Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Communications - Media and Politics, Politic Communications, grade: 1,7, University of Aarhus, course: Political communication, language: English, abstract: The German media has recently been strongly criticized for its coverage of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece. Critics say that journalists tend to represent Greece, its politicians and the people, in a very negative way. Against the background of the quality news media’s normative role in information coverage and the framing concept, this paper examines how the German news media covered the sovereign debt crisis in Greece recently, and if the current criticism is justified. To examine this, I gathered data from the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung to look at how the Greek debt crisis and the latest events were covered in the time period of 29 June to 19 July 2015. The articles are examined by textual analysis. The findings are contrasted with the theoretical and empirical background and the literature review.

The “Greek Crisis” in Europe: Race, Class and Politics, critically analyses the publicity of the Greek debt crisis, by studying Greek, Danish and German mainstream media during the crisis’ early years (2009-2015). Mass media everywhere reproduced a sensualistic “Greek crisis” spectacle, while iterating neoliberal and occidentalist ideological myths. Overall, the Greek people were deemed guilty of a systemic crisis, supposedly enjoying lavish lifestyles on the EU’s expense. Using concrete examples, the study foregrounds neoorientalist, neoracist and classist stereotypes deployed in the construction and media coverage of the Greek crisis. These media practices are connected to the “soft politics” of the crisis, which produce public consensus over neoliberal reforms such as austerity and privatizations, and secure debt repayment from democratic interventions.

The portrayal of Greece by the international press during the financial crisis has been seen by many independent observers as very harsh. The Greeks have often been blamed for a myriad of international political problems and external economic factors beyond their control. In this original and insightful work George Tzogopoulos examines international newspaper coverage of the unfolding economic crisis in Greece. American, British, French, German and Italian broadsheet and tabloid coverage is carefully analysed. The Greek Crisis in the Media debates and dissects the extent to which the Greek response to the financial crisis has been given fair and balanced coverage by the press and questions how far politics and national stereotypes have played their part in the reporting of events. By placing the Greek experiences and treatment alongside those of other EU members such as Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain, Tzogopoulos examines and highlights similarities and differences in the ways in which different countries tackled the challenges they faced during this crucial period and explores how and why the world's media reported these events.

This book focuses on one of the most highly charged relationships of the Euro crisis, that between Greece and Germany, from 2009 to 2015. It explores the many ways in which Greeks and Germans represented and often insulted one another in the media, how their self-understanding shifted in the process, and how this in turn affected their respective appraisal of the EU and that which divides us or keeps us together as Europeans. These stories illustrate the book’s broader argument about mutual recognition, an idea and norm at the very heart of the European project. The book is constructed around a normative pivot. On one hand, the authors suggest that the tumultuous affair between the two peoples can be read as “mutual recognition lost” through a thousand cuts. On the other, they argue that the relationship has only bent rather than broken down, opening the potential for a renewed promise of mutual recognition and an ethos of “fair play” that may even re-source the EU as a whole. The book’s engaging story and original argument may appeal not only to experts of European politics and democracy, but also to interested or emotionally invested citizens, of whatever nationality.

For Germany, as a strongly export-oriented economy, competitiveness on the international markets is of critical importance for its wealth and economic growth. A loss of competitive advantages could therefore severely affect the German economy. The aim of this book is to answer the question if and in what way this threat affected Germany’s economic competitiveness during the European debt crisis. The results will then be used to further define the publicly dominant disadvantages as well as possible advantages for Germany as a consequence of the crisis. In the end, the book also has the objective to give policy recommendations for the euro crisis from a German perspective. The results can subsequently contribute to the discussion whether Germany’s current policy is really „without any alternative“. In order to achieve the overall research goal, a combination of literature review and comprehensive data analysis is used. First of all, to provide a first „pillar“ of contextual background for the following analysis, an overview of the development and causes of the European debt crisis is given by referring to existing literature. Also, this section presents the financial and economic consequences of the described events in a graphical manner. Secondly, to construct the second pillar of conceptual framework, the term „economic competitiveness” is defined by a comprehensive literature review. Emphasis is put upon the concept of „ability to sell” and the measurement method of the country rankings while a short overview of other concepts is also provided. Finally, in combining theory and practice, an in-depth data-based analysis of the development of Germany’s economic competitiveness is given. With the help of various publicly available data sources, Germany’s ability to sell and other competitiveness metrics are tracked and elaborated on over the last centuries, with a special emphasis on the timeframe of the European debt crisis. Furthermore, comparisons to other countries are made to emphasize characteristics unique to Germany. Ultimately, the results of the analyses are evaluated and concluded in a short discussion about Germany’s current policy in the euro crisis. In this book: - the European debt crisis; - the role of Germany; - competitiveness; - prosperity; - ability to sell

