Dissemination or Dialogue? Europeanized Claims-Making During the Refugee Crisis in the Czech TV Broadcasting
Abstract
This paper examines Europeanized claims-making during the refugee crisis in the public service TV broadcasting in the Czech Republic. Exploring the communicative linkages established between claimants and addressees, I seek to answer two questions: 1) what the pattern of Europeanized communication was when discussing the refugee crisis (vertical / horizontal, top-down / bottom-up) 2) what form did the communication of European and national actors take. I analysed a representative sample of 2374 claims in 12 months (4/2015 - 3/2016) with the quantitative method of Political Claims Analysis (PCA).
According to the data, the EU was very often addressed by national actors but hardly ever seen to either respond to criticism or defend its positions. Thus, the debate was highly Europeanized with a strong prevalence of vertical bottom-up communication. The active presence of European actors in the Czech TV was limited to dissemination (official announcements); they were virtually absent from dialogue of any form (interviews, duels, debates etc.).
The findings suggest that public support for the EU as being negotiated in the televised political debates currently depends on the performance of national actors. However, their supportive stance towards the EU cannot be taken for granted neither in the CEE, nor in the West. Thus, I argue that the EU cannot limit its communication strategy in the member states to dissemination. There is a need for a further step in Europeanization of the public spheres - EU's representatives need to be seen active in mediatized dialogue (listening and being responsive to criticism).