Disaster salience, polarisation and the framing of 'Europe' in Turkish newspaper coverage: a comparative analysis of 1999 and 2023 earthquakes

Abstract

This study examines how disasters interact with domestic polarisation and EU-Turkiye relations to shape framings of 'Europe' in Turkish newspapers, comparing coverage of the 1999 and 2023 earthquakes. Through critical discourse analysis of four national newspapers, it categorises six framing families (solidarity/aid, competence/performance, blame/credit, geopolitics, membership/integration and identity/culture) and classifies scepticism levels as none/weak, soft or hard. The temporal comparison reveals that in 1999, aid was closely tied to rapprochement and EU membership debates, whereas by 2023, it had become routine and increasingly linked to competence and blame, with membership discourse largely absent. Opposition newspapers depicted Europe as a normative and professional benchmark, while pro-government ones emphasised sovereignty and pragmatic cooperation. These patterns reflect broader transformations on both sides, EU enlargement fatigue, the prominence of migration governance, rule-of-law politics and the deepening polarisation of Turkish media.