Mapping attitudes towards the European Union. A comparative analysis among European citizens of 27 member states

Download or read book Mapping attitudes towards the European Union. A comparative analysis among European citizens of 27 member states written by Anja Köngeter and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2015-01-08 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Sociology - Culture, Technology, Nations, grade: 2.0, University of Heidelberg (Institute of Sociology), language: English, abstract: 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.