Your browser does not support the PubReader view.
Go to this page to see a list of supporting browsers.
International Area Studies Review
[ Article ]
International Area Studies Review - Vol. 27, No. 3, pp.320-339
ISSN: 2233-8659 (Print)
Print publication date 01 Sep 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69473/iasr.2024.27.3.320

Exploring the Determinants of Public Support and Euroscepticism in the European Union: A Macro and Micro-Level Analysis of Democratic Perceptions

Chang Rhyong Oh ; Yoo-Duk Kang*
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Pukyong National University, Republic of Korea
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to: *Email: ydkang@hufs.ac.kr

Abstract

This article explores how perceptions of democracy, both at the domestic and European levels, influence public attitudes towards the EU through empirical tests conducted at both macro and micro levels. Satisfaction with the way democracy operates in the EU emerges as the most significant factor in determining public support for the EU, while economic variables clearly explain the recent rise of Euroscepticism. Our findings suggest that securing public support for the EU will require addressing political and economic issues, particularly by involving more citizens in the decision-making process. Additionally, the relationship between satisfaction with domestic democracy and EU democracy shows a compensational dynamic at the macro level, contrasted with an opposite relationship at the micro level. This analysis highlights that, while complexities such as the macro-micro puzzle exist, the perception of EU democracy remains a key factor in the rise of Euroscepticism.

Keywords:

Euroscepticism, Perception, Democratic deficit, European integration, Determinant

AI Acknowledgment

Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were not used in any way to prepare, write, or complete essential authoring tasks in this manuscript.

Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declare that there is no conflict of interest. (If there are conflicts of interest, list them in detail, specifying the nature of the conflict and the involved parties.)

Funding

This work was supported by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund.

