Abstract (may include machine translation)
This chapter examines generalized support for the EU rather than attitudes towards specific institutions and policies. Theories about its origin are subjected to more comprehensive empirical tests than previous analyses attempted, using time-series cross-section data covering all member states from the 1970s to 2007. The dynamic relationship between EU-support and national economic and political developments follows a transfer, rather than substitution logic, while increasing trade with EU member states, high cognitive mobilization, low welfare spending, Catholicism and favourable labour market position all contribute to favourable dispositions towards EU-membership. Other often suggested influences on EU support appear inconsistently across nations or time, which we attribute to the nature of the EU itself that generates diverse, contradictory, and ever-changing expectations among citizens.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Citizens and the European Polity |
Subtitle of host publication | Mass Attitudes Towards the European and National Polities |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Chapter | 8 |
Pages | 169-211 |
Number of pages | 42 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780199949908 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780199602339 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 24 Jan 2013 |
Keywords
- Cognitive mobilization
- Cues
- Eu-membership
- Instrumental calculus
- Political support
- Public opinion
- Time-series cross-section