Choosing Europe: The Maastricht Treaty in the British and French public discourse. A theory of the relationship between the press, public opinion, and policy

This dissertation focuses on the political influence of the press, and on the role of French and British nationalisms on the formation of policy agenda in the particular case of the Maastricht Treaty. It also examines the influence of the public opinion on the policy agenda and tries to answer the following questions: is the European integration indeed undermining the nation state, and is the public accepting this process? Did the press report a selective agenda regarding the Maastricht Treaty in France and Britain? How did the press reporting influence public opinion regarding the treaty in France and Britain?;This is a comparative study of France and Britain, two main players in the European Union, which define their position to the EU in almost opposite terms. The French considered their country part of Europe, while the British saw Europe as "The Other." Both France and Britain expressed concern that the transnational power of decision of the EU weakened their national sovereignty, which they defined differently. It is argued that in France and Britain the processes of economic integration have actually intensified the national feelings and the attachment to one's nation.;The interaction between the press, opinion, and policy in Great Britain and France is studied in an interdisciplinary framework with the help of two theories: one is a political theory: nationalism; the other is a communication theory: agenda setting.;Agenda setting is used as an instrument of measurement of public attitudes, in this case, the attachment of the French and British to their national identity and their definition of these concepts. Agenda setting is also used as a political process when correlated with other historical sources---such as speeches by politicians and presidents, autobiographies, political writings of the members of the intellectual elite, and secondary sources on the issues of national identity and European integration. This analysis shows how newspapers in France and Britain were part of the process of European integration, and how they influenced it.