References

  • Anderson, C. J. (1998). When in doubt, use proxies: Attitudes toward domestic politics and support for European integration. Comparative Political Studies, 31(5), 569–601. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414098031005002]
  • Anderson, C., & Hecht, J. (2014). Crisis of confidence?: The dynamics of economic opinions during the Great Recession. In N. Bermeo & L. Bartels (Eds.), Mass politics in tough times: Opinions, votes and protest in the Great Recession (pp. 40–71). Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199357505.003.0002]
  • Ares, M., Ceka, B., & Kriesi, H. (2017). Diffuse support for the European Union: Spillover effects of the politicization of the European integration process at the domestic level. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(8), 1091–1115. [https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1191525]
  • Armingeon, K., & Ceka, B. (2014). The loss of trust in the European Union during the Great Recession since 2007: The role of heuristics from the national political system. European Union Politics, 15(1), 82–107. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116513495595]
  • Arpino, B., & Obydenkova, A. V. (2020). Democracy and political trust before and after the Great Recession 2008: The European Union and the United Nations. Social Indicators Research, 148(2), 395–415. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02204-x]
  • Biancotti, C., Borin A., & Mancini, M. (2017) Euroscepticism: Another Brick in the Wall. Bank of Italy.
  • Brosius, A., van Elsas, E. J., & de Vreese, C. H. (2020) Trust in context: National heuristics and survey context effects on political trust in the European Union. European Union Politics, 21(2), 294–311. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116519896010]
  • Burgoon, B. (2009). Social nation and social Europe: Support for national and supranational welfare compensation in Europe. European Union Politics, 10(4), 427–455. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116509346381]
  • Burgoon, B. (2013). Inequality and anti-globalization backlash by political parties. European Union Politics, 14(3), 408–435. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116512467546]
  • Busch, K., Hermann, C., Hinrichs, K., & Schulten, T. (2013). Euro crisis, austerity policy and the European social model. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
  • Cengiz, F. (2018). Bringing the citizen back into EU democracy: Against the input-output model and why deliberative democracy might be the answer. European Politics and Society, 19(5), 577–594. [https://doi.org/10.1080/23745118.2018.1469236]
  • Corbett, R. (2018). Democracy in European Union. In D. Kenealy, J. Peterson, & R. Corbett (Eds.), The European Union: How does it work? (5th ed., pp. 146–164). Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198807490.003.0007]
  • Crum, B. (2018). Parliamentary accountability in multilevel governance: What role for parliaments in post-crisis EU economic governance? Journal of European Public Policy, 25(2), 268–286. [https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2017.1363270]
  • De Vreese, C. H., Banducci, S. A., Semetko, H. A., & Boomgaarden, H. G. (2006). The news coverage of the 2004 European parliamentary election campaign in 25 countries. European Union Politics, 7(4), 477–504. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116506069440]
  • De Vreese, C. H., Lauf, E., & Peter, J. (2007). The media and European parliament elections: Second-rate coverage of a second-order event? In W. Van der Brug & C. Ven der Eijk (Eds.), European elections and domestic politics (pp. 116–130). University of Notre Dame Press.
  • Díez Medrano, J. (1995). La opinión pública Española y la Integración Europea: 1994. Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas.
  • Drakos, K., Kallandranis, C., & Karidis, S. (2016). Determinants of trust in institutions: survey-based evidence from the European Union. Regent’s Working Papers in Business & Management, 2018–11.
  • Easton, D. (1975). A re-assessment of the concept of political support. British Journal of Political Science, 5(4), 435–457. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123400008309]
  • Emanuele, V., Maggini, N., & Marino, B. (2016). Gaining votes in Europe against Europe? How national contexts shaped the results of Eurosceptic parties in the 2014 European parliament elections. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 12(3), 697–715. [https://doi.org/10.30950/jcer.v12i3.732]
  • Eriksen, E. (2009) The unfinished democratization of Europe. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572519.001.0001]
  • European Commission (2017). White paper on the future of Europe: Reflection and scenarios for the EU27 by 2025. COM (2017) 2025. European Commission.
  • Follesdal, A., & Hix, S. (2006). Why there is a democratic deficit in the EU: A response to Majone and Moravcsik. Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(3), 533–562. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2006.00650.x]
  • Gomez, R. (2015). The economy strikes back: Support for the EU during the Great Recession. Journal of Common Market Studies, 53(3), 577–592. [https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12183]
  • Harteveld, E., Meer, T. V. D., & Vries, C. E. D. (2013). In Europe we trust? Exploring three logics of trust in the European Union. European Union Politics, 14(4), 542–565. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116513491018]
  • Heidenreich M., & Wunder C. (2008). Patterns of regional inequality in the enlarged Europe. European Sociological Review, 24(1), 19–36. [https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcm031]
  • Hetherington, M. J. (2005). Why trust matters: Declining political trust and the demise of American liberalism. Princeton University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691188690]
  • Hix, S. (2008) What’s wrong with the European Union and how to fix it. Polity Press.
  • Hobolt, S. B. (2012). Citizen satisfaction with democracy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 50(s1), 88–105. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2011.02229.x]
  • Hoeksma, J. (2011). The EU as a democratic polity in international law. Centre for the Law of EU External Relations.
  • Höpner, M., & Jurczyk, B. (2015). How the Eurobarometer blurs the line between research and propaganda (MPIfG Discussion Paper 15/6). Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung.
  • Hurrelmann, A., & DeBardeleben, J. (2009). Democratic dilemmas in EU multilevel governance: Untangling the gordian knot. European Political Science Review, 1(2), 229–247. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773909000137]
  • Jano, D. (2008). Understanding the EU democratic deficit: A two dimension concept on a three level-of-analysis. The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 14(1), 61–74. [https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.14.1.4]
