Through analysis of newspaper coverage on the debate over the future of Europe in Great Britain and Germany between 2000 and 2005, this book explores the intricate ways in which national identities shape media discourses on European integration. In doing so, it provides some compelling insights into Europe's emerging communicative space(s).

List of Tables and Figures Preface PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. The EU, the Nation State and the News Media 2. Scope of the Book 3. Plan of the Book PART II: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 4. The Social Construction of Europe – a New Focus for Theory and Research 5. Democracy and Legitimacy at the EU level 6. Democracy and Communication 7. The Nexus of Communication, Legitimacy and Identity PART III: THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPHERE 8. The European Public Sphere, Brussels and the Media  9. A European Public Sphere or a European Sphere of Publics? PART IV: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 10. Discursive Conditions for a Europeanisation of Public Spheres  11. The News Media as Subject of Analysis  12. The Communicative Event under Study: The Future of Europe Debate PART V: IDENTITIES IN PERSPECTIVE: TWO DIFFERENT HISTORICAL RELATIONSHIPS TO EUROPE 13. Introduction  14. Britain 15. Germany  16. Concluding Remarks PART VI: THE DISCURSIVE REPRESENTATION OF THE FUTURE OF EUROPE PROCESS 17. Joschka Fischer's Humboldt Speech (2000)  18. The Presentation of the Convention Results (2003) 19. The Reactions to the Rejection of the Constitutional Treaty (2005) PART VII: CONCLUSION 20. Britain and Germany Imagining the Future of Europe 21. Implications for the 'European Sphere of Publics' Bibliography I. Primary Sources Official Documents Official Speeches Additional Media Sources II. Secondary Literature Index