„The chancellor does not make any deals.” This is a statement from the German government spokesman Georg Streiter, who answered a question of the journalist and YouTuber Tilo Jung during a session of the Federal Press Conference in April 2016 (Jung 2016). Streiter obviously did not find the term deal appropriate for the new agreement1, the EU had made with Turkey in order to reduce the number of refugees coming to the EU via Turkey.
In Germany’s political language the term deal has nothing but a bad, dubious or at least un professional meaning, whereas Abkommen–the German word for agreement–has a neutral and respectable connotation. Consequently, it is no surprise that spokesman Streiter did not like a journalist using a term like deal. However, Jung used the term in full awareness of its bad connotation, probably to put emphasize on the arguably political background of the agreement.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Media–state relations in political communication research
3. Methods
4. References
Research Objectives and Themes
This research proposal aims to investigate the framing contest surrounding the EU-Turkey refugee agreement within the German press. By utilizing content analysis, the study seeks to determine if major German quality newspapers adopted the government’s narrative or provided a critical counterframe to the policy.
- Framing and counterframing in political communication
- Media-state relations and the indexing model
- Critical analysis of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement
- Comparison of editorial standpoints (liberal vs. conservative)
- Journalistic sourcing patterns during political crises
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
„The chancellor does not make any deals.” This is a statement from the German government spokesman Georg Streiter, who answered a question of the journalist and YouTuber Tilo Jung during a session of the Federal Press Conference in April 2016 (Jung 2016). Streiter obviously did not find the term deal appropriate for the new agreement1, the EU had made with Turkey in order to reduce the number of refugees coming to the EU via Turkey.
In Germany’s political language the term deal has nothing but a bad, dubious or at least unprofessional meaning, whereas Abkommen–the German word for agreement–has a neutral and respectable connotation. Consequently, it is no surprise that spokesman Streiter did not like a journalist using a term like deal. However, Jung used the term in full awareness of its bad connotation, probably to put emphasize on the arguably political background of the agreement.
In the EU-Turkey agreement, which came into force on March 18, 2016, Turkey agreed to take back persons, who illegally came to Europe via Turkey. In return, the EU agreed to open its borders to Syrian asylum seekers, to support Turkish NGOs with six billion Euros and to give visa freedom to the Turkish citizens. After the EU-Turkey agreement came into force it got widely criticized by politicians, intellectuals and media in Germany (Kiyak, 2016, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2016). The critics blamed the agreement to be against the Geneva Convention on Refugees as well as immoral, because it would make a deal with an authoritarian state, which would not be part of the solution, but part of the problem (Deutscher Bundestag, 2016). Lastly, some critics are convinced, that the EU-Turkey agreement would make the EU and especially the German chancellor Angela Merkel susceptible to backmail by the authoritarian regime of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Linksfraktion, 2016).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the background of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement and the semantic controversy surrounding the terms "agreement" vs. "deal" in political discourse.
2. Media–state relations in political communication research: Reviews theoretical frameworks, including Bennett’s indexing model and Entman’s cascading activation, to understand how media interact with governmental narratives.
3. Methods: Outlines the qualitative and quantitative content analysis approach to examine coverage in the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
4. References: Provides a comprehensive list of scholarly sources and news media citations used throughout the research proposal.
Keywords
EU-Turkey agreement, framing, counterframing, media-state relations, political communication, indexing model, German press, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, refugee crisis, content analysis, political journalism, government narrative, democratic discourse, sourcing patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research proposal?
The proposal focuses on analyzing how the German press framed the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, specifically examining whether media outlets adopted the government's official perspective or challenged it.
What are the central thematic fields covered in the study?
The study centers on political communication, specifically media-state relations, the ethics of political framing, and the role of the press as a critical watchdog in democratic societies.
What is the core research question?
The core research question asks to what extent the German press adopted the German government’s claims concerning the EU-Turkey agreement.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author proposes a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative framing analysis (to assess narrative depth) with quantitative content analysis (to measure the frequency and prevalence of specific frames).
What subjects are addressed in the main body?
The main body covers theoretical foundations like Bennett's indexing model and the cascading activation model, followed by a detailed methodology for analyzing articles from two major German newspapers.
Which keywords define this research?
Key terms include EU-Turkey agreement, framing, counterframing, media-state relations, indexing model, and content analysis.
Why are the terms "agreement" and "deal" significant?
The terminology is significant because "Abkommen" (agreement) carries a neutral, professional connotation in German politics, whereas "deal" implies a dubious, potentially immoral political compromise.
Which newspapers are being analyzed and why?
The study selects the Süddeutsche Zeitung (liberal leaning) and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (conservative leaning) as they are the most influential daily quality newspapers in Germany.
What is the function of the "deal frame" in the proposed coding?
The "deal frame" is used to identify articles that criticize the agreement, specifically doubting its moral standards or its overall efficiency in solving the refugee crisis.
How does the author define the "neutral frame"?
The neutral frame identifies content that balances both arguments for and against the agreement without displaying a clear bias toward either perspective.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Leonard Kehnscherper (Autor:in), 2017, ‘Agreement’ vs. ‘Deal’. Framing of the EU-Turkey Refugee Policy in German Quality Newspapers, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/385681
