Demons, ants, giants and dwarves: the construction of Germany’s handling of the Euro-crisis in French political discourse

Bogain, Ariane (2014) Demons, ants, giants and dwarves: the construction of Germany’s handling of the Euro-crisis in French political discourse. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 22 (1). pp. 7-23. ISSN 1478-2804

[img] Microsoft Word
germanyfulltext.docx - Accepted Version

Download (62kB)
[img]
Preview
PDF (Journal article)
germanyfulltext.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (290kB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2014.887890

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Euro crisis in 2009 a succession of one “last chance” meeting after another has exposed deep rifts over the policies to implement in order to ensure the permanence of the Euro. From austerity measures to curb swelling public deficits put forward by Germany to European growth plans and solidarity mechanisms suggested by France disagreements have been deep and infighting widespread. The agreement of a new European treaty creating a tight fiscal pact, at the European Summit on 7 December 2011, brought these tensions to the fore, leading to a barrage of criticisms in France against Germany imposing its austerity agenda on the whole Eurozone. This article seeks to analyse how Germany has been portrayed in the French political discourse by focusing on the vast array of reactions to this new treaty. It will show a discursive struggle between three discourse types representing Germany as an evil force intent on dominating Europe, a virtuous ant unwittingly dominating Europe and an economic giant but a political dwarf. These discourses will show how Germany is trapped into past representations and how they reveal far more about France’s self-image in relation to its neighbour than about Germany itself.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Contemporary European Studies on 30/05/14, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2014.887890
Uncontrolled Keywords: Euro-crisis; Franco-German relationship; Critical Discourse
Subjects: R900 Others in European Languages, Literature and related subjects
Department: Faculties > Arts, Design and Social Sciences > Social Sciences
Depositing User: Ariane Basthard-Bogain
Date Deposited: 18 Mar 2013 16:52
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 14:02
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/11382

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics