Turkey’s accession process to the EU in the Spanish press: Constructing otherness through language and news images

This article examines the representation of Turkey’s accession process to the European Union (EU) in the Spanish newspapers El País and El Mundo. It covers three key moments: The Treaty of Helsinki (1999); the opening of negotiations in 2005; and the unilateral freezing of negotiations by the European Parliament in 2016. ‘MyNews’ is the tool used to access the news. The study uses critical discourse analysis (CDA), which examines the use of language to reveal underlying ideologies and power dynamics. The findings show that Turkey is often portrayed through biased images as a conservative and religiously backward country. There is a lack of context in both media, which focus on specific events rather than comprehensive analysis. In addition, Turkish sources are under-represented, excluding statements by political figures, suggesting that the narrative is largely shaped by Spanish journalists, potentially overlooking local nuances. Through CDA, this paper highlights the way in which media narratives about Turkey’s EU accession are constructed and shaped by dominant ideologies.