The European Union’s growing range of competences increases the degree of required societal support among the member states’ citizens. This study intends to ‘map’ national attitudes towards the EU and to deduct their political implications. Therefore, the concepts of
i) identification with the EU and ii) support of the EU are combined within a matrix of four ideal types.
Individuals are assigned to these four ideal types: the ‘EU-Enthusiasts’, the ‘EU-Pragmatics’, the ‘sceptical EU-Idealists’, and the ‘EU-Opponents’/’EU-Non-affected’. In this master thesis it is claimed that the population share of the two ‘mixed’ ideal types - mostly neglected in the literature – provide essential insight into national attitude towards the EU: ‘sceptical EU-Idealists’ identify themselves as citizens of the EU but are critical towards its politics; on the other hand,
‘EU-Pragmatics’ support the EU’s politics but do not identify with its institutions or its community.
At a glance
- Grade: 2.0 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Compares rational and emotional attitude patterns in 56 country matrices
- Applies Inglehart’s Cultural Map to evaluate national value orientations
- 81 sources in the bibliography
Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Relevance
1.2 Research attempt
1.3 General limitations
2 Previous research
2.1 Overview of relevant research and prevailing approaches
2.1.1 Findings of qualitative and quantitative research
2.1.2 Concepts of identity
2.1.3 Explanatory national institutions
2.2 Research gaps and this study’s point of contact
3 Theory
3.1 Theoretical perspectives and basic assumptions
3.2 Definition of fundamental concepts
3.2.1 EU-identification and EU-support
3.2.2 Framing the EU - a dualistic concept
3.3 National institutions: Three explanatory models
3.3.1 National value orientation
3.3.2 Political opportunity cost model
3.3.3 National identity type
4 Methods and data
4.1 Positioning in research field
4.2 Research design and hypotheses
4.3 Dataset and operationalisation
5 Results
5.1 Overview of EU-identification and EU-support by dimension
5.2 Ideal type matrices
5.3 Relative shares of ideal types
5.4 Overall results and country clustering
5.5 Evaluation of explanatory variables
6 Discussion
6.1 Further research
6.2 Political implications
6.3 Outlook
Objectives and Themes
This study maps national patterns of attitudes towards the European Union by examining how identification with the EU and support for it combine across member states. It asks how these patterns differ between countries and how rational and emotional perspectives, membership duration and national institutions may help explain them.
- EU identification and support as distinct concepts
- Four ideal types of attitudes towards the EU
- Rational and emotional dimensions of EU framing
- Comparative analysis of Eurobarometer survey data
- National values, political institutions and identity types
- Country clusters and implications for EU identity policy
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.1 EU-identification and EU-support
The construct of EU-identification and EU-support are fundamental for this study. Most studies of this research field do not analyse EU-identification but European identity - although it is “marked by emptiness rather than specific content” (Rautenfeld 2011, p 235). European identity is a very abstract, nuanced and sensitive concept that is difficult to grasp - theoretically and empirically. Beyond this, there are claims that nothing like a collective European identity actually exists. The term ‘European identity’ implies that a “collective identity” (emphasis added) has already emerged. A “collective identity” is by definition based on believed characteristics which find consensus among its self-attributed members. In the case of European identity, the demand of a common understanding is not fulfilled - it is even unclear what actor(s) might have the authority for interpretation of ‘European identity’ (Roose 2007, p 126).
Although related difficulties occur when analysing identification instead of identity, it is more accessible and applicable for both theoretical and empirical research. The identification process is based on the individual’s subjective perception and evaluation of a target object. This process relates to the individual’s “personal identity” (emphasis added) that “bridges [the] gap between the self and the outside world”: individuals construct a link to external entities in order to build up a positive self-concept. This happens by identifying with positively attributed individuals or groups (Roose 2007, pp 132 f.). “Personal identity” is more appropriate than “collective identity” when analysing identification with the EU, Europe or Europeans. It has ‘weaker’ demands than the concept of identity and refers to the subjective evaluation which does not need a collective understanding of the target object.
Another point that requires explanation is the decision to examine EU-identification - and not European identification. Firstly, ‘Europe’ is a very broad research object that lacks sharp boundaries - both in terms of geography and the respondents’ associated meanings which range from cultural through political to social ‘frames’. Secondly, a general attempt of this work is to provide political implications. The ‘closest’ research object that is - theoretically - capable of acting and reacting on these implications is the EU.
The definition of EU-support is based on the work of Easton. He argues that a political system such as the EU creates “outputs” (decisions and actions) which require the citizens’ “inputs” (demands and support) (Easton 1965, pp 154 ff.). Thus, the role of citizens is to evaluate the system’s actions and provide support where appropriate. Hence, EU-support is perceived as an active endorsement towards political target objects in question (Easton 1965, p 177).
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: The introduction explains the relevance of citizens’ attitudes towards the EU, presents the research question and outlines the study’s limitations.
2 Previous research: This chapter reviews qualitative and quantitative research, concepts of identity and institutional explanations, before identifying gaps addressed by the study.
3 Theory: The theoretical chapter defines identification, support and EU framing. It develops explanations based on national value orientation, political opportunity costs and national identity types.
4 Methods and data: The author presents a comparative research design, four hypotheses and the operationalisation of identification and support using Eurobarometer data.
5 Results: The results chapter compares national attitude patterns across rational and emotional dimensions, develops country clusters and evaluates the proposed explanatory approaches.
6 Discussion: The discussion considers avenues for further research and country-sensitive identity policy, then reflects on the future of European integration.
Keywords
European Union, European identity, EU identification, EU support, public attitudes, comparative research, Eurobarometer, ideal types, national institutions, political opportunity costs, national identity, rational framing, emotional framing, European integration
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this study about?
It examines how citizens in EU member states identify with and support the European Union, and how those attitudes vary across national contexts.
What are its central themes?
The central themes are European identification, political support, national institutions, rational and emotional framing, and comparative patterns of EU attitudes.
What is the primary research question?
The study asks what country-specific patterns emerge when citizens’ levels of EU identification and EU support are combined into ideal types.
What research method does the author use?
The author conducts a comparative, primarily descriptive quantitative analysis of Eurobarometer 77.3 data, using ideal-type matrices and country clustering alongside qualitative interpretation.
What does the main analysis cover?
It compares identification and support across countries and framing dimensions, examines ideal-type shares, tests membership-duration hypotheses and considers national explanatory variables.
Which keywords characterise the work?
Key terms include EU identification, EU support, European identity, Eurobarometer, ideal types, national institutions and EU framing.
What are the four ideal types?
The rational-dimension matrix distinguishes EU enthusiasts, sceptical EU idealists, EU pragmatics, and EU opponents or non-affected citizens according to combinations of high or low identification and support.
How are rational and emotional perspectives distinguished?
The rational dimension focuses on political and economic entities and cognitive evaluation; the emotional dimension concerns the European community, shared values and affective attachment.
Which national explanations are considered?
The study evaluates national value orientation, the political opportunity cost model and national identity type as possible explanations for patterns of EU attitudes.
- Quote paper
- Bachelor of Arts Anja Köngeter (Author), 2014, Mapping attitudes towards the European Union. A comparative analysis among European citizens of 27 member states, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/286722