  • Kang, Y., & Oh, C. (2020). Spreading Euroscepticism and its macro-level determinants: Empirical analysis of Eurobarometer survey in 2004-2017. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 28(3), 348–365. [https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2020.1733498]
  • Karp, J. A., Banducci, S. A., & Bowler, S. (2003). To know it is to love it? Satisfaction with democracy in the European Union. Comparative Political Studies, 36(3), 271–292. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414002250669]
  • Kelemen, R. D. (2017). Europe’s other democratic deficit: National authoritarianism in Europe’s Democratic Union. Government and Opposition, 52(2), 211–238. [https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2016.41]
  • Kreilinger, V. (2016). National parliaments, surveillance mechanisms and ownership in the Euro area. Jacques Delors Institute.
  • Kritzinger, S. (2003). The influence of the nation-state on individual support for the European Union. European Union Politics, 4(2), 219–241. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116503004002004]
  • Kuhn, T., Van Elsas, E., Hakhverdian, A., & van der Brug, W. (2016). An ever wider gap in an ever closer union: Rising inequalities and Euroscepticism in 12 West European democracies 1975-2009. Socio- Economic Review, 14(1), 27–45. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwu034]
  • Lipps, J., & Schraff, D. (2020). Regional inequality and institutional trust in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 60(4), 892–913. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12430]
  • Macdonald, D. (2024). Political trust and American public support for free trade. Political Behavior, 46(2), 1037–1055. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-023-09858-x]
  • Majone, G. (2009). Europe as the would-be world power. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511609930]
  • McCormick, J. (2020). European Union politics. Palgrave.
  • Mitchell, K. (2016). European identity and diffuse support for the European Union in a time of crisis: What can we learn from university students? In V. Kaina, I. P. Karolewski, & S. Kuhn (Eds.), European identity revisited: New approaches and recent empirical evidence (pp. 177–198). Routledge.
  • Muñoz, J., Torcal, M., & Bonet, E. (2011). Institutional trust and multilevel government in the European Union: Congruence or compensation? European Union Politics, 12(4), 551–574. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116511419250]
  • Nicolaïdis, K. (2013). European democracy and its crisis. Journal of Common Market Studies, 51(2), 351–369. [https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12006]
  • Nicolaïdis, K., & Youngs, R. (2014). Europe’s democracy trilemma. International Affairs, 90(6), 1403–1419. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12176]
  • Peter, J. (2007). Media effects on attitudes toward european integration. In W. Van der Brug & C. Ven der Eijk (Eds.), European elections and domestic politics (pp. 131–144). University of Notre Dame Press.
  • Real-Dato, J., & Sojka, A. (2020). The rise of (faulty) Euroscepticism? The impact of a decade of crises in Spain. South European Society and Politics. [https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2020.1771876]
  • Ringlerova, Z. (2015). Weathering the crisis: Evidence of diffuse support for the EU from a six-wave dutch panel. European Union Politics, 16(4), 558–576. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116515588964]
  • Rodrik, D. (2011). The globalization paradox: Democracy and the future of the world economy. W. W. Norton. [https://doi.org/10.1355/ae28-3k]
  • Rohrschneider, R. (2002). The democracy deficit and mass support for an EU-wide government. American Journal of Political Science, 46(2), 463–475. [https://doi.org/10.2307/3088389]
  • Roth, F. (2009). The effect of the financial crisis on systemic trust. Intereconomics, 44(4), 203–208. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-009-0296-9]
  • Roth, F. (2010). The Eurozone crisis and its effects on citizens’ trust in national parliaments (CEPS Commentary, 8). Centre for European Policy Studies.
  • Roth, F., Jonung, L., & Nowak-Lehmann D, F. (2011). The Enduring popularity of the Euro throughout the crisis. CEPS Working Document, 358, 15 December 2011. [https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1996473]
  • Ruiz-Rufino, R., & Alonso, A. (2017). Democracy without choice: Citizens’ perceptions of government autonomy during the Eurozone crisis. European Journal of Political Research, 56(2), 320–345. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12187]
  • Ryan, J. B., Andrews, T. M., Goodwin, T., & Krupnikov, Y. (2022). When trust matters: The case of gun control. Political Behavior, 44(2), 725–748. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09633-2]
  • Sánchez-Cuenca, I. (2000). The political basis of support for European integration. European Union Politics, 1(2), 147–171. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116500001002001]
  • Schmidt, V. A. (2013). Democracy and legitimacy in the European Union revisited: Input, output and ‘throughput’. Political Studies, 61(1), 2–22. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2012.00962.x]
  • Schmidt, V. A. (2015). The Eurozone’s Crisis of Democratic Legitimacy: Can the EU Rebuild Public Trust and Support for European Economic Integration? (Discussion Paper 015). Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
  • Sellin, N. (1990). On aggregation bias. International Journal of Educational Research, 14(3), 257–268. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-0355(90)90036-8]
  • Van der Meer, T. W., & Zmerli, S. (2017). The deeply rooted concern with political trust. In S. Zmerli & T. W. Van der Meer (Eds.), Handbook on political trust (pp. 1–16). Edward Elgar Publishing. [https://doi.org/10.4337/9781782545118.00010]
  • Van Elsas, E., & Van Der Brug, W. (2015). The changing relationship between left-right ideology and Euroscepticism, 1973-2010. European Union Politics, 16(2), 194–215. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1465116514562918]
  • Van Erkel, P. F., & Van Der Meer, T. W. (2016). Macroeconomic performance, political trust and the Great Recession: A multilevel analysis of the effects of within‐country fluctuations in macroeconomic performance on political trust in 15 EU countries, 1999-2011. European Journal of Political Research, 55(1), 177–197. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12115]
  • Verney, S., & Katsikas, D. (2021). Eurozone crisis management and the growth of opposition to European integration. In B. De Souza Guilherme, C. Ghymers, S. Griffith-Jones, & A. Ribeiro Hoffmann (Eds.), Financial crisis management and democracy (pp. 251–264). Springer. [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54895-7_16]
  • Weiler, J. H. (1997). To be a European citizen-eros and civilization. Journal of European Public Policy, 4(4), 495–519. [https://doi.org/10.1080/135017697344037]