Discourse Theory in European Politics

In the last decade discourse theory has gained an increasing prominence within the social sciences. Building on hermeneutical and poststructuralist insights discourse theorists have created a well-established research program that challenges rationalist, individualist and other reductionistic approaches. Discourse Theory in European Politics presents a series of problem-driven empirical studies of identities, policies and new forms of governance in today's Europe. An international group of distinguished discourse theorists analyse a broad set of topics such as European security and identity, administrative reforms, policy formation, eugenics and mass media debates. All contributions reflect on methodological issues and demonstrate the value of taking a discourse theoretical approach to political analysis.