Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T05:57:31.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Show the money first! Recent public attitudes towards the EU in Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2015

Nicolò Conti  and
Vincenzo Memoli
Nicolò Conti*
Affiliation:
Department of Law and Economics, Unitelma Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Memoli
Affiliation:
Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Catania, Italy
*
*E-mail: nicolo.conti@unitelma.it
Get access

Abstract

In the recent past, attitudes towards the EU have become problematic in many member states. Even those countries that traditionally were more optimistic have actually experienced important declines in their popular backing of the European integration process. We examine the public attitudes towards the EU that have recently emerged in Italy, a country where support for EU membership has declined substantially. Making use of recent data and novel research techniques, the article sheds light on the explanatory power of different theoretical perspectives to explain these attitudes. Utilitarianism has emerged as the key explanatory factor, whereas other theories appear much less relevant in the Italian context.

Keywords

citizensattitudesEUItalyutilitarianismeuroscepticism
Type
Research Article
Information
Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , July 2015 , pp. 203 - 222
Copyright
© Societá Italiana di Scienza Politica 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartolini, S. (2005), Restructuring Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayley, P. and Williams, G. (eds) (2012), European Identity: What the Media Say, Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaudonnet, L. and Di Mauro, D. (2012), ‘Support for Europe: assessing the complexity of individual attitudes’, European Integration online Papers (EIoP) 16(2): 1–40, Article 9. Retrieved 26 June 2015 from http://eiop.or.at/eiop/texte/2012-009a.htmGoogle Scholar
Bellucci, P. and Serricchio, F. (2012), ‘Cosa pensano i cittadini dell’Europa? (What do Italians think about Europe?)’, in P. Bellucci and N. Conti (eds), Gli Italiani e l’Europa (Italians and Europe), Rome: Carocci, pp. 136–156.Google Scholar
Bellucci, P., Sanders, D. and Serricchio, F. (2012), ‘Explaining European identity’, in P. Bellucci, D. Sanders, G. Toka and M. Torcal (eds), The Europeanization of National Politics? Citizenship and Support in a Post-Enlargement Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 61–90.Google Scholar
Benhabib, S. (2002), The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benoit, B. (1997), Social-Nationalism: An Anatomy of French Euroscepticism, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.Google Scholar
Best, H., Lengyel, G. and Verzichelli, L. (eds) (2012), The Europe of Elites: A Study into the Europeanness of Europe’s Political and Economic Elites, Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boomgaarden, H., Andreas, G., Schuck, R., Elenbaas, M. and de Vreese, C.H. (2011), ‘Mapping EU attitudes: conceptual and empirical dimensions of euroscepticism and EU support’, European Union Politics 12(2): 241–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruter, M. (2005), Citizens of Europe? The Emergence of a Mass European Identity, Basingstoke: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, S. (2002), ‘Undivided loyalties: is national identity an obstacle to European integration?’, European Union Politics 3(4): 387–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charemza, W. and Deadman, D.F. (1997), New Directions in Econometric Practice, Aldershot: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Citrin, J. and Sides, J. (2004), ‘More than nationals: how identity choices matters in the new Europe’, in R.K. Hermann, T. Risse and M.B. Brewer (eds), Transnational Identities. Becoming European in the EU, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 161–185.Google Scholar
Conti, N. (ed.) (2014), Party Attitudes Towards the EU in the Member States, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Conti, N. and Verzichelli, L. (2012), ‘Italy’, in E. Kulahci (ed.), Europeanisation and Party Politics, Essex: ECPR Press, pp. 55–76.Google Scholar
Conti, N. and Memoli, V. (2014), ‘Italy’, in N. Conti (ed.), Party Attitudes Towards the EU in the Member States, London: Routledge, pp. 79–98.Google Scholar
Davidson, R. and MacKinnon, J.G. (1981), ‘Several tests for model specification in the presence of alternative hypotheses’, Econometrica 49(3): 781–793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Vries, C.E. and Edwards, E.E. (2009), ‘Taking Europe to its extremes: extremist parties and public euroscepticism’, Party Politics 15(1): 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Mauro, D. (2014), ‘Is the honeymoon over? Explaining Italy’s mass support and opposition towards Europe’, Perspectives on European Politics and Society 15(2): 143–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Virgilio, A., Giannetti, D., Pedrazzani, A. and Pinto, L. (2014), ‘Party competition in the 2013 Italian elections: evidence from an expert survey’, Government and Opposition 50(1): 65–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duchesne, S. and Frognier, A.-P. (1995), ‘Is there a European identity?’, in O. Niedermayer and R. Sinnott (eds), Public Opinion and the International Governance, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 193–226.Google Scholar
Easton, D. (1965), A System Analysis of Political Life, New York, NY: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Easton, D. (1975), ‘A re-assessment of the concept of political support’, British Journal of Political Science 5(4): 435–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Commission (2014), Eurobarometer 80.1 (2013), TNS OPINION & SOCIAL, Brussels [Producer]; GESIS Data Archive: ZA5876 Data file Version 1.0.0, doi:10.4232/1.11881.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichenberg, R.C. and Dalton, R.J. (1993), ‘Europeans and the European community: the dynamics of public support for European integration’, International Organization 47(4): 507–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichenberg, R.C. and Dalton, R.J. (2007), ‘Post-Maastricht blues: the transformation of citizen support for European integration, 1973–2004’, Acta Politica 42(2): 128–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franchino, F. (2012), ‘Challenges to liberal intergovernmentalism’, European Union Politics 14(2): 324–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franzese, R.J. Jr. (2002), Macroeconomic Policies in Developed Democracies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabel, M. (1998a), ‘Economic integration and mass politics: market liberalization and public attitudes in the European union’, American Journal of Political Science 42(3): 936–953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabel, M. (1998b), ‘Public support for European