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The study of metaphors in political discourse provides an excellent opportunity to introduce discourse analysis to theories of European integration and international relations. This article suggests a framework of analysis for linking the study of metaphors with these literatures. In a first step, the article connects the International Relations concepts of macro-structure, micro-structure and internalization with the analogous concepts of conceptual metaphors, metaphorical expressions and sedimentation as used in the study of metaphors. In a second step, it examines key metaphors used in discourses on the future of the EU. The empirical analysis suggests that the metaphors of MOTION, CONTAINER and EQUILIBRIUM OF CONTAINERS are the most significant discursive representations of the EU.
KEY WORDS * Alexander Wendt * conceptual metaphors * discourse analysis * European integration * George Lakoff * sedimentation
Introduction
The analysis of metaphors has greatly enriched our understanding of international relations (IR) and European integration (e.g. Beer and de Landtsheer, 2004; Chilton, 1996a, 1996b; Chilton and Ilyin, 1993; Chilton and Lakoff, 1995; Hülsse, 2003; Luoma-aho, 2004; Milliken, 1996; Musolff, 1995; Schäffner, 1995).1 Of particular interest is the idea that the usual templates of IR discourse are in fact metaphors that can steer political thinking and practice in particular ways, and against which alternative metaphors can be outlined. However, most of these studies maintain a rather narrow perspective. They focus on the specific discourse in hand, without connecting the discourse analytical framework with wider IR theoretical concepts, and without engaging with previous theoretical studies of the subject.2 Therefore, inspiring though they may be, the results of these studies are unlikely to offer further insight when brought together with other 'non-metaphorical' contributions to the study of IR and European integration.
This article shows that the study of metaphors in political discourse provides fertile grounds for the meeting of concepts of discourse analysis with concepts of IR theory and theories of European integration. This meeting takes place on two levels. First, I argue that the concepts used for the analysis of international structure, such as macro-structure, micro-structure, and internalization (Wendt, 1999), can be usefully linked to the concepts used for metaphor analysis, such as conceptual metaphors, metaphorical expression, and sedimentation (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980). With this in mind, I conceptualize international structure according...