Civil Society, Rhetoric of Resistance, and Transatlantic Trade

“By combining rhetorical theory and strategies with framing, the authors advance an innovative approach, providing a nuanced examination of both supporters and opponents’ arguments over TTIP…it is a must-read and deserves to become a core reference work.”  

—Aukje van Loon, Postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Chair of International Politics, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

“Eliasson and Garcia-Duran’s rhetorical mapping of the contestation around TTIP reads as a political rollercoaster, drawing out how the once largely ‘club-like’ atmosphere of trade negotiations has become politicized. Their insightful account shows how the politics of trade has become a debate over the future shape of human society.”

—Michael Strange, Reader in International Relations, Malmö University, Sweden

This book investigates the politics of transatlantic trade, specifically the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. Using a novel approach, the authors analyze the rhetorical choices made by opponents and supporters of an agreement, and the logical behind their arguments. Opponents used emotive frames and strategically chosen issues to increase public opposition to the negotiations; supporters countered, but also accommodated, parts of opponents’ rhetoric in hopes of quelling discontent. The study also highlights the resulting changes to EU trade policy, thus contributing to the literatures on trade policy, politicization, and rhetorical analysis.

Leif Johan Eliasson is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Economics at East Stroudsburg University, USA.

Patricia Garcia-Duran Huet is Associate Professor in the Economic History Department at the University of Barcelona, Spain.