Normative Stories of the Formative Moment : Construction of Estonian National Identity in Postimees during the EU Accession Process

The longitudinal research "Normative Stories of the Formative Moment. Construction of Estonian National Identity in Postimees during the EU Accession Process" analyzes how Estonian national identity is constructed in country s largest and oldest daily newspaper in relation to the European Union (EU) during 1997-2003. The study combines media studies with political science, EU studies and nationalism studies to scrutinize this period as an example of a formative moment . During this formative moment the EU became the new official Other in relation to which a new temporary community, Estonia as a candidate country, was imagined in the opinion articles of the paper. The study is based on the assumption that national identity as a normative process of making a distinction between 'us' and 'Others' occurs in societal texts, such as the media. The overall framework consists of critical discourse analysis in three phases, text, discourse practice and sociocultural practice. The empirical data consists of 1780 opinion articles of Postimees. First, in the text level a characteristic feature of this formative moment is the open normativity of identity. In three discourses formed on the basis of the empirical data, European Estonia, Independent Estonia and Humble Estonia, the question of who we are is challenged both internally and externally by who we should become . Second, the analysis shows that in the beginning of the accession process only a limited group of people, mostly journalists and political decision makers, wrote about the EU. By 2003, however, both the number of articles as well as the variety of authors had multiplied several times. This shows, how a new community, Estonia as a candidate country, is first imagined by a small number of people and then expands into the wider public. Last but not least, this formative moment can be seen as a disciplining sociocultural practice. Here a link between normative public discussion and critical public opinion towards the EU during country s accession process can be drawn. Even though the newspaper tried to bring the EU closer to the people this attempt was accompanied by top-down discussions downplaying everyday problems. This study also shows the paradox of how a necessity to improve 'us' is communicated in the public discussion in parallel to claiming that Estonia as an EU member does not have to change .

Grantor dc:publisher

Helsingin yliopisto

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Kaasik-Krogerus, Sigrid

• viestintä
• sosiaalitieteet

Statement dc:rights

• Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
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Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10138/159619

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/159619