EurPolCom's AIMS AND HISTORY The Centre for European Political Communications (EurPolCom) is institutionally located at the University of Bristol, UK. EurPolCom advances research in the fields of political communications, the public sphere and social movements. Topically, its focus has been based on two pillars: Migration and Multiculturalism; and European Integration and the Public Sphere. EurPolCom was initially established in 2000, by Professor Paul Statham. Our research activities and partnerships have been made possible by a successful track record for funded research from bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Commission, and the European Science Foundation. EurPolCom is in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies. NEW MAJOR PUBLICATION THE MAKING OF A EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPHERE: MEDIA DISCOURSE AND POLITIAL CONTENTION RUUD KOOPMANS AND PAUL STATHAM EDS. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 2010. This book investigates an important source of the European Union's recent legitimacy problems. It shows how European integration is debated in mass media, and how this affects democratic inclusiveness. Advancing integration implies a shift in power between governments, parliaments, and civil society. Behind debates over Europe's 'democratic deficit' is a deeper concern: whether democratic politics can perform effectively under conditions of Europeanization and globalization. This study is based on a wealth of unique data from seven European countries, combining newspaper content analyses, an innovative study of Internet communication structures, and hundreds of interviews with leading political and media representatives across Europe. It is by far the most far-reaching and empirically grounded study on the Europeanization of media discourse and political contention to date, and a must-read for anyone interested in how European integration changes democratic politics and why European integration has become increasingly contested. Reviews "A democratic European Union, engaging citizens not just technocratic elites, requires a vibrant European public sphere to strengthen integration and legitimacy. Koopmans and Statham lead a first-rate team of international scholars to assess how far such an arena had emerged by the 1990s. Comparing newspaper and online coverage of European affairs in seven nations, supplemented with journalist interviews, the study concludes that the EU is publicly visible today on the policy issues where the EU is most influential, such as the euro. Koopmans and Statham present a highly original and theoretically-rich study providing novel insights into processes of political communications and European Union policymaking." Pippa Norris, Harvard University "This is a book of major importance. It is hard to imagine how any future scholar addressing issues of Europeanization could possibly ignore it." William Gamson, Boston College "European integration and European democracy are increasingly contested. Elites can no longer take public support for granted. The debates are taking in place in the mass media. This book documents in detail who raises which issues with whom and to whom in the European public sphere. It represents a giant leap forward in the study of the European public sphere by a group of top experts in the field. A must-read if you want to understand why the European Union and its policies are becoming ever more contentious." Thomas Risse, Freie Universität Berlin "A collectively written work rarely exhibits consistency in its conceptual framework or applies a common methodology. This rigorous argument for the existence of a 'Europeanized' public sphere, therefore, is surely an exception. Even better, as the European Union faces its present deep financial and political crisis, the authors' central thesis will be severely tested, providing grounds for future debate." Philip Schlesinger, Centre for Cultural Policy Research, University of Glasgow RESEARCH GRANT AWARDS Professor Paul Statham and Dr Marta Bolognani PREMIG: 'Possibilities and Realities of Return Migration: perspective on integration, exclusion and withdrawal' Funding: Research Council of Norway (Bristol Share £200K) Duration: 2011-14 Scope: international collaboration with Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway (PRIO) Professor Paul Statham awarded a Research Professorship at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin WZB for May and June 2009. Professor Paul Statham is part of the six country consortium awarded a large grant within the European Union's Framework Seven Programme. EURISLAM: 'Finding a Place for Islam: Cultural Interactions between Muslim Immigrants and Receiving Societies in Europe' investigates the cultural interaction between groups of Muslim migrants and their societies of settlement across six Western European countries (UK, F, B, D, NL, CH). The project started in February, 2009, and will run until 2012. Partners are Ruud Koopmans (WZB Berlin), Jean Tillie (IMES Amsterdam), Dirk Jacobs (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Marco Giugni (Université de Genève), and Manlio Cinalli (Sciences Po - Paris). EURISLAM WEBSITE. MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HELD 'Studying Political Reality by Analyzing News': An Expert Level symposium undertaken as a part of the News Event Analysis initiative of the European Social Survey (ESSi: NA4) funded by the European Commission at City University London, March 31st 2009 This one day symposium was built around presentations and discussions by leading international figures on methodological approaches for analyzing data retrieved from news contents. Keynote speakers were: Professor Jan Kleinnijenhuis (VU Amsterdam, NL) who has developed an original computer-based method for analyzing semantic networks from news texts; Professor Robert Entman (George Washington University, USA) who has advanced frame analysis studies from a political communications perspective; and Professor Paul Statham who outlined the conceptual approach and theoretical underpinning for linking data from coding news sources to survey data on public opinion, which has provided the basis for the new methodological tool developed within the ESSi NA4 project. Twenty five experts on news contents analysis attended the symposium and contributed to a lively dialogue on methods. FURTHER LINKS: Department of Sociology. Centre for Ethnicity and Citizenship Bristol Institute for Public Affairs European Governance Research Group City University (London) ARENA in Oslo WZB Berlin European Social Survey