Shortlisted for International Affairs Book of the Year in the Paddy Power Political Book Awards 2014 Angela Merkel was already unique when she became German chancellor: the first female leader of Europe’s biggest economy, the first from former communist East Germany and the first born after World War II. Since 2010, the debt crisis that spread from Greece to the euro region and the world economy has propelled her to center-stage, making Merkel the dominant politician in the struggle to preserve Europe’s economic model and its single currency. Yet the Protestant pastor’s daughter is often viewed as enigmatic and hard-to-predict, a misreading that took hold as she resisted global pressure for grand gestures to counter the crisis. Having turned the fall of the Berlin Wall to her advantage, Merkel is trying to get history on her side again after reaching the fundamental decision to save the euro, the crowning achievement of post-war European unity. Merkel has brought Europe to a crossroads. Germany’s economic might gives her unprecedented power to set the direction for the European Union’s 500 million people. What’s at stake is whether she will persuade them to follow the German lead. Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship Forged in Crisis is the definitive new biography of the world’s most powerful woman. Delving into Merkel’s past, the authors explain the motives behind her drive to remake Europe for the age of globalization, her economic role models and the experiences under communism that color her decisions. For the first time in English, Merkel is fully placed in her European context. Through exclusive interviews with leading policy makers and Merkel confidants, the book reveals the behind-the-scenes drama of the crisis that came to dominate her chancellorship, her prickly relationship with the U.S. and admiration for Eastern Europe. Written by two long-standing Merkel watchers, the book documents how her decisions and vision – both works in progress – are shaping a pivotal moment in European history.

Was migration to Germany a blessing or a curse? The main argument of this book is that the Greek state conceived labor migration as a traineeship into Europeanization with its shiny varnish of progress. Jumping on a fully packed train to West Germany meant leaving the past behind. However, the tensed Cold War realities left no space for illusions; specters of the Nazi past and the Greek Civil War still haunted them all. Adopting a transnational approach, this monograph retargets attention to the sending state by exploring how the Greek Gastarbeiter’s welfare was intrinsically connected with their homeland through its exercise of long-distance nationalism. Apart from its fresh take in postwar migration, the book also addresses methodological challenges in creative ways. The narrative alternates between the macro- and the micro-level, including subnational and transnational actors and integrating a diverse set of primary sources and voices. Avoiding the trap of exceptionalism, it contextualizes the Greek case in the Mediterranean and Southeast European experience.

This book aims to provide an analysis of the EU’s crisis decade—from the euro crisis to the populist right parties’ resurgence and Brexit. The EU has encountered a series of crises since 2008 when the Greek sovereign debt crisis first broke out and brought forth the euro crisis. This was soon followed by the rise of anti-EU populist right parties, culminating in their unprecedented victory in the 2014 European Parliament Elections. The most unexpected shock, however, was the Brexit result of the UK's EU referendum in 2016. Providing a valuable external perspective on these events grounded in the realities of the Asian boom, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers, and economists.

The Financial Times, the global business newspaper, has led the field with its coverage of the eurozone crisis and Greece's political and financial chaos. As the chances of a Greek exit from the eurozone grow, the FT's specialist correspondents and authoritative columnists dissect the potentially devastating consequences for businesses and governments across Europe. Could a 'Grexit' spell the unravelling of the European Union? Should the world economy take cover? What would the impact be on Greece itself? Based on a series of articles published online and in print in May 2012, the Financial Times' first ebook includes a foreword by Lionel Barber, the FT editor, an updated introduction to possible scenarios in the months ahead and a new chapter on the options for Germany, Europe's paymaster. Contributors include award-winning commentators Martin Wolf, Wolfgang Münchau and Gillian Tett, and foreign correspondents Peter Spiegel and Quentin Peel.

Over the course of the last ten years the issue of debt has become a serious problem that threatens to destroy the global socio-economic system and ruin the everyday lives of millions of people. This collection brings together a range of perspectives of key thinkers on debt to provide a sociological analysis focused upon the social, political, economic, and cultural meanings of indebtedness. The contributors to the book consider both the lived experience of debt and the more abstract processes of financialisation taking place globally. Showing how debt functions on the level of both macro- and microeconomics, the book also provides a more holistic perspective, with accounts that span sociological, cultural, and economic forms of analysis.