Speaking ‘Europe’: the politics of integration discourse

The role of language has as yet been largely neglected in studies of European integration. This article provides the theoretical groundwork to remedy this gap through discourse analysis. Its main argument is that attempts to capture the EU's nature both in the political and the academic debate themselves take part in the construction of the Euro-polity. The article proceeds in three moves: an 'Austinian' move introducing the notion of a performative language, a 'Foucauldian' move clarifying the political implications of such a language, and a 'Derridarean' move discussing the possibilities of change and opening up space for alternative constructions of European governance. Each move is illustrated by examples from the history of European integration and European integration studies. The conclusion presents research questions emanating from such a discursive perspective and discusses some caveats.