European integration as framed by dominant media discourses in Ireland: A discourse analysis in the Irish context

The paper analyses discourses of Europeanisation and in general discourses about the European project as these were framed and portrayed by major media outlets (print, online and broadcast) in Ireland in 2021 and 2022. They key discourses analysed refer to a number of thematic categories such as Brexit, the Pandemic, War in Ukraine, Migration, Economy, International affairs, Environmental issues. We conduct critical discourse analysis in order to identify dominant discourses and convey their sentiment (pro-, anti-European, or critical stance). Discourses in dominant themes are also classified to discursive units in order to understand the main, adjacent and opposing discourse on a specific topic. Our discourse analysis results are related and contextualized to the findings of a desk-based historical research conducted in an earlier phase of the project, which was focused on the evolution of Europeanisation discourses in Ireland as these were articulated in the Irish media-elite-public triangle. Our discourse analysis shows the predominance of a pro-European stance, which is adopted by the majority of the Irish media and politicians, and the ‘revival’ of specific discourses that were latent in previous years, e.g. a focus on solidarity in the context of crisis situations such as the pandemic. Results also demonstrate a hyper/hegemonic discourse of solidarity among the EU that is explicitly or implicitly mentioned in several references. In the Irish context, it is evident that Brexit constitutes a major moment for Ireland with regard to European integration. The war in Ukraine has also revisited the core dogma of Irish military neutrality and has contested its real meaning. The paper is part of a larger HORIZON2020 ongoing project (Mediatized EU) which analyses, from a comparative perspective, discourses of Europeanisation in several members states and one non-member state (Georgia). This project has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no 101004534 – Mediatized EU – H2020 – SC6 – Transformations - 2020