Figuring Out Europe: EU Metaphors in the Minds of Czech Civil Servants
Figuring Out Europe: EU Metaphors in the Minds of Czech Civil Servants

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the results of a metaphor-oriented research programme studying civil servants’ conceptions of the European Union (EU). It reveals the metaphoricity of apparently neutral terms used when describing Europe and shows how the metaphors we use influence our understanding and expectations. Three conceptual metaphors – container, equilibrium and motion – are defined as modes of thinking about the EU’s institutional governance. Czech civil servants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government Office seem to understand the EU as either a series of intergovernmental bargains (i.e. an equilibrium) or as continuously transforming (i.e. a motion). The preferences of officials for one metaphor over another depends on their agendas: Czech Foreign Ministry officials involved with Community and intergovernmental issues tend to use the motion metaphor, while Government officials responsible for intergovernmental issues prefer the equilibrium metaphor. Yet there is a general tendency for all civil servants to portray the EU as a rule-based integration project.

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