Media Positioning in German-Speaking News Coverage of the Döner Kebab Dispute

OpenAlex Türkçe

This article examines the debate that emerged from Türkiye’s attempt to register “Döner Kebab” in the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) product. The study approaches this process within the framework of mediated gastrodiplomacy, understood as a field in which food, diplomacy, and journalism intersect in the production of public meaning. Drawing on Nye’s concept of soft power and Althusser’s notion of ideological state apparatuses, it argues that German-speaking media assume two contradictory functions in this debate. On the one hand, the media contribute to Europe’s symbolic appeal by presenting the culinary culture carried by guest workers migrating from Türkiye to Germany as a symbol of cosmopolitanism and cultural openness. On the other hand, when the name, ownership, and market access of döner turn into a regulatory struggle, news discourse shifts toward economic protectionism, boundary-making, and the defense of local interests. This hypothesis is tested through qualitative framing analysis, comparing how news texts define the issue, distribute responsibility, construct legitimacy, and foreground particular solutions. The findings show that German-speaking media embrace the discourse of pluralism primarily insofar as it protects internal diversity and economic interests. As a result, the study demonstrates that the German-speaking media sphere displays a strategically inconsistent position.