Variable Opinions: The Predictability of Support for Unification in European Mass Publics

Abstract

This article explores the extent to which European citizens are now Euro-ambivalent. Over the past decade, authors have argued that public opinion toward European integration has moved from a permissive consensus to a constraining dissensus. This suggests a clear-cut swing from mostly favorable to mostly unfavorable attitudes toward European integration. We argue in this article that public opinion toward European integration is not so clear-cut pro or anti. Rather, it is ambivalent. We explore this ambivalence, its antecedents, and its potential implications for voting behavior in European Parliamentary elections using the 2009 European Election Survey.