Normalizing the Radical Right's Discourse on Press Freedom in the European Parliament: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the EMFA Debates

Christian Lamour

doi:10.1017/gov.2025.7

Normalizing the Radical Right's Discourse on Press Freedom in the European Parliament: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the EMFA Debates

Christian Lamour

Urban Development & Mobility

Résultats de recherche: Contribution à un journal › Article › Revue par des pairs

Résumé

The radical right is now able to impose its personnel and its agenda as the 'new normal' for a different European Union (EU). Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research into how this normalization is circulated by radical-right members of the European Parliament (MEPs), eager to be part of the social world of the liberal democratic European parliamentarians. This process of normalization is investigated in this article by carrying out a critical discourse analysis of the argumentation used by radical-right MEPs to reject an EU regulation supposed to preserve press freedom, currently threatened by the radical right in many EU member states: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The analysis shows that these MEPs have been keen to use a series of topoi to claim their embeddedness in liberal democracies, while mobilizing symbols and meanings revealing their autocratic roots and their willingness to redefine media freedom.

langue originale	Anglais
journal	Government and Opposition
Les DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2025.7
état	E-pub ahead of print - 30 juil. 2025

Une note bibliographique

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s).

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10.1017/gov.2025.7

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EuroMo2025: Euromedia Ownership Monitor
Lamour, C. (PI), Trappel, J. (Partner PI), d'Haenens, L. (Contracting Partner), Delaere, S. (Contracting Partner), Zankova, B. (Contracting Partner), Djouvas, C. (Contracting Partner), Šnorková, J. (Contracting Partner), Kettemann, M. (Contracting Partner), Ørsten, M. (Contracting Partner), Harro-Loit, H. (Contracting Partner), Perez-Altable, L. (Contracting Partner), Ala-Fossi, M. (Contracting Partner), Bocquillon, P. (Contracting Partner), Papathanassopoulos, S. (Contracting Partner), Kovačević, P. (Contracting Partner), Flynn, R. (Contracting Partner), Ruggiero, C. (Contracting Partner), Jastramskis, D. (Contracting Partner), Rožukalne, A. (Contracting Partner), Radu, A. (Contracting Partner), Głowacki, M. (Contracting Partner), Costa e Silva, E. (Contracting Partner), Vincze, H.-O. (Contracting Partner), Ohlsson, J. (Contracting Partner), Godársky, I. (Contracting Partner) & Milosavljević, M. (Contracting Partner)
1/01/25 → 31/12/25
Projet: Recherche

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title = "Normalizing the Radical Right's Discourse on Press Freedom in the European Parliament: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the EMFA Debates",

abstract = "The radical right is now able to impose its personnel and its agenda as the 'new normal' for a different European Union (EU). Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research into how this normalization is circulated by radical-right members of the European Parliament (MEPs), eager to be part of the social world of the liberal democratic European parliamentarians. This process of normalization is investigated in this article by carrying out a critical discourse analysis of the argumentation used by radical-right MEPs to reject an EU regulation supposed to preserve press freedom, currently threatened by the radical right in many EU member states: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The analysis shows that these MEPs have been keen to use a series of topoi to claim their embeddedness in liberal democracies, while mobilizing symbols and meanings revealing their autocratic roots and their willingness to redefine media freedom.",

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N2 - The radical right is now able to impose its personnel and its agenda as the 'new normal' for a different European Union (EU). Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research into how this normalization is circulated by radical-right members of the European Parliament (MEPs), eager to be part of the social world of the liberal democratic European parliamentarians. This process of normalization is investigated in this article by carrying out a critical discourse analysis of the argumentation used by radical-right MEPs to reject an EU regulation supposed to preserve press freedom, currently threatened by the radical right in many EU member states: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The analysis shows that these MEPs have been keen to use a series of topoi to claim their embeddedness in liberal democracies, while mobilizing symbols and meanings revealing their autocratic roots and their willingness to redefine media freedom.

AB - The radical right is now able to impose its personnel and its agenda as the 'new normal' for a different European Union (EU). Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research into how this normalization is circulated by radical-right members of the European Parliament (MEPs), eager to be part of the social world of the liberal democratic European parliamentarians. This process of normalization is investigated in this article by carrying out a critical discourse analysis of the argumentation used by radical-right MEPs to reject an EU regulation supposed to preserve press freedom, currently threatened by the radical right in many EU member states: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The analysis shows that these MEPs have been keen to use a series of topoi to claim their embeddedness in liberal democracies, while mobilizing symbols and meanings revealing their autocratic roots and their willingness to redefine media freedom.

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Normalizing the Radical Right's Discourse on Press Freedom in the European Parliament: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the EMFA Debates

Résumé

Une note bibliographique

Accès au document

Autres fichiers et liens

Projets

EuroMo2025: Euromedia Ownership Monitor

Contient cette citation