Measuring the Europeanisation of Public Communication: the Question of Standards

Abstract

The emergence of a pan-European public sphere based on a common language, discourse and media sphere is generally held to be unlikely, if not impossible. Research has therefore mainly focused on measuring different degrees of Europeanisation of existing national media spheres. In applied research however, the notion of ‘Europeanisation’ often remains very fuzzy. The new agenda of ‘Europeanisation’ has been mainly applied as a pragmatic research strategy. As such, it still lacks theoretical grounding and methodological coherence. With this in mind, the article will raise the question of standards. This regards first of all theoretical standards to determine how Europeanisation relates to the transformation of the national public sphere. Second, methodological standards indicating how to measure Europeanisation must be set. Finally, public-sphere research must critically address the question of normative standards to determine whether Europeanisation meets the criteria of democratic legitimacy.