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An ever-closer union? Citizens’ everyday emotions and perspectives on the European Union and its future
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Houde, Anne-Marie (2023) An ever-closer union? Citizens’ everyday emotions and perspectives on the European Union and its future. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3985185
Abstract
In the early 21st century, the European Union (EU) went through a series of significant legitimacy crises that called into question the very premise of the Treaty of Rome, which “determined to lay the foundations of an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe”. Citizens’ support is crucial to preserving and solidifying the EU, and for decades researchers have been investigating public attitudes towards the Union to understand its reach and staying power. Whilst this study speaks to such scholarship, it moves beyond analysing how citizens think about the EU in the present to explore, instead, how they feel about its future and what direction they wish for Europe to take and why. The thesis builds on the literature on emotions in International Relations and Political and Social Psychology to challenge the currently ubiquitous assumption in the field of EU studies that Europe is not an emotional topic for citizens: it argues that how people feel is crucial to understanding the perspectives they hold for its future. Drawing upon findings from 21 focus group discussions in Belgium, France, Italy, and Portugal, as well as from survey data, this study offers an original theorisation and empirical exploration of individuals’ everyday emotional connection to political entities. It examines i) how and when such emotional attachments are expressed, contested, or reinforced when discussing the EU and events such as Brexit; ii) how, due to the EU’s multidimensional character, emotional responses vary depending on how well particular frames and narratives resonate with individuals’ opinions and experiences; and iii) how predicted emotions, or affective forecasting, renders some scenarios for the future more or less desirable. As this research demonstrates, emotions are key to understanding citizens’ perspectives on the future of the EU as they narrow down the alternatives deemed acceptable by the public, thereby setting the boundaries of political possibility for deepening EU integration.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | European Union -- History -- 21st century, European Union countries -- Public opinion, European cooperation -- Public opinion, Public opinion -- European Union countries, European Union countries -- Regional disparities -- Public opinion, European Union countries -- Politics and government -- 21st century -- Public opinion | ||||
Official Date: | July 2023 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of Politics and International Studies | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Atikcan, Ece Özlem, 1982- ; Homolar, Alexandra | ||||
Sponsors: | University of Warwick. Chancellor’s International Scholarship | ||||
Format of File: | |||||
Extent: | 260 pages : illustrations | ||||
Language: | eng |
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