Imag(in)ing the eurocrisis: a comparative analysis of political cartoons

ABSTRACT

Political cartoons enable the public to understand and interpret otherwise very complex problems. However, while all cartoons agree that the European Union has been suffering from a major crisis, agreement on what kind of crisis is far less uniform. By executing a comparative analysis of 400 political cartoons across 12 countries, this paper examines how cartoons frame the eurocrisis and argues that its definition, causal interpretation and moral evaluation, is constructed along national or cultural lines. In northern Europe, the eurocrisis is primarily associated with a crisis of responsibility. In southern Europe, a crisis of solidarity is the dominant frame.

KEYWORDS:

• Political cartoons
• eurocrisis
• frames
• inductive framing analysis
• framing contest

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Matti Van Hecke is a Ph.D. candidate at University of Antwerp (BE). He graduated magna cum laude in a Master of European and Comparative Science and an Advanced Master in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Antwerp (BE).

Notes

1 For other articles using Daryl Cagle’s online database, see Wiid, Leyland, and Engstrom (2011) and Lacity and Rudramuniyaiah (2009).

2 The six other identified frames include ‘crisis of the financial system’, ‘crisis of the EU’s position in the world’, ‘crisis of the monetary system’, ‘crisis of morality’, ‘crisis of interconnectedness’. and ‘crisis of unity’ (For a complete overview and discussion of all identified frames, see Van Hecke, 2012.)