National storylines and topoi found in the focus group discussions

Abstract:

This chapter presents the results of a qualitative and interpretive analysis of narrative elements in the focus group discussions. First, it showcases the reconstruction of two distinct country-specific storylines of European integration: a “fado story” about missed opportunities found in Portugal and a “pride and prejudice” story of national achievements found in Finland. Next, the chapter presents a selection of key topoi (or commonplaces), detected across the focus group discussions in the nine selected countries. Such topoi (e.g. “solidarity should not be a one-way street”) were used by participants as commonly understood argumentative shortcuts when reasoning about solidarity in communicative interactions with others.