Agenda-setting and framing in Europe

Abstract

Studies of agenda-setting deal with the attention (or lack thereof) that issues receive in policy-making processes. It is intimately linked with framing, which serves to highlight certain (aspects of) issues to the detriment of others. Agenda-setting theory originated and was largely developed in the United States, but can fruitfully be applied in a European context as well. This chapter identifies and discusses the key insights from agenda-setting theory and their relevance for understanding politics, policy processes, and public administration in Europe. It shows what amendments to the original, US-based theories have been made in the European context and how those amendments have contributed to theory-building more generally. This relates both to agenda-setting within European states and in the European Union.