1st Edition
Perceptions of the European Union in New Member States A Comparative Perspective
The book explores the views of elites alongside those of the wider population in the European Union. The chapters place the new member states – and the potential candidate Serbia – on the map of Europe in this context for the first time. The volume's comparative method goes beyond the standard old member states versus new member states divide. It assesses regional differences within Central Europe and evaluates the problem of European and national identity formation, perception of external threats to the EU (including Russia), differences between economic and political elite views about the integration process and the connection between national performance and public opinion about Europe. Even though, in each country, positive views are dominant about the integration process, heterogeneous views prevail behind the image of a unifying Europe.
The book’s major contribution is that it makes the new member states more visible and provides hard evidence while remaining theoretically driven. Furthermore, it covers the most important topics that emerge in studies concerning European integration. The book is intended for those interested in European integration in general but Central and Eastern European comparativists will find it particularly useful.
This book was published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.
1. Introduction: A Europe Integrated and United—But Still Diverse? - Gabriella Ilonszki 2. History Matters: Dimensions and Determinants of National Identities among European Populations and Elites - Heinrich Best 3. Identity and Representation in the Perceptions of Political Elites and Public Opinion: A Comparison between Southern and Post-Communist Central-Eastern Europe - Miguel Jerez-Mir, José Real-Dato and Rafael Vázquez-García 4. Threat Perception and European Identity Building: The Case of Elites in Belgium, Germany, Lithuania and Poland - Irmina Matonytė and Vaidas Morkevičius 5. The Nation State and the EU in the Perceptions of Political and Economic Elites: the Case of Serbia in Comparative Perspective - Mladen Lazić and Vladimir Vuletić 6. Explaining the Attitudes of Parliamentarians towards European Integration in Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia: Party Affiliation, ‘Left–right’ Self-placement or Country Origin? – Spyridoula Nezi, Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos and Panayiota Toka 7. Identity Formation of Elites in Old and New Member States (With a Special Focus on the Czech Elite) - Zdenka Mansfeldová and Barbora Špicarová Stašková 8. Elites’ Pragmatic and Symbolic Views about European Integration - György Lengyel 9. National Discontent and EU support in Central and Eastern Europe - Gabriella Ilonszki
Biography
Gabriella Ilonszki is Professor of Political Science and Head of the Centre for Elite Studies at Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary.
