Description
In an age of uncertainty and poly-crisis, the taken-for-granted technocratic governance by numbers at the heart of international economic integration is re-politicised. This paper investigates how this politics of expertise plays out in the media by tracking discussions between different types of monetary policy experts, so-called central bank watchers. Using the discourse network analyser, it unpacks the evolution of discourse coalitions in the discussion on the nature of inflation and adequate monetary policy action in the Eurozone. Examining the period between the first inflationary uptick in January 2021 and the European Central Bank’s first rate hike in July 2022 in European broadsheets, the paper’s findings provide an actor-based understanding of ideational stability and change in Eurozone monetary policy debates. In contributing to an understanding of the discursive construction of crises, the paper speaks to a broader research agenda on the sensemaking processes that link technocratic, supranational institutions and international organisations to national public spheres, influencing their reputation and effectiveness.
