The Absence of Conflict of Political Debates on the EU in National Newspapers: A Quantitative Comparative Content Analysis of the French, British, Irish, and Spanish Cases (2005–2006)

On the basis of comparative quantitative content analysis, this paper deals with the main modalities of appropriation and the dominant actors in the political debates on Europe in national newspapers in France, Great Britain, Ireland, and Spain between 2005 and 2006. It focuses on the paradoxes of party-based communication, developing the hypothesis of the absorption of European issues within established cleavages through the nationalization and the presidentialization of political debates. As transcribed by national presses, these debates foster domestic perspectives and the low visibility of the European level while reinforcing power asymmetries between actors in terms of their capability to ensure representation and visibility for their perspectives, a process that forges exchanges structured mainly through an uncontentious modality.