Morris , M. (2014) “EU: Reframing Can Go Hand in Hand with Reform“, Eurocrisis in the Press, LSE EUROPP, 20 Ιουνίου.
Last year my colleague Giulio Carini and I wrote an article about ‘reframing’ the EU. We thought that the current frames supporters of the EU were using in the debate were obstructive and we wanted to suggest some alternatives. We were particularly motivated to do so because we were spending the week hosting George Lakoff, the American professor who has become one of the most well-known advocates of framing, both as a linguistic construct and a political tool.
Since then, openDemocracy has published a series of articles on reframing the European debate, a number of which are somewhat suspicious of our approach. In the absence of Professor Lakoff, I am not ambitious enough to defend the entire concept of framing. But I will make a case for the value of the approach in the current EU debate. Now, in light of the European Parliament election results, where stagnating voter turnout and hotspots of strident Euroscepticism were some of the most striking trends, the fundamentals of the EU debate need addressing more than ever.
There are three broad criticisms levied against framing. One is that it is a spruced up version of spindoctory; political propaganda dressed up in academic obscurities. Another related critique is that it is elitist and disingenuous, reinforcing the political status quo rather than addressing people’s real concerns. And third, it could be seen as vacuous – rather than making a new political contribution, it just repackages old ideas. These are I think the fundamental complaints about the concept of framing and the somewhat low esteem in which some hold it. I won’t defend here the concept of framing in general: that debate is too abstract and too widely defined for my purposes. But in the context of the EU, these three concerns about framing seem to me misplaced. Framing can go well beyond spin and have transformative policy impact; it can help politicians to respond to previously neglected concerns; and it can provide a valuable contribution to the current debate on the EU.
Σχετικές αναρτήσεις:
- Ladi, S. & Tsarouhas, D. (2014) “The Politics of Austerity and Public Policy Reform in the EU“, Political Studies Review, 12: 171–180.
- Christopoulou, R. & Monastiriotis, V. (2014) “The public-private duality in wage reforms and adjustment during the Greek crisis“, Ερευνητικό Κείμενο, Παρατηρητήριο για την Κρίση, 14 Απριλίου.
- Featherstone, K. (2014) “The political challenges of institutional reform in Greece“, Policy Network, 11 Φεβρουαρίου.