Search results

AbstractKriesi et al. announced the birth of a new cleavage in contemporary Western Europe, one dividing the winners and losers of globalisation. Their studies in 2006 and 2008 contain analyses of party positions in six countries, based on the contents of editorial sections of newspapers. This article challenges the main conclusion of Kriesi et al. by demonstrating − on the basis of two expert surveys − that party positions are mainly structured by one dimension. The structure detected by Kriesi et al. in their analysis of parties is not found, except concerning voter positions. A consequence of this article's findings is that large groups of citizens are not represented by any parties, in particular those who are left‐wing on socio‐economic issues and right‐wing on cultural issues. The article in its conclusion discusses possible causes for the differences between these findings and those of Kriesi et al., and the implications of these findings for democratic representation.

The perception of a democratic deficit in the European Union (EU) is widespread. In which circumstances is this perception affected by mass media and interpersonal communication? To answer this question, we analyze data from representative samples of citizens in 21 EU member states (N = 22,806) and linked to news items (N = 36,881) these citizens were exposed to in the 2009 European election campaign. Our results indicate that theoretically expected interpersonal communication effects exist in all countries. We find media effects in countries with a one-sided message flow that is positive about EU democratic performance. In these countries, the media have a positive effect on EU democratic performance perceptions, and the effect is larger among less sophisticated citizens. Negative interpersonal communication effects are stronger among sophisticated citizens. Furthermore, among less sophisticated citizens, we find a positive reinforcement effect of mass media and interpersonal communication. These findings suggest that the EU has more possibilities to positively affect public opinion than has been assumed.

European Union (EU) enlargement evokes strong opposition among its citizens. Meanwhile, EU citizens' opinions are likely to become increasingly important in determining the future of the European project. Countries aspiring to EU membership must therefore take public opinion in the EU into consideration. What determines public support for EU entry? A factor that has been ignored in the relevant literature is perceived threat posed by a candidate country's religion. On the basis of data derived from a voter survey fielded in the Netherlands (N=1394), we show that perceived religious threat is not very relevant for public support for EU access of Croatia or Switzerland. It is, by contrast, a major predictor of opposition to Turkish entrance to the EU. In the Turkish case, religious threat overshadows all other factors suggested in the literature except for immigration threat. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for Turkey's EU accession bid, and that of other Muslim countries. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractFirst, this study tests for media effects on support for EU enlargement in a natural setting, while including actual media content in the analysis. Second, the moderation by anti‐immigrant attitudes of media effects is tested, as it is argued that perceptions of 'others' influences how new information on enlargement is received. The study draws on a two‐wave panel survey and a media content analysis in 21 countries. The results suggest there is a media effect, although not from individual exposure but from the information environment. In addition, individuals with stronger anti‐immigrant attitudes are more strongly affected by a negative information environment.