Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
European Parliament (EP) elections fall within the category of second-order elections: because these types of elections do not lead to the formation of government there is less at stake and, consequently, voters behave differently when casting ballot. However, since the behaviour of voters in electi...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
UACES
2013-11-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Contemporary European Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/view/575 |
| _version_ | 1819225887257657344 |
|---|---|
| author | Jan Kovář Kamil Kovář |
| author_facet | Jan Kovář Kamil Kovář |
| author_sort | Jan Kovář |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | European Parliament (EP) elections fall within the category of second-order elections: because these types of elections do not lead to the formation of government there is less at stake and, consequently, voters behave differently when casting ballot. However, since the behaviour of voters in elections cannot be perceived in isolation from the behaviours of political parties and media, the question then arises if media (and political parties) also perceive that there is less at stake and hence they behave differently. To this aim, this article analyses the news media coverage of the 2004 and 2009 EP elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (N = 5672) and, at the same time, integrates the second-order election theory with the behaviours of the media. Moreover, the article provides unique comparative evidence of news coverage of national parliamentary (N = 5435) and EP elections in both countries. The results indicate that media across the EU only marginally cover EP elections and particularly less than national first-order elections and that coverage of EP elections is dominated by domestic EU political actors. The findings are discussed in the light of existing literature on EP elections, the existence of Europeanised public spheres and EU’s legitimacy as well as democratic deficit. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:16:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5c30a165139436ca5ecff0ed387d0eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1815-347X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T10:16:44Z |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | UACES |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Contemporary European Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5c30a165139436ca5ecff0ed387d0eb2022-12-21T17:50:48ZengUACESJournal of Contemporary European Research1815-347X2013-11-0195Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and SlovakiaJan Kovář0Kamil Kovář1Metropolitan University PragueCERGE-EIEuropean Parliament (EP) elections fall within the category of second-order elections: because these types of elections do not lead to the formation of government there is less at stake and, consequently, voters behave differently when casting ballot. However, since the behaviour of voters in elections cannot be perceived in isolation from the behaviours of political parties and media, the question then arises if media (and political parties) also perceive that there is less at stake and hence they behave differently. To this aim, this article analyses the news media coverage of the 2004 and 2009 EP elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (N = 5672) and, at the same time, integrates the second-order election theory with the behaviours of the media. Moreover, the article provides unique comparative evidence of news coverage of national parliamentary (N = 5435) and EP elections in both countries. The results indicate that media across the EU only marginally cover EP elections and particularly less than national first-order elections and that coverage of EP elections is dominated by domestic EU political actors. The findings are discussed in the light of existing literature on EP elections, the existence of Europeanised public spheres and EU’s legitimacy as well as democratic deficit.https://jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/view/575EuropeanisationEP electionsMediaSecond-Order ElectionsFirst-Order Elections |
| spellingShingle | Jan Kovář Kamil Kovář Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia Journal of Contemporary European Research Europeanisation EP elections Media Second-Order Elections First-Order Elections |
| title | Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
| title_full | Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
| title_fullStr | Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
| title_short | Towards the European(-ised) Public Sphere: The Case of EP Elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
| title_sort | towards the european ised public sphere the case of ep elections in the czech republic and slovakia |
| topic | Europeanisation EP elections Media Second-Order Elections First-Order Elections |
| url | https://jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/view/575 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jankovar towardstheeuropeanisedpublicspherethecaseofepelectionsintheczechrepublicandslovakia AT kamilkovar towardstheeuropeanisedpublicspherethecaseofepelectionsintheczechrepublicandslovakia |