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Livin' on a prayer: Representations of nation and EU in the Albanian political discourse

Gjoncaj, Marsida LU (2012) EUHR18 20121
European Studies
Abstract
"Europe" is, together with "nation" and "state", one of the basic concepts around which national political debates are organised. Within these debates, the term "Europe" takes different (often oppositional) meanings and nuances, depending on the ideological background and interests of the parties involved. The aim of this thesis is to look at how images of the nation and EU are put forward in various political declarations of the two largest parties in Albania, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party. Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, I analyse how these two parties define and negotiate the Albanian-EU relations from a national identity angle. I conclude that there is a European hegemonic discourse emerging in Albania... (More)
"Europe" is, together with "nation" and "state", one of the basic concepts around which national political debates are organised. Within these debates, the term "Europe" takes different (often oppositional) meanings and nuances, depending on the ideological background and interests of the parties involved. The aim of this thesis is to look at how images of the nation and EU are put forward in various political declarations of the two largest parties in Albania, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party. Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, I analyse how these two parties define and negotiate the Albanian-EU relations from a national identity angle. I conclude that there is a European hegemonic discourse emerging in Albania and that relations between the country and EU are represented through metaphors of the family and the journey. Another conclusion deriving from the analysis is the interchangeable use of the words EU and Europe, where the economic and political union is equated with the historical and geographical name of the continent. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gjoncaj, Marsida LU
supervisor
organization
course
EUHR18 20121
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Europeanisation, metaphors, political discourse, Albania, political parties
language
English
id
3046930
date added to LUP
2012-09-11 13:22:34
date last changed
2015-12-14 13:23:23
@misc{3046930,
  abstract     = {{"Europe" is, together with "nation" and "state", one of the basic concepts around which national political debates are organised. Within these debates, the term "Europe" takes different (often oppositional) meanings and nuances, depending on the ideological background and interests of the parties involved. The aim of this thesis is to look at how images of the nation and EU are put forward in various political declarations of the two largest parties in Albania, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party. Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, I analyse how these two parties define and negotiate the Albanian-EU relations from a national identity angle. I conclude that there is a European hegemonic discourse emerging in Albania and that relations between the country and EU are represented through metaphors of the family and the journey. Another conclusion deriving from the analysis is the interchangeable use of the words EU and Europe, where the economic and political union is equated with the historical and geographical name of the continent.}},
  author       = {{Gjoncaj, Marsida}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Livin' on a prayer: Representations of nation and EU in the Albanian political discourse}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}