Debating Europe in National Parliaments

This book investigates recent public debates about the European Union (EU) in national parliaments, which have become the primary arena for public debate about the EU. Responding to claims about a politicization of European governance, the author investigates the link between two dimensions of debate – the discursive justification and party political contestation of decision-making in the EU. Embedded in a comparison between the legislatures of four Member States (Austria, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom), the main finding of the book is that generalizable links can be identified between the use of different argumentative frames and patterns of party political polarization. These insights help to clarify the context conditions in which patterns of left/right and government/opposition politics are replaced by more atypical forms of polarization. In a comparative perspective, the author demonstrates that party political factors are a more relevant factor for variation than thematic or country-specific cultural or institutional factors. Case studies include debates on EU Treaty Reform, the Eurozone crisis, and EU enlargement.

• European Union
• Europeanization
• Party Politics
• European Integration
• EU Treaty Reform
• Eurozone Crisis
• EU enlargement
• european union politics

“Wendler’s groundbreaking study documents the increasing salience of the European Union in national parliamentary debates over the past decade. Using an innovative mix of quantitative and qualitative discourse analysis of four highly differentiated legislatures (the UK, France, Germany, and Austria), the book connects different EU-related discursive frames to very different patterns of party polarization, to show how and why this matters for the bottom-up democratization of the EU.” (Professor Vivien A. Schmidt, Boston University, USA)

“Arriving at a time when both the role of domestic legislatures and the legitimacy of European integration are high on the agenda, Debating Europe in National Parliaments shows convincingly how party politics shapes domestic contestation and argumentation over the EU. This excellent study also invites us to reappraise the functions of national parliaments in EU governance.” (Professor Tapio Raunio, University of Tampere, Finland)

 “This book will be of great interest to students of comparative politics, parliaments, and regional integration. The author skillfully applies a discourse theoretic approach to the dynamics of public debate in four national parliaments, with an eye toward linking the primary modes of justification with the role of parties in political contestation and polarization. Applying this approach to five important topics of European integration, he succeeds admirably. This is detailed, original empirical investigation at its best.” (Professor James Caporaso, the University of Washington, Seattle, USA)

• DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

  Frank Wendler

Frank Wendler is DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. 

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