Imag(in)ing the eurocrisis: a comparative analysis of political cartoons

Political cartoons enable the public to understand and interpret otherwise very complex problems. However, while all cartoons agree that the European Union has been suffering from a major crisis, agreement on what kind of crisis is far less uniform. By executing a comparative analysis of 400 political cartoons across 12 countries, this paper examines how cartoons frame the eurocrisis and argues that its definition, causal interpretation and moral evaluation, is constructed along national or cultural lines. In northern Europe, the eurocrisis is primarily associated with a crisis of responsibility. In southern Europe, a crisis of solidarity is the dominant frame.