integration: an empirical test of five theories’, Journal of Politics 60(2): 333–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabel, M. and Palmer, H. (1995), ‘Understanding variation in public support for European integration’, European Journal of Political Research 27(1): 3–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabel, M. and Whitten, G. (1997), ‘Economic conditions, economic perceptions, and public support for European integration’, Political Behavior 19(1): 81–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granger, C.W.J. (ed.) (1990), Modelling Economic Series, Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Granger, C.W.J. (1999), Empirical Modelling in Economics: Specification and Evaluation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerra, S. and Serricchio, F. (2014), ‘Identity and economic rationality: explaining attitudes towards the EU in time of crisis’, in B.M. Stefanova (ed.), The European Union Beyond the Crisis: Evolving Governance, Contested Policies and Disenchanted Publics, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 269–294.Google Scholar
Herb, G.H. and Kaplan, D.H. (eds) (1999), Nested Identities: Nationalism, Territory and Scale, New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Herrmann, R., Risse, T. and Brewer, M.B. (eds) (2004), Transnational Identities: Becoming European in the EU, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Hooghe, L. and Marks, G. (2004), ‘Does identity or economic rationality drive public opinion on European integration?’, PS: Political Science and Politics 37(3): 415–420.Google Scholar
Hooghe, L. and Marks, G. (2005), ‘Calculation, community and cues’, European Union Politics 6(4): 419–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooghe, L. and Marks, G. (2009), ‘A postfunctionalist theory of European integration: from permissive consensus to constraining dissensus’, British Journal of Political Science 39(1): 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R (1970), ‘Cognitive mobilization and European identity’, Comparative Politics 3(1): 45–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R (1977), The Silent Revolution. Changing Values and Political Styles Among Western Publics, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R., Rabier, J.-R. and Reif, K. (1991), ‘The evolution of public attitudes toward European integration: 1970–86’, in K. Reif and R. Inglehart (eds), Eurobarometer: The Dynamics of European Public Opinion, London: Macmillan, pp. 111–131.Google Scholar
Isernia, P (2005), ‘L’Europa vista dagli Italiani; Vent’Anni Dopo (Europe seen by the Italians: twenty years later)’, in M. Cotta, P. Isernia and L. Verzichelli (eds), L’Europa in Italia (Europe in Italy), Bologna: Il Mulino, pp. 223–276.Google Scholar
Isernia, P (2008), ‘Present at creation: Italian mass support for European integration in the formative years’, European Journal of Political Research 47(3): 383–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kopecky, P. and Mudde, C. (2002), ‘The two sides of euroscepticism: party positions on European integration in East Central Europe’, European Union Politics 3(3): 297–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindberg, L. and Scheingold, S. (1970), Europe’s Would-be Polity, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Loveless, M. and Rohrschneider, R. (2011), ‘Public perceptions of the EU as a system of governance’, Living Reviews in European Governance 6(2): 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubbers, M. and Scheepers, P. (2010), ‘Divergent trends of euroscepticism in countries and regions of the European Union’, European Journal of Political Research 49(6): 787–817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, A. and McCubbins, M.D. (1998), The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Marks, G. and Steenbergen, M. (2004), European Integration and Political Conflict, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, L.M. (2002), ‘Public support for the European Union: cost/benefit analysis or perceived cultural threat?’, Journal of Politics 64(2): 551–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, L.M. (2004), ‘Opposition to European integration and fear of loss of national identity: debunking a basic assumption regarding hostility to the integration project’, European Journal of Political Research 43(6): 895–911.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, L.M. (2006), Identity, Interests, and Attitudes to European Integration, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Memoli, V. and Vassallo, F. (2009), ‘Democracy support in EU candidate countries: a reality check’, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 11(2): 157–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pattie, C., Seyd, P. and Whiteley, P. (2004), Citizenship in Britain. Values, Participation and Democracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quaglia, L. (2009), ‘“The ebb and flow” of euroscepticism in Italy’, South European Society and Politics 16(1): 31–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sánchez-Cuenca, I. (2000), ‘The political basis of support for European integration’, European Union Politics 1(2): 147–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, D., Bellucci, P., Toka, G. and Torcal, M. (eds) (2012a), The Europeanization of National Politics?, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sanders, D., Bellucci, P., Toka, G. and Torcal, M. (2012b), ‘Towards an integrated model of EU citizenship and support’, in D. Sanders, P. Bellucci, G. Toka and M. Torcal (eds) The Europeanization of National Politics?, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 187–216.Google Scholar
Serricchio, F. (2011), Perché gli italiani diventano euroscettici (Why Italians Become Eurosceptical), Pisa: Plus-Pisa University Press.Google Scholar
Serricchio, F. (2012), ‘Italian citizens and Europe: explaining the growth of euroscepticism’, Bulletin of Italian Politics 4(1): 115–134.Google Scholar
Serricchio, F., Tsakatika, M. and Quaglia, L. (2013), ‘Euroscepticism and the global financial crisis’, Journal of Common Market Studies 51(1): 51–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taggart, P. and Szczerbiak, A. (2004), ‘Contemporary euroscepticism in the party systems of the European Union candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe’, European Journal of Political Research 43(1): 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Kersbergen, K. (2000), ‘Political allegiance and European integration’, European Journal of Political Research 37(1): 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitely, P. and Seyd, P. (1996), ‘Rationality and party activism: encompassing tests of alternative models of political participation’, European Journal of Political Research 29(2): 215–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Link

Conti and Memoli Dataset

Dataset

http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/3CIIM0
Link