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What Does the EU Actually Mean to Citizens? An in‐Depth Study of Dutch citizens' Understandings and Evaluations of the European Union

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  • Elske van den Hoogen
  • Willem de Koster
  • Jeroen van der Waal

Abstract

Although citizens' attitudes towards the European Union (EU) have been examined extensively, there is a dearth of studies on what the EU actually means to them. Inspired by observations suggesting that the EU means different things to different people, this research aimed to uncover these views using an inductive approach: 13 group interviews with a heterogenous set of homogenous groups. 45 Dutch citizens, strategically selected from various social backgrounds, were interviewed in‐depth. Four discourses on the EU were identified: pragmatic, federalist, anti‐establishment and disengaged. We also demonstrated that these discourses go hand‐in‐hand with: 1) specific evaluations of the EU beyond the conventional ‘Europhilia‐Euroscepticism’ dimension; and 2) similar criticisms regarding themes emphasised by interviewees themselves – wasting of money and a lack of transparency and democracy – but for very different, sometimes even counterposing, reasons. The wider implications of our findings and possible venues for further research are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Elske van den Hoogen & Willem de Koster & Jeroen van der Waal, 2022. "What Does the EU Actually Mean to Citizens? An in‐Depth Study of Dutch citizens' Understandings and Evaluations of the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1432-1448, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:5:p:1432-1448
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13314
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hobolt, Sara B. & Wratil, Christopher, 2015. "Public opinion and the crisis: the dynamics of support for the euro," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60788, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Samira van Bohemen & Willem de Koster & Jeroen van der Waal, 2019. "Euroscepticism among Dutch Leftist and Rightist Populist Constituencies: How can the U‐Curve be Understood?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 371-387, March.
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    1. Florian Stoeckel & Vittorio Mérola & Jack Thompson & Benjamin Lyons & Jason Reifler, 2024. "Public perceptions and misperceptions of political authority in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(1), pages 42-62, March.

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