The case of Mesut Özil: A symbol of (non-) integration? An analysis of German print media discourses on integration

Abstract

This paper examines how German media discourses reflect debates around integration, based on a newspaper corpus spanning the period 2008–2018. Considering these discourses, our research interest is focussed on how integration is constructed as a responsibility of those who are expected to integrate into society. To analyze how media might play a role in reproducing essentialist constructions of difference, we present a case study that combines methodologies of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis, and that examines discursive practices and strategies linked to dominant discourses about integration in Germany. Our findings show that in the German context, certain ethnicities (here: people of Turkish background) are framed as “other” and these groups are constantly being assessed in terms of integration in ways that others are not.