social and political stability, security, and to build democracy and a market economy. Overall, by means of Eastern enlargement, both the West and the East have aspired to reduce the disparities between old and new members. In reality, instead of resolving these gaps, enlargement has brought them to the fore and put them into the spotlight. Progress has been made in the economic sphere and EU membership has been wealth-enhancing for many of the CEE countries. How do the media in CEE countries cover the EU and EU-related topics? Has the coverage of the EU intensified during crises? To what extent are public spheres in these countries Europeanized? To what extent has the Europeanization of public spheres led to polarization and contestation of the EU in CEE countries? These are but a few questions that we seek to provide answers for in this panel, which is included in the section What Europe? Researching Consequences of a Diverse Europeanization of National Public Spheres of the 2016 ECPR General Conference in Prague. The panel can provide an invaluable opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue and welcomes papers that address the impact of recent EU crises on the Europeanization of societies and public spheres in CEE countries